Chatham Town 2-3 Metropolitan Police - We haven't really had any luck this year, says Paul Foley

Saturday 26th February 2011

CHATHAM TOWN 2-3 METROPOLITAN POLICE
Ryman League Division One South
Saturday 26th February 2011
Mike Green reports from Maidstone Road

A goal deep into stoppage sealed the points for the Metropolitan Police and plunged Paul Foley’s Chatham Town deeper into the Ryman League Division One South relegation scrap!

Whilst at the Police’s three points took them to within one point of Bognor Regis Town at the top of the table, defeat left the Chats deep in trouble as one of six clubs separated by a solitary point and just a place from the relegation places.

And over the 90 minutes it was tough on Foley’s side as they took a first half lead and whilst the visitors bossed the second half, the heroics of keeper Adam Molloy kept the home side in the game and they looked like their efforts would gain an unlikely reward when they duly equalised six minutes from time only to be rocked by an injury time winner.

“We haven’t had any luck this year and that sums today up really,” shrugged a disappointed Foley after the game.

“We looked a bit vulnerable to any of their set pieces around the box and didn’t deal with them particularly well. But I cant really criticise anyone as today we had a centre half in midfield and a right back up front because of all the injuries that we’ve got! Everyone did well as they could.

“First half I thought we matched them, but I guess the advantage they had from set pieces even though Adam is a good young keeper, he’s not the biggest!”

With so many other games in Kent postponed, the Maidstone Road surface quickly resembled a ploughed field, although the Chats boss had no complains about the way it played.

He said: “The pitch was just about playable – you always want a game to be played regardless of the five or six players that we’ve got out!

“We thought that we could get at them a bit today and they wouldn’t fancy playing us here today and if I’m honest that’s what it looked like to me in the first half.

“It wasn’t a bad game but we just hit the wall second half – a point would have been the fairest though I think.”

The first half was a strange affair as both sides tried to come to terms with the under foot conditions, and it was only in the last 15 minutes of the half that the game came alive.

On the half hour Molloy outlined what a fine young keeper he is as he pulled off a magnificent save to keep the score level.

James Field got his head on the end of a left wing centre, and was turning to salute a goal into the top corner before Molloy somehow sprung to his right to claw the ball out from underneath the bar!

The Chats again were spared moments later. Lee Hall smashed the ball across the box and Craig Watkins sliding in at the far post somehow managed to clear the bar from inside the six-yard box.

Then seven minutes from half time – Chatham led! Ryan Laker played a super ball into the box and after a couple of ricocheted to Barton who curled a beauty beyond Mann and into the top corner of the net.

It could have been two if Joe Fuller could have beaten Mann from the edge of the box (again from Lakers brilliant through ball), but unfortunately for the home side the shot rebounded to safety.

The second half began with the Police on top – Field had another header brilliantly saved – before the visitors levelled on 57 minutes when Matt Gray drove home form the edge of the box after former Dartford striker Rob Haworth had seen a shot of his own deflect and stop stone dead in the mud perfectly for Gray to drill the ball home.

The home side just couldn’t get going as the Police penned them back in their own half as chance followed chance – Craig Watkins saw a shot stick in the mud in the goal mouth when he’d seemingly beaten Molloy, before the keeper again did very well to hold onto a Watkins drive that instead of stopping in the area, reared up suddenly.

Finally the pressure told and the visitors took the lead on 74 minutes amid a hint of controversy.

A long free kick played into the Chats area saw keeper Molloy clash with Haworth and as both fell to the floor Steve Sutherland coolly stopped to head the Police in front for the first time. Whilst the keeper received treatment, his team-mates appealed in vane for a foul.

Whether or not they felt a sense of injustice we don’t know – but what we do know is that the Chats were suddenly galvanised and against the run of play drew level just six minutes from time with a goal that had Police keeper Maan hanging his head.

A free kick wasn’t cleared properly and substitute Billy Shinners fired in a fierce drive that the keeper did well to turn around the corner. Sadly for the keeper he completely misjudged the corner and Barton was on hand to “stroke” the ball over the line from very close.

Shinners had a chance to win the game on 90 minutes but again Mann matched the effort with a fine save before nearly five minutes into stoppage time disaster struck for the Chats.

Police substitute James Cotter was incensed on being pulled back by referee Donnellan after escaping three tackles on his was to the edge of the Chatham box, but from the resulting free kick it proved to be third time lucky for Field.

Earlier the number eleven had seen two headers brilliantly turned aside, but as the ball dropped to his feet in the box, he drilled the ball past the despairing dive of Molloy and the points were won.

Whilst the Police march on at the top, for Foley and Chatham the realism of being at the centre of the battle to survive is beginning to dawn large. With Horsham YMCA cut adrift, Whyteleafe currently find themselves in the second relegation spot on 26 points but have played four games less than Foley’s side who have 31 points.

Almost unbelievably there are three clubs on 30 points and another three on 31 – the problem for the Chats is that they have played more games than anyone else – a point that the manager accepted but also declared that his side would fight all the way.

“We just have to crack on and just hope that when we get the players back we’ll be all right,” he said.

Continuing Foley then added defiantly, “We have a target of the amount of games we need to win – today’s not the end of the world, we’ve still got enough games left to get the points we need to stay in this League.”

Chatham Town: Adam Molloy, Kevin Watson, Ryan Laker, Gary Ward, Jon Hogg, Craig Wilkins, Uche Ibemere (Billy Shinners 59), Brad Potter (Michael Azzopardi 58) Joe Fuller, Kane Rice, Jason Barton.

Subs: Billy Parkinson, David Hunt, Paul Foley

Goals: Jason Barton 38, 84

Booked: Kane Rice 19, Jason Barton 28

Metropolitan Police: Mo Mann, Nathan Simpson, Chris Bourne, Nick Humphrey, Steve Sutherland, Matt Gray, Lee Hall (Dave Smalley 86), Tyrone Smith, Craig Watkins, Rob Haworth (James Cotter 79) James Field.

Subs: Elliott Taylor, Neal Lampton, Billy Marshall

Goals: Matt Gray 57, Steve Sutherland 74, James Field 90

Attendance :194

Referee: Mr Tim Donnellan (Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire)

Assistants: Mr Nicholas Harnett (Ramsgate) and Michael Marsh (Herne Bay)