Kentish Football 
Cordice wants to get back to winning ways
Faversham Town boss Terry Cordice asked his players to scrum on down
to Salters Lane last Saturday - for a game of rugby, writes James Brown - courtesy of www.favershamtownfc.co.uk
The Lilywhites thought it was maul over after their game at Erith & Belvedere was called off leaving them without a Premier Division fixture for the third week in a row.
But Cordice spared them from tackling another weekend of Christmas shopping in favour of tackling each other in an impromptu oval ball clash during training.
Faversham - who are down to ninth in the table - are in the middle of their first sticky patch as a Kent League side after four successive defeats and just one win from their last six league games.
And with matches against Deal Town , Greenwich Borough and now Erith & Belvedere all falling victim to the wet weather, Cordice and his assistant Peter Holder decided to lighten the mood with a spot of egg chasing.
He explained: "It's been frustrating not playing football because we've been looking to put some points on the board so we got the lads in on Saturday morning.
"Pete worked them hard and then we had a little bit of fun playing rugby before a penalty shoot-out and a crossbar challenge. I must admit as rugby players they make pretty decent footballers - I certainly don't expect Faversham Rugby Club to be coming in for any of them that's for sure!
"The session underlined to me what a good team spirit we have in the camp. I have given them a few Saturdays off so we needed to go in and do a bit and we'll have another good session in the week and be ready for Beckenham."
Former Faversham Town striker Ross Cable left Beckenham earlier this month to
join brother Rikki at Thamesmead and he is not the only player to have parted company with the Eden Park Avenue outfit since the first game between the two sides in early September.
But Cordice knows it will not be easy against a team boasting the Premier Division's leading scorer Ashley Carew whose 18-goal haul is almost twice the size of his second-placed rival for the Golden Boot.
Cordice said: "They have changed quite a bit, losing three or four players since our 2-1 win up there including Ross Cable. But they are not a bad side - they play some good football.
"Of course, they still have Ashley Carew who is the top scorer in the league and I'm sure their manager Jason Huntley will have them riled up looking for revenge.
"However, we have to be positive and I see this game as a good opportunity to pull off our first double of the season."
Cordice is disappointed to have been kicking his heels during the break, but has put the spare time to good use with spying missions on Lordswood and Herne Bay .
Faversham Town travel to seventh-placed Lordswood on Boxing Day before welcoming local rivals Herne Bay to Salters Lane on Saturday, 30 December and Cordice is determined to finish 2006 with a flourish.
He said: "The lads are itching to play and the fact is that just a couple of wins will have us shooting back up the table.
"We have three games coming up against and it's always tricky when you start setting targets but I see no reason why we can't take points off all of them.
"Six points is realistic but nine would be a great way to round off the year especially after the run we've had. Pete and I went to see Lordswood play Erith Town on Saturday and the week before I had a look at Herne Bay .
"I definitely think we can cause them some trouble so there is a real chance for us to finish 2006 on a high note."
Faversham skipper James Holder returns to the side after suspension on Saturday but will have to plan without sweeper Gary Stock who is banned for one match under the totting-up system.
Visit club websites:
Faversham Town v Beckenham Town
Kent League
Saturday 16th December 2006
Kick Off 3:00pm
At Salters Lane, Faversham
Red Dragon I.T. Ltd