Erith Town have to win to stay in the title race, says Corinthian boss Matt Longhurst

CORINTHIAN manager Matt Longhurst says he is targeting a top six finish at the end of the season.

Corinthian booked their place in to the Macron Kent League Cup Semi-Finals after coming away from a wet and windy Holmesdale with a 5-0 win on Tuesday, winning the tie comfortably 6-0 on aggregate.

Strikers Sam May and Alfie May put the tie out of Holmesdale’s reach with first half goals before Chris Kinnear – the son of Dover Athletic boss with the same name – scored a majestic 40-yarder early in the second half, before Lee Woodyard fired home and striker Nad Nwitua slotted home a late fifth on the break.

Corinthian will join Deal Town, Erith & Belvedere, Lordswood or Tunbridge Wells in the semi-final draw.

Corinthian slipped down a place to seventh in the Kent Hurlimann Football League table after Tunbridge Wells sealed a comfortable 2-0 win over Fisher at Champion Hill on Monday night.

Longhurst welcomes Erith Town to Gay Dawn Farm on Saturday. The Dockers have recently lost top spot to Erith & Belvedere and James Collins’ men are three points behind Micky Collins’ title favourites.

Corinthian have won their last six games and Longhurst says confidence is high going into the game.

”We go in with decent form. They’ve hit a rocky patch. I know James really well, I speak to him quite regularly and to be fair he’s had a bit of a tough time there but they’re due to turn it around at any point.

”I know what they’re doing, I know the players they’ve got there. We know how they’ll set-up. 

”The lads’ will have tonight off because they’ve played two games in three or four days, so it will be a difficult game.  I think every game in the Kent League will be difficult.  There’s not an easy game, especially first 20 minutes when it’s like 100 miles per hour.

”There’s no pressure on us. They have to win because they have to stay in the title race.  The pressure is not on us so we can go week in week out and just try to play.”

When asked what Corinthian’s aspirations in the league are, Longhurst replied, “We finished the season really well last year. I think we lost once in the last eleven games.

”We brought in one or two players that didn’t quite really work out for us.  Rob Denness let me down really. He wasn’t committed enough with this group of young guys that we’ve got here.

”Listen, if we can finish in the top five or six teams – we don’t play any money and all those other clubs do pay money – and we can finish with the top goalscorer (Alfie May), finish in the top five and get to the Cup Final again that would be an unbelievable achievement for the club.”

Alfie May has scored 23 goals this season and central defender Daniel Bent, 17, has earned a two-year scholarship deal with League Two side Dagenham & Redbridge following a successful trial.

Bent put in an assured performance at the back at Holmesdale and Longhurst says he can fulfil his potential at Victoria Road.

”I just hope he remembers just where he started,” said Longhurst.

When asked whether Bent can make it like central defender Chris Smalling, who was playing for Maidstone United before being snapped up by Premier League clubs Fulham then Manchester United, Longhurst replied, “It’s difficult to say at this time. I didn’t see Chris Smalling from a young age so I can’t really comment.  In terms of similar sort of mold, similar sort of frame, Dan’s possibly at this time in his career maybe a little bit better on the ball, but Chris Smalling has gone from strength-to-strength so whether you can compare him with somebody like that at the moment I don’t know.

”He’s certainly got bags and bags of potential but it’s a dangerous word potential, whether he fulfils it, it’s down to him.”

Longhurst says he enjoys training with his close-nit squad.

He said: ”I come to training every week and I can work these group of players with a smile on my face because they enjoy being there. They work hard, they work together. 

”We haven’t got the opportunity to sign players for money and I think that’s what bares fruit towards the end of the season like it did last year because the lads know eachother, they know eachother’s games and they’ve worked together over the course of the last six or seven months.”

Longhurst wants to develop younger players and release two or three of them to League clubs each year.

He added: “What we’re trying to get the message out in Kent football is we’ve got good, young players across Kent not playing in the Ryman League or Ryman Premier League or Conference South or Conference, they’ll be better off, in my opinion, playing football and getting the benefit of playing first team football, which is what our young players are getting.”

Visit Corinthian’s website: www.pitchero.com/clubs/corinthianfc

Corinthian  v  Erith Town
Kent Hurlimann Football League
Saturday 9^th February 2013
Kick Off 3:00pm
at Gay Dawn Farm, Valley Road, Fawkham, Near Longfield, Kent DA3 8LY