Beckenham Town 2-1 Lewisham Borough - We're struggling a bit up front, admits Jason Huntley

Tuesday 26th July 2011

BECKENHAM TOWN 2-1 LEWISHAM BOROUGH
Pre-Season Friendly
Tuesday 26^th July 2011
Stephen McCartney reports from Eden Park Avenue

BECKENHAM TOWN boss Jason Huntley says he is searching for two new predatory strikers ahead of their home Kent League opener against title favourites Herne Bay in eighteen days’ time.

Huntley confirmed that the Gorman brothers, striker Gary and defender Danny, have opted to drop down three leagues to sign for Haart of Kent County League Division One side Metrogas owing to work commitments and that he is looking to add firepower to his side ahead of the visit of Herne Bay.

A physical Lewisham Borough side, who are preparing for their inaugural Kent Invicta League campaign, took the lead through striker Phillip McBean during the first half, but two Beckenham strikers, Badar Mohamed (penalty) and his replacement, Ibrahim Fusini, sealed the victory.

This was a low key affair played on the club’s second pitch at Eden Park Avenue. In fact the gates didn’t open until 90 minutes before kick-off and the bar and catering facilities remained shut and Huntley fielded a team mainly consisting of trialists.

Huntley said: “A couple of plusses, If I’m being honest. We’re going to keep three or four out of that lot. The first team will all be in Thursday, we’ve got a game at home to Erith & Dartford Town. About four or five of them will probably be involved.

“I’ve got to dwindle the squad down. I’ve got a big squad here. At the beginning of pre-season there was something like 45 players. We’ve dwindled it down and it needs to go down again because we’ve got big hard games coming up against Maidstone and Welling and by the time the Maidstone game comes Saturday we want to have a settled side.”

Huntley revealed that Joe Jackson, Byron Beard, Jason Clews, Marcel Mesmain, Shane Sinclair, Soloman Karche and Russian Marat Kanshokov will escape tonight’s cull.

Kanshokov, who played on the right hand side of a three man defence, alongside Clews and Beard, impressed the Beckenham boss.

Huntley said: “He’s played in the Russian Second Division in a first team and the Russian First Division he’s played reserve football by all accounts, so he’s told us, as far as we can find out.

“He’s very strong on the ball, I must admit. He knows what he’s doing when he gets the ball. He gives the ball easy and he helps people so he looks like he’s got a bit of a football brain about him. Let’s see how far we can go with him but he doesn’t speak any English though so we find it difficult to communicate at the moment.”

Reflecting on his side’s defeat, Lewisham Borough head coach, Darrell Queeley said afterwards, “A good exercise for the lads. It’s always nice to come to clubs like Beckenham and have a game. I thought we played really well in spells, created some chances, we’ve had a goal disallowed, so it was a good exercise for the boys overall.”

It appeared to be like a Sunday League pub game – one of the assistant referee’s (Kyunyung Park) failed to turn up, so Lewisham Borough’s Richard Leach took the flag and did a creditable job running the line.

The same cannot be said for senior assistant, Graham Ray, who made at least two crucial errors of judgement, the first coming in the ninth minute.

Beckenham Town goalkeeper, Mike McKay, who was forced off at the interval due to a knee injury, made the first of his mistakes as he allowed Eden Blake’s cross-come-shot from the right flank flash across him to find the far corner, but the flag went up from the grey haired Orpington official.

Beckenham built up from the right and Taiwo Ikponosa hooked a right-footed drive wide from 25-yards, before Mohamed missed a decent chance for the home side after 18 minutes.

Jackson, lingering on the fringes of the first team squad, whipped in a good cross from the left and Mohamed nipped in front of his marker and flicked the ball agonisingly just over the crossbar with the keeper beaten.

Mr Ray made his second error as Lewisham went close to breaking the deadlock as Shyo Blackwood drilled in a low hard cross from the right and Devere Stewart nipped in ahead of his marker and blasted a right-footed shot over from inside the six-yard box – but the flag went up.

But McKay gifted Lewisham the lead after 31 minutes, in his last action before being replaced by first team keeper Nick Blue at the break.

Blackwood shrugged off the attentions of Beard and his cross should have been caught by the keeper, but he dropped the ball at his near post and McBean instinctively accepted the gift and hooked a right-footed volley into the roof of the net from close range.

Queeley said: “Goalkeeper’s mistake and he (McBean) just crept in round the back and roofed it! I thought it was going over but he’s done well to put it away. To be honest at that point we was quite comfortable. We went into the second half and a few things didn’t go out way and it swung towards them. They got a penalty and a free-kick and they scored.”

“The keeper could’ve done better,” admitted a disappointed Huntley. “Maybe he had one eye on the post and the other eye on the man coming in but he’s injured his knee, I think he had that injury last week and he struggled a little bit.”

Huntley added: “Lewisham were a good, big, physical side. They put it about a bit. I thought we coped with it. I thought we played better second half to be honest. We set the stall out second half and took the game to them, defended well and attacked a lot better second half and probably overall, I thought we deserved it.”

Visiting goalkeeper, Rilwan Anibaba, 16, made the save of the match when he managed to stretch his tiny frame to tip Chris Edwards’ right-footed free-kick from 25-yards onto the top of the crossbar and over for a corner.

Queeley added: “We had a lot of young players out there today, a sixteen-year-old goalkeeper in goal today. He put one over that was coming in under the bar. It was really impressive for him to get up that high. A couple of good clearances, he handled really well. He’s come up from the youth team last season and he’s done very well today.”

Marcel Mesmain then drilled a low shot comfortably into the teenager’s arms before the break, which saw Beckenham make five changes.

Lewisham squandered an excellent chance to put the game beyond Beckenham’s reach when Stewart cut in from the left and cut the ball back for substitute Dwayne Morris, who stabbed the ball agonisingly past the foot of the near post.

Anibaba caught an ambitious left-footed effort from Jackson from 30-yards, before Lewisham carved open the Beckenham back-line – in the end a crucial miss for the Ladywell Arena based outfit.

Left-back Blake slipped the ball through to Morris, who released substitute Ashley Sinclair through on goal, but Blue came rushing off his line to make a fine block.

The controversial turning point of the game came in the 69^th minute when Beckenham were awarded a dubious penalty by referee Mr David Lunani, who adjudged that defender Adrian Griffiths’ hand struck the ball as Mohamed drove a shot towards goal.

Huntley said: “I know you don’t normally get penalties in these friendlies but the referee was standing there and he gave it. He deemed it to be a penalty and he gave it. I’m not going to argue with it! A goal’s a goal. At the moment we are struggling with goals to be honest with you. We need to sort out our front line.”

His opposite number, Queeley, meanwhile, gave his take on the incident.

He said: “I believe Adrian Griffiths had his hand by his side and the ball was blasted at him from two yards.

“Things weren’t going out way today, sometimes you have games where they don’t go your way, decisions kind of didn’t go out way. I was counting, I think we gave away 25 free-kicks and received 4 so I need to start counting these things now because maybe I’m making things up but this happens in football sometimes.

“We had our chances, you put them away, who knows, you don’t rely on the referee to win your game for you!”

Mohamed stepped up and equalised with a little bit of good fortune from the penalty spot – goalkeeper Anibaba went to ground early, stuck out a right leg, but the driven penalty bounced off his leg and looped up into the roof of the net.

When asked whether he has tied the former Holmesdale striker down, Huntley said: “We’ve not actually signed him yet. He’s scored four goals, he scored a hat-trick in the first game we played. We’re going to sign all the players we want to sign on Thursday. We’ll probably be talking to him on Thursday night and probably I would (sign him).

“We’re struggling a bit up front. We’re a bit light up front. We’ve got strength in depth everywhere else over the pitch, we’re inundated with centre midfielders, we’ve got enough defenders, now it’s just the forward line that we need to add to.”

That goal deflated a physical Lewisham side and Beckenham sealed victory with nine minutes remaining.

Clews produced a moment of quality as he chipped a precise free-kick towards the near post and Fuisini turned and caressed a left-footed volley into the net, past the stranded teenage keeper.

“Jason’s dinked it over the back four and Ibs has got in on the end and spun and turned and hit it in one movement. It was a very good goal, a good finish. I’m pleased for Ibsie, he’s coming back this season try to play again. He didn’t start because he’s not match fit anyway. He’s still got a niggling injury on his ankle but he said he’s alright for 20 minutes and for him to come on and get the winner, it’s good for him.”

The match-winner squandered a late chance after he linked up well with Jackson, who cut the ball back to him, but Fusini blazed over when well placed.

Beckenham Town: Mike McKay (Nick Blue 46), Marat Kanshokov, Byron Beard, Joe Jackson, Taiwo Ikponosa (Soloman Karche 46), Jason Clews, Marcel Mesmain (Adrian Krasniqi 46, Marcel Mesmain 70), Shane Sinclair (Adrian Krasniqi 76), Badar Mohamed (Ibrahim Fusini 73), Chris Edwards (Asher Edwards 46), Ben Grehan (Abs Conteh 46).

Goals: Badar Mohamed 69 (pen), Ibrahim Fusini 81

Lewisham Borough: Rilwan Anibaba, Aaron Barrett, Eden Blake, Aji Tubosun (unknown 69), Adrian Griffiths, Nicky Brown, Tre Harrison (Dominic Weston 59), Danny Childs (Dwayne Morris 52), Devere Stewart (Mike Brown 59), Phillip McBean, Shyo Blackwood (Ashley Sinclair 65).
Subs: Jon Nnardou, Danny Doyce, Anthony John.

Goal: Phillip McBean 31

Attendance: 35
Referee: Mr David Lunani (Bromley)
Assistants: Mr Graham Ray (Orpington) & Mr Richard Leach (Eltham)