Faversham Town 0-3 Beckenham Town - I was embarrassed by that performance - you've got to be actually running through brick walls and I didn't think we done that tonight, says Faversham Town boss Sammy Moore

Faversham Town 0 – 3 Beckenham Town
Location	Salters Lane, Faversham, Kent ME13 8ND
Kickoff	24/01/2023 19:45

FAVERSHAM TOWN  0-3  BECKENHAM TOWN
Isthmian League South East Division
Tuesday 24 January 2023
Stephen McCartney reports from Salters Lane

FAVERSHAM TOWN manager Sammy Moore says he questioned his players’ desire levels after they put in a lacklustre performance that has the big-spending club on course of suffering relegation as the worst team in the division.

Former Folkestone Invicta goalkeeper Bailey Vose, 24, became the 66^th player to play for beleaguered Faversham Town this season, a side rooted to the foot of the Isthmian League South East Division table, having picked up only nine points (two wins and three draws) from their 22 league games.

The Lilywhites extended their winless run to 11 games, their last win coming on 5 November and they are now 13 points adrift of safety.  This was Moore’s sixth game in charge of the club since his move from Isthmian League Premier Division side Potters Bar Town and he is still waiting for his first win.

Beckenham Town, meanwhile, are enjoying an excellent debut campaign in the eighth-tier and climbed into third-place in the table with 41 points (13 wins and two draws) from their 21 games.

Boss Jason Huntley switched formation to 5-3-2 and went more direct on a pitch that will be turned into an artificial surface in the summer and Beckenham Town produced a three-goal first half blitz to settle this Kent derby at Salters Lane.

Midfielder Freddie Cray volleyed in his first goal for the club inside the opening 11 minutes, before centre-half Danny Waldren headed in his fifth goal of the season, before central striker Steven Townsend tapped in his seventh goal of the season just before the interval.

“(Our performance was) not good enough, we lost the game first half and when you’re down the bottom you’ve got to fight tooth and nail to get three points,” said Moore.

“I didn’t think we had enough energy, we lost all the duals across the field in terms of first and second balls, we weren’t nowhere near it.

“The first goal was an individual mistake from (Emmanuel) Dasho, he’s got to be better.

“Listen, (we were) nowhere near good enough first half, not what we pride ourselves on as a team. I don’t think we’ve done the given’s tonight, especially first half. 

“Second half, we huffed and puffed and had a go but the game’s gone.”

When asked what was missing from his side, especially first half, Moore replied: “Energy, a little bit of game know-how.  We didn’t win any first or second balls, to go and penetrate their defence. It was too safe.  We didn’t do the right stuff in the right moments.

“We tried to play out from the back on a bobbly pitch and sometimes you’ve got to turn it and spin it in behind and have a bit of energy, especially first 15 minutes.  You’ve got to give yourselves a chance to get into the game and we didn’t do that.”

Beckenham Town assistant manager Phil Wilson said: “It was a professional performance.  I think we started the game very well, got ourselves in a good position.

“We expected them to make changes in the second half and we knew we had to whether it.  I think we’d like to get out a little bit more. We had chances second half as well. Their keeper’s made a really good save from Danny Waldren’s point-blank header.

“The boys gave us commitment, real good commitment. We stayed solid as a team, particularly in the first half and we kept our shape really well and were very disciplined in everything we did tonight.

“After looking at the pitch, we thought it would be better with a back three tonight and being a bit more solid and a bit more direct. It’s not the way we like to play but tonight it’s what was needed and it paid off.”

Beckenham Town controlled the entire first-half, creating their first opening after only 157 seconds.

Midfielder George Goodwin drilled a free-kick from 30-yards into the Faversham wall and Jamarie Brissett sliced a first-time shot harmlessly past the right upright.

Brissett cut the ball back from the left-wing to left-wing-back Archie Johnson, who whipped in a cross towards the back post.  The ball was knocked down by right-wing-back Harvey Brand but Townsend’s first-time shot flashed past the same upright.

“Even though we went a little bit more direct, in and around their box, in the first half especially, we actually played some really good football and that was a great chance created there,” said Wilson.

“Archie Johnson was absolutely fantastic today down that side. Although we sacrificed wingers such as Stefan Cox tonight, I think Archie Johnson and Harvey Brand still gave us that attacking presence out wide from wing-back.”

However, Beckenham Town deserved their lead when it came with 10 minutes and 14 seconds on the clock.

Faversham Town’s right-back Emmanuel Dasho was guilty of some woeful defending by giving the ball away to the outstanding Johnson, who whipped in a cross from the by-line towards the far post and an unmarked Cray smacked his right-footed volley into the top right-hand corner from 10-yards.

“You get good quality from Archie and his deliveries this season has been absolutely pinpoint and Fred took his goal well,” said Wilson.

“Freddie was outstanding all game in midfield so really pleased for him to get a goal.  He’s been really patient waiting for his opportunity and he grabbed it with both hands today.”

Wilson revealed the reason why 18-goal striker Louie Theophanous was on the bench.

“He’s had a lot of time out with the birth of his son. We’ve got a good squad so we don’t have to force players into playing when they’re not fully ready but he’s very much in and around it, involved still.”

Moore added: “Nowhere near good enough! No matter what level you play at, if you make that mistake then you’re going to get punished.

“Listen, he’s a good lad. I like Dash, he’s got a good attitude but he hasn’t been good enough on the ball, so he’s got caught on the ball and he doesn’t stop the cross and we don’t deal with it.  I don’t think we’re set-up right because of the mistake, we were outnumbered in the box, so it’s not good enough.”

Beckenham Town doubled their lead with 21:07 on the clock, following their second of eight corners.

The outstanding Johnson whipped in another quality delivery with his left-peg down the right and Waldren found a pocket of space to loop his header over a flat-footed Vose into the centre of the goal.

Wilson said: “We created good chances through set-pieces. I think crosses generally in the box were a handful for them. I don’t think they picked up particularly well from set-pieces. We had another couple of chances to score from them and Waldo is always going to be a threat in the box from those set-pieces.”

Moore added: “Like I said in there, you’ll get relegated on set-pieces if you don’t do it well enough and you’ll get promoted if you do it well enough.

“It’s a free-header. Someone’s got to take responsibility.  Bode (Anidugbe) put his hand up and said ‘it was his man’.  You’ve got to take pride in keeping your house tidy and we didn’t do that well enough tonight.”

Vose got down low to his right to smother Townsend’s shot on the turn from outside the box before the Faversham Town goalkeeper was called into action again just before the half-hour mark.

The lively Townsend moved the ball past Dasho on the inside before whipping in a cross towards the far post where Goodwin’s left-footed hooked-volley was kept out by Vose at his near post.

“Again, it was good movement around the box really. Our crosses were picking people out today and people were making movement into good areas so those pull-back crosses were good,” added Wilson.

Johnson drew a foul from Toby Ajala down the left and Johnson whipped in another set-piece, which was flicked on by Robert Carter at the near post and Brand’s far-post header was comfortably caught by the busy goalkeeper.

Dominant Beckenham Town sealed the deal by scoring their third goal of the game, courtesy of a well-worked move, with 43:38 on the clock.

Johnson switched the play from left-to-right to Brand, who easily strode past Faversham left-back Frazer Shaw, before feeding Alfie Bloomfield down the right and he put in a low cross towards the far post where an unmarked Townsend stabbed the ball over the line from inside the six-yard box.

“That was probably the best move of the game,” hailed Wilson.

“Even though the pitch was difficult, Archie’s vision to see Harvey on the far side and play that cross-field pass and we pulled them all across to Archie’s side so it gave a bit of space on that side and Alfie does have some really neat touches in and around the box. It was a great move, the best one of the game.”

Targetman Bloomfield linked up well with his team-mates before he was forced off with a tight calf with eight minutes remaining.

“Although Alfie didn’t get on the scoresheet he’s always a difficult player to play against. He keeps people occupied,” added Wilson.

Moore said: “Listen, they’re all three poor goals aren’t they?  They haven’t had to work hard to score their three goals.  We didn’t do the basics right tonight, especially first half.  We didn’t do the given’s, which I demand.

“We didn’t have enough desire to go and get three points. I think they wanted it more than us and that hurts me.”

Faversham Town failed to lay a glove on Beckenham Town during the first-half, despite having an attack of Zak Ansah, Jerson Dos Santos, Kieron Campbell and Alex Addai, all of whom would have received zero marks out of 10 for their performances.

The Salters Lane faithful deserve better than the dross that they witnessed here tonight and if you’re going to suffer relegation at the end of the season and end the club’s 13-year stay at this level, at least show some heart, desire and pride for the badge and play for your supporters!

Moore acted at the break and hooked Dasho, Ajala and Dos Santos and went three at the back (Shaw, Darren Phillips and Jacques Kpohomouh) and diminutive right-winger Michael Ademiluyi came off the bench and showed promise and was a threat.

“I questioned some of them at half-time because I felt they didn’t give me enough,” said Moore, whose side failed to create a single chance during the first half.

“We didn’t have a platform to build from.  You look at their centre-forward ( Bloomfield), he held it up and brought others into play. We didn’t have that tonight.  We lacked a goal threat.

“We weren’t at the races full stop and it’s disappointing really because we trained Saturday and we had a good session. We had a good performance at Haywards Heath (2-2 draw last Tuesday) and we wanted to take that into tonight. We didn’t work hard enough and we didn’t do the basics well enough first half, listen, it’s disappointing.

“Listen, I wasn’t happy. I was embarrassed by that performance if I’m honest first half and we haven’t had that since we’ve come.  We needed to make changes and change the shape. We tried to get two up top (Addai and Ansah) and I thought we were better second half. We created a few more chances but they didn’t have to work hard to get the three points tonight and that’s the disappointing thing.”

Wilson added: “Well done first and foremost and not to stop doing what we were doing. 

“I think we imposed ourselves on them throughout the game and it’s not a pitch to play.  They weren’t really troubling us in behind and it was just making sure we weren’t pulled out of our shape too much.

“I think perhaps we were a little bit cautious in the second half. We kind of stayed in our shape a little bit more and not letting George Goodwin get dragged out with players so we gave up possession a little bit to be solid and they listened really well.

“You expect them to come out and have a go. We expected the first 10-15 minutes to be difficult.  We thought if we could weather that time then we’d probably get the game sown up and I think after that 10-15 minutes that’s when we did get some more chances. Just a shame really we didn’t capitalise on those chances that we had in the second half.”

Faversham Town took 58 minutes to register their first chance when Addai  stroked a right-footed free-kick curling just past the near post from 30-yards.

Vose was called into action to prevent Beckenham Town notching their fourth goal of the night towards the half-way point of the second half.

Johnson’s hanging corner was floated in from the right and Kpohomouh switched off at the back post and allowed Waldren to nip in front of him to plant a free-header towards goal, which was beaten away by the goalkeeper at his near post.

“I don’t know how much time Dan knew he had. He probably could’ve brought it down and shot but it’s a corner routine we work that one and worked to a tee other than scoring,” added Wilson.

Vose made an even better save inside the final 16 minutes, following Beckenham’s sixth corner.

This time, Goodwin raised both of his arms before putting in the left-wing corner with his right-foot, the ball came out to Townsend, who drilled the ball low and back into a crowd of players and Waldren’s first-time hooked shot was heading towards the far corner, only for Vose to dive to his right to flick the ball behind.

Wilson would have been proud of making a save like that during his career at Dulwich Hamlet.

“A great save, absolute brilliant save. Not much Dan could’ve done with that shot than what he did.  I think you’ve got to say it was a fantastic save.”

When asked about his goalkeeper’s debut, Moore replied: “He done well. I don’t think any of the goals were his fault. His kicking was good, he made some good saves. We’ve got to give him a chance and we haven’t given him a chance. 

“We looked at the goals at half-time and they are individual mistakes and if you’re going to keep doing that, it will cost us.”

Phillips, who helped Heybridge Swifts end Beckenham Town’s FA Trophy interest earlier on in the season, went close to pulling a goal back for the home side, following the home side’s fourth of six corners.

Substitute midfielder Kieron McCann floated the ball in from the right and the well-built centre-half’s bullet header sailed across the keeper and just past the top of the far post.

Faversham Town’s only shot on target finally arrived with 48:51 on the clock – when McCann played the ball inside to Campbell, who drilled a low right-footed shot towards goal from 30-yards, which was comfortably held by debutant goalkeeper Damian Niemczycki, low to his left.

“Listen, we weren’t good enough tonight,” admitted Moore.

“We didn’t have enough up front tonight. We didn’t have enough cutting edge. I don’t think the quality into him was good enough.”

When asked about the goalkeeping situation at Beckenham Town, Wilson replied: “Nick Blue had to have a little operation so he’s going to be missing for three or four weeks.  Damian’s going to come in for that time.

“He didn’t have a lot to do tonight but everything he did do he looked very solid and that save at the end, when he keeps hold of the ball through a crowd of players is very reassuring for everyone.  He’s a big presence.  He’ll be a good replacement for a month (from National League South side Braintree Town).

“We would’ve liked to get out of our half more in the second half but at the same time we had a lead to hold. A clean sheet was important as well coming off the back of (losing 3-0 at Chatham Town) on Saturday.”

Meanwhile, Steve Lovell’s Ramsgate remain at the summit with 46 points from 22 games, and the four play-off places are currently occupied by Chatham Town (45 points from 21 games), Beckenham Town (41 points from 21), Cray Valley (39 points from 20 games) and new entry, Sheppey United (36 points from 22).

Faversham Town are on course of playing Southern Counties East Football League Premier Division football next season, especially if you consider their current form, tonight’s woeful performance and being seven points adrift of Corinthian, who have a game in hand.

Also, the SCEFL Premier Division is also a very tough league to get out of at the first attempt.

Sittingbourne came away from VCD Athletic with a 2-0 win tonight and remain third-from-bottom but are now on 21 points from 21 games, a point behind Three Bridges.

Faversham Town are next in action next Tuesday 31 January, travelling to Littlehampton Town, while Beckenham Town host Sittingbourne at Eden Park Avenue on Saturday (14:00).

“Fair play to Sheppey, they’ve been on a really good run to get themselves in the pack but I think that’s what happens in this league, you can probably go down to the middle of the league and anyone who get a run has a chance of getting into the play-offs,” said Wilson.

“We just want to make sure we’re in and around that pack for as long as possible. We are at a point now getting to the end of January and catching up with our games where you look at it and think actually now we are in a position where the play-offs are realistic for us and we’ll be disappointed if we’re not there or there abouts at the end of the season now.

“I’m not getting excited, there’s still a lot to play for.

“I think Sittingbourne will be a tough game.  Since the new manager (Ryan Maxwell) has come in, I don’t think they’ve lost.  They definitely underperformed under Nick Davis so I’m not surprised they’re picking up results now so that will be another tricky game that we’ll take very cautiously and seriously.

“We’ve got two tough (home) games in Sittingbourne and Chatham so everyone will have their part to play in it and that’s the great thing about this group.  They are together and everyone understands that at times people have to sacrifice and they do willingly,” added Wilson, when asked about making four changes tonight.

Moore, meanwhile, admits he is feeling the pressure of a relegation dog-fight, even though his men showed no fight during this comfortable night for Huntley’s troops, who were well lead superbly by Waldren at the heart of their three-man central defence.

“If you’re going to get out of this mess, then you’ve got to do the given’s and we didn’t do that,” admitted Moore.

“It’s getting tougher, the game’s are running out. We’ve got to try to win games, it's not easy.  We’ve got to stop giving teams goals, that’s the first and foremost and if we do that then we’ll give ourselves a chance.

“The lack of energy and the lack of desire tonight to go and get three points has cost us and a first half performance that was lacklustre.

“Listen, it’s going to be tough. We knew that. We knew the situation when we first come in. We said that the damage might have already been done.

“We’ve had to change the whole nucleus of a team and it ain’t easy to change that when you’re coming up to February.  You need them to gel, you need to do all that in pre-season. We’re trying to get players’ fit. The players we’re going in for are either not fit enough or not sharp enough.”

When asked whether he thought this job wasn’t going to be as tough as it is currently, Moore replied: “100% we didn’t realise the mess the club was in when we took over. There was no structure here, training once a week. I could go on endless lists and we’ve had to change the mentality of the place and try to do various stuff that’s going to give us a chance.

“We’ve attracted good players to this club.  Listen, it ain’t for a lack of trying.  We’ve thrown in some good signings but unfortunately when you’re down the bottom there’s that pressure on every game to try to win a game of football. 

“Listen, football is a game of opinions but for me tonight you’ve got to give yourselves a chance by actually running through brick walls and I don’t think we done that tonight – and I was hurt by that.

“It’s hard to put a finger on why that happened tonight because we’ve had such a good performance away from home (at Burgess Hill) and then tonight, we just didn’t turn up.

“Listen, all we can do is keep working hard and hopefully it turns. We know the situation when we came in. We know the situation if it ain’t good enough and we fall short. Listen, we’ve got to try to remain positive. It’s my job and the staff’s job to pick the players up because everyone is down at the minute.

“We’re winners and we’re not used to this situation so we’ve just got to keep going and keep working hard and fingers crossed, it turns quick.”

Faversham Town: Bailey Vose, Emmanuel Dasho (Michael Ademiluyi 46), Frazer Shaw, Bode Anidugbe, Darren Phillips, Jacques Kpohomouh, Kieron Campbell, Toby Ajala (Kieron McCann 46), Zak Ansah, Jerson Dos Santos (Matthew Parsons 46), Alex Addai.
Subs: Ollie Gray, George Bentley

Booked: Toby Ajala 24

Beckenham Town: Damian Niemczycki, Harvey Brand, Archie Johnson, Danny Waldren, Mudiaga Wanogho, Robert Carter, Jamarie Brissett, Freddie Cray, Steven Townsend, Alfie Bloomfield (Freddie Nyhus 82), George Goodwin.
Subs: Nick Curran, Stefan Cox, Henry Griffin, Louie Theophanous

Goals:  Freddie Cray 11, Danny Waldren 22, Steven Townsend 44

Booked: Stefan Cox 37, Steven Townsend 79

Attendance: 161
Referee: Mr Simon Finnigan
Assistants: Mr Ben Marshall & Mr Nick Monkman