Coggeshall United 1-3 Glebe - The league will be our bread and butter but we want to have a strong run in the FA Vase, says Glebe boss Harry Hudson

Coggeshall United 1 – 3 Glebe
Location	The Crops, West Street, Coggeshall, Essex CO6 1NT
Kickoff	12/09/2021 15:00

COGGESHALL UNITED  1-3  GLEBE
The Buildbase FA Vase First Qualifying Round
Sunday 12 September 2021
Stephen McCartney reports from West Street

GLEBE manager Harry Hudson says he wants his side to be successful in all competitions after sealing a comfortable FA Vase First Qualifying Round victory over Coggeshall United.
 

The Chislehurst based club are proudly sitting at the summit of the Southern Counties East Football League Premier Division table with 16 points from six games and their only defeat (in eight games) was a surprise 3-2 home defeat to Combined Counties League Premier Division North side Abbey Rangers in The FA Cup Extra Preliminary Round.

Cliff Akurang’s Coggeshall United, meanwhile, are in the bottom six in the Eastern Counties League First Division South table with eight points from nine games and were brushed aside in a comfortable manner by the Foxes.

Glebe centre-half Antone Douglas slid in to give his side the lead before Coggeshall United scored from their only chance of the game through striker Asa Cansdale counter-attack finish early in the second half.

The home side then enjoyed a decent 10 minute spell but their hard work was undone by a goalkeeping blunder from Lewis Down, which was tucked away by substitute Charlie Penny, before holding midfielder Bradley Wilson scored from close to the half-way line to give the scoreline more of a real reflection on the game.

“We started well, we started really bright. I felt that the goal was coming, it came and then I thought we took our foot off the gas between then and half-time when we really should’ve been smelling blood and going to add to our scoreline,” said Hudson.

“A few unopposed errors slipped in and they didn’t hurt us at all in the first-half but we didn’t get the control back that we wanted.

“We went in at half-time and made a tactical change to expose them through the wide areas that we needed to do today because the pitch was dry and bobbly and it’s not easy to play through.

“We set-up ok and they scored from – it’s an obvious foul – I don’t know what the ref was calling all day. He was incredibly out of his depth. It was a good job there were no bad people on the pitch because it could’ve been bad.

“We’ve still got to do better as soon as he didn’t give the foul. Fair play the kid scored and then it’s a difficult tie, a difficult pitch and then the game’s changing point when they had a counter-attack against us and we didn’t kill it early enough and we didn’t challenge early enough and Jamie McGeoghegan made an incredible clearance because if that goes in at 2-1 that becomes a really, really difficult tie.

“We went down the other end and we get a free-kick and we’ve got given a gimmie goal as their goalie’s made a mistake and then we settle down and Bradley Wilson’s goal just relaxes us and it becomes a bit more comfortable.

“But I don’t think we performed as well as we should do. We gave them too many opportunities and we didn’t take our chances and when that happens in a cup tie you never know what’s going to happen.

“Unfortunately, at 1-1, it felt a little bit like Abbey Rangers again and the idea was we learn from that mistake.”

Glebe started the game like a house on fire and started to attack Coggeshall United from the first whistle with some decent link-up play.

Winger Aaron Watson drilled in a cross from the right, striker Jamie Philpot left Timi Oshineye in knots before the ball was cleared by Romary Maloney before Ainsley Everett cut inside Hayes Thomas just outside the D before lashing his shot high and wide from 22-yards after 186 seconds.

Wilson slipped the ball through to put Philpot through on goal but keeper Down came off his line to narrow the angle and stuck out his left leg to ensure the ball didn’t trickle inside the bottom far corner just 55 seconds later.

“I think Jamie cut a frustrated figure today. I think that’s the first game he’s played and he hasn’t scored (this season) and he probably had more chances today than the games he’s had a hat-trick in. It’s one of those things. It didn’t drop for him today. It was a good opportunity,” said Hudson.

The impressive Watson released right-back Lesley Duruy on the overlap and he played the ball into Philpot within the right-hand side of the penalty area who teed up Ryan King-Elliott, who drilled his first-time shot high over the bar from 16-yards.

Coggeshall United keeper Down made a fine near-post save to frustrate Philpot in the 22^nd minute.

Watson chested the ball before smacking a volley down the line to release Philpot down the right before drilling his right-footed angled drive towards the bottom near corner, which was smothered behind for a corner by Down, low to his left.

Hudson added: “That was a really good stop from the keeper because Jamie hit it early and he didn’t have a chance to set.  He hit it cleanly as well.”

Down thwarted a dominant Glebe again when left-winger Solomon Baugh’s diagonal pass set up Watson, who drilled a right-footed shot towards the top right-hand corner, which was excellently tipped around the post by the keeper, diving to his left.

However, Glebe scored from the resulting corner with 26 minutes and 13 seconds on the clock, in a game where the Kent side also dominated the corner count by eight to none.

Wilson swung in the second corner of the game from the right and King-Elliott and Jamie McGeoghegan both had bites of the cherry before Douglas slid in to smash the ball into the back of the net from three-yards out.

“We’ve worked really hard with the set-plays and we’re starting to nick goals from them. It’s really great to start nicking some goals from set-plays and I’m glad we’ve got one from it,” said Hudson.

“I thought Aaron Watson was our bright spark today. It was a great save, I thought it was in.”

However, Glebe stepped off the gas after taking the lead and their intensity slowed down, much to Hudson’s disappointment.

He said: “What we want to do is get one and then push and while the other team is vulnerable and they’re trying to re-group we should be trying to get the second.  We didn’t do that today and we took our foot off the gas, which is the opposite of what we’re looking to do when we go 1-0 up.  That was disappointing, really disappointing and I’m not quite sure why.”

Wilson pinged a diagonal from the middle of the pitch over to Duru before Watson slipped Philpot in down the by-line but Down narrowed the angle and smothered the striker’s shot.

Coggeshall United offered very little in attack during the first half with too many overhit long balls which isolated lone striker Cansdale with Mwetsi Matangi, who played behind him, offering nothing.

Hudson, whose sides play out from the back and play an attractive passing game, said: “We said (at half-time), the way to get success was to get around them. They’re quite a low block, very narrow.  It’s not easy to play through a team on a bobbly, dry pitch so the plan was to go around them and use our wide players to get round the side and to get balls into the box.  We felt that was the best strategy to do that. We looked at tweaking our roles of our full-backs to allow us to do that and that was our tactical tweak and then it was understanding if we don’t concede, we win the cup tie.”

Hudson made a tactical change at the break as Duru made way and King-Elliott slotted in at right-back and Tom Jackson came off the bench to sit in front of an untroubled back four.

Glebe created a couple of early second-half chances when King-Elliott clipped the ball forward with a first-time pass and Wilson’s first-time hooked shot from the corner of the penalty area was comfortably saved in Down’s midriff.

Left-winger Baugh, who was much quieter than Watson today, cut inside and played the ball into Philpot, who had dropped deep and his through ball split open Coggeshall’s left-back Nnanna Okoli but Watson’s drilled shot flashed across the keeper and harmlessly past the far post from the right-hand side of the penalty area some 15-yards from goal.

Coggeshall United stunned Glebe, however, when they grabbed an equaliser with six minutes and 37 seconds on the clock.

Glebe’s left-back Matthew Parsons made numerous runs down the line and into the final third during the first half and on this occasion he was clearly fouled around 35-yards out.

Referee Alex Shipp declined to award a free-kick and Coggeshall United’s central midfielder Hayes Thomas split open Glebe’s two centre-halves (Douglas and McGeoghegan) to put Cansdale through on goal and the striker skipped past goalkeeper George Kamurasi, who tried to smother the ball at his feet, and slotted into the empty goal.

Hudson said: “It’s the most obvious foul there was in the whole game. The fact that everyone stops, including most of their players, is testament to that but you have to ask the referee what on earth he saw to not give a foul.

“One pass, we’ve got a centre-forward a free run at our goalie. The 10 (Cansdale) done well, he’s taken it well but we’re disappointed that even in that situation we’re attacking. One pass, direct play to give them an opportunity to score and credit to the number 10 who took it well.”

Coggeshall United should have grabbed the lead in the 17^th minute of the half during their best 10 minute spell of the game, hitting Glebe on the counter-attack and it would have been totally against the run of play at the time.

Matangi rolled the ball into Cansdale with a 10-yard pass inside the centre-circle and the scorer’s first-time pass released winger Maloney down the right. He played Thomas on the overlap and his low cross towards the far post was swept towards the bottom near corner by Cansdale, only for McGeoghegan to make a vital block.

“It was the turning point in the game. I thought it was going to be a goal,” admitted Hudson.

“Really disappointed that we didn’t stop that from progressing as a counter-attack earlier on. We had opportunities to. They slipped down the side and the cross has come in and it’s a goal-saving block, it’s potentially a tie-winning block because for me that was the turning point in the game.”

However, Coggeshall United’s brief momentum was curtailed when a blunder from their keeper gifted Glebe a fortuitous lead with 18 minutes and 9 seconds on the clock.

Okoli – the home side’s weak link defensively – fouled Watson down the right and Wilson floated the resulting free-kick towards the far post.  There was no one challenging the keeper who rose both of his hands above his head and dropped the ball and Penny gleefully hooked the ball inside the bottom near corner from three-yards out.

Hudson admitted the goal was “a total gift!  I don’t know what else to say. I think the keeper has made some really good saves so it’s unfortunate for him to make that mistake.

“We weren’t in good rhythm (at the time of the goal) and if you don’t get that and the game goes on and on and you start to force it, it’s the ridiculous nature of the Vase not going straight into extra-time (but straight to penalties). It’s crazy!

“It’s a goal. It’s a gift of a goal at a time when we weren’t doing particularly well and I think that opened the game up again. Fair play to Charlie, he’s in the right place and he’s finished it.”

Glebe sealed their progress with a moment of pure class from Wilson, with 23 minutes and 37 seconds on the clock.

King-Elliot’s attempt to break out was stopped by a tackle and Wilson took a deft touch and spotted that goalkeeper Down was on the edge of his penalty area and swept a beautiful right-footed shot arrowing over the keeper and into the top right-hand corner from a couple of yards inside the Coggeshall half close to the right touchline.

Hudson said: “A hell of a goal! I mean the goalie was off his line and the boys are talking about that but Brad’s such a clean striker of the ball. As soon as it left his foot, it was flat and arrowed and I just saw the goalie scrambling. 

“Listen, there’s not many players who have the quality who can do that. The flatness of it took the goalie totally out of the game. There was no chance of him back-peddling to get back in goal and that’s probably a goal out of nothing. But what it did do is that did allow us to settle down and start to relax a bit more and find our rhythm.”

Watson drilled many crosses from the right during the game, as his excellent wing-play gave Okoli a nightmare all game and Penny got in behind Coggeshall right-back Oliver Bell to send his diving header past the far post from six-yards.

King-Elliot’s diagonal split open Okoli again and Watson’s cross from the right should have been buried by Philpot on the edge of the six-yard box but he swept his shot straight at Down, who made a comfortable catch with 14 minutes left.

King-Elliott hit Coggeshall on the counter-attack and released Watson who cut inside and put in another cross from the right and Philpot nipped in front of Bell to slam his shot past the far post from six-yards.

Another drilled cross from Watson was stabbed past the near post by Philpot from six-yards out and shortly afterwards the striker was yellow-carded for kicking the ball away in frustration by not adding to his 10-goal tally in Essex.

“He’s a proper goalscorer and when he doesn’t score the chances he should score, he’s a very frustrated man,” said Hudson.

“I actually thought at times he led the line really well and there were some very questionable offsides and he deserved a goal from his performance but he won’t like me saying this, I’d rather he missed them today and got them right on Tuesday.  Listen, he’ll be his own biggest critic. There’s some chances there that he’s been scoring in his sleep recently.”

Glebe are expecting more of a sterner test when Tunbridge Wells visit Foxbury Avenue on Tuesday night.

Richard Styles tenth-placed side needed penalties to beat Roffey in the FA Vase at Culverden Stadium yesterday, with Hudson watching the 1-1 draw.

Glebe then host Hollands & Blair on Saturday 18 September, before Hudson takes his side to Aveley a week later to play May & Baker in the next round of The FA Vase.

May & Baker play in the same division as Coggeshall United and are currently in fifth-place in the table with 17 points from 10 games and are one of three clubs that play at Parkside, the others being Isthmian League North Division clubs Aveley (landlords) and (tenants) Grays Athletic.

“All I know so far is they’re higher in the league than these guys are.  Is it at Aveley, is that where they play? Oh fantastic! I didn’t know that. It’s a great pitch, great facilities. It’s not a slow surface so the fact that they play at Aveley that’s a big positive but they will be more of a sterner test than what we faced today and we’ll need to do a lot better for that tie, there’s no doubt.

“Credit to Coggeshall, it could’ve been a different game. I felt at times, especially in the first 30 minutes we showed our difference in level but other times they stuck in it so credit to them, so we’ll need to be a lot better for that tie.

“We’re back to the league on Tuesday. Tunbridge Wells are one of the biggest clubs in our division and are on a good bit of form. We managed to watch on Saturday against Roffey and they’ll definitely be a real threat offensively.  It’s going to be one of those games you look forward to in the league. We’ll go into it confident and hope we can get three points.”

When asked if he had an option to win the FA Vase at Wembley Stadium or win the league title and promotion into the Isthmian League for the very first time at the end of the season, the former Croydon and Whyteleafe manager replied: “Very difficult question but it would be the league. Not many times you get to being and around Wembley as a manager or a player so that would be incredible.  You want to go as far as you can.

“We want to be as successful as we can in all competitions, that’s our objective and the league will be our bread and butter. We want to have a strong run as we can in the Vase.

“Listen, results have been good. Performances at times haven’t been and that’s the one thing we want to get better.  We’ve been a little bit inconsistent at times and today was an example of that.  Last Saturday (4-0 home win over Tower Hamlets) we were very strong, very comprehensive in our performance but we want to settle down the performances and make sure they’re right because over the course of the season that will result in the right results.”

Coggeshall United: Lewis Down, Oliver Bell, Nnanna Okoli, Timi Oshineye (Lewis Soraf 65), Vanadiny Mendez, Hamilton Bunga, Romario Maloney, Hayes Thomas, Asa Cansdale, Mwetsi Matangi (Luis Berkane 75), Abednego Mensah (Callum Carter 65).
Subs: Hasan Ayten, Cliff Akurang, Ryan Hirst

Goal: Asa Cansdale 52

Booked: Abednego Mensah 41, Vanadiny Mendez 68, Lewis Soraf 74

Glebe: George Kamurasi, Lesley Duru (Tom Jackson 46), Matthew Parsons, Ainsley Everett (Charlie Penny 60), Jamie McGeoghegan, Antone Douglas, Solomon Baugh, Bradley Wilson, Jamie Philpot, Ryan King-Elliott, Aaron Watson (Harrison English 89).
Subs: Cameron Beckles, Phillip Makinde, Ralfi Hand, Reginald Rose

Goals: Antone Douglas 27, Charlie Penny 64, Bradley Wilson 69

Booked: Jamie Philpot 85

Attendance: 49
Referee: Mr Alex Shipp
Assistants: Mr Richard Baker & Mr Oliver Langer