Glebe 4-0 FC Elmstead - There was a bit of pressure and I'm just pleased we dealt with it, says Glebe manager Simon Copley

Glebe 4 – 0 FC Elmstead
Location	Foxbury Avenue, off Perry Street, Chislehurst, Kent BR7 6SD
Kickoff	30/10/2015 19:45

GLEBE  4-0  FC ELMSTEAD
Pain & Glory Sports Kent Invicta League
Friday 30^th October 2015
Stephen McCartney reports from Foxbury Avenue

GLEBE manager Simon Copley says he’s feeling delighted that his side are 11 points clear at the top of the Pain & Glory Sports Kent Invicta League.

The second largest crowd ever to watch a Kent Invicta League game of 272 saw Glebe comfortably win The Battle of Chislehurst as Foxbury Avenue staged its first game under floodlights.

Gary Lockyer headed in his first goal for the club since his move from league rivals Lydd Town, before Ryan Golding gave Glebe a commanding lead.

Jamie Williams scored within a minute of coming off the bench during the second half, before Golding lashed in his 14^th goal of the season.

Copley said: “Delighted for a number of reasons. I said to them out there, it’s another test because despite the goals and the clean-sheets - which is brilliant for us, we’ve got quite a few of them at the moment - I was very conscience of the occasion and the side show and the fireworks and that’s not me really but I appreciate what Rocky (McMillan, the chairman) was doing because he wants to make this a warm evening for everyone and I appreciate that.

“I was trying to cut it out for the boys, so if you look how we played the game in front of our biggest crowd, under the lights for the first time in the new stadium and everyone knows who was here, The FA are here and it means more to other people than maybe the players, but there was a bit of pressure there and I’m just pleased we dealt with it.”

FC Elmstead’s third manager of the season, Jack White, 27, held his hands up and admitted he got his team’s shape wrong during the first half.

“I thought they was extremely well-drilled,” said White.

“I will hold my hands up and especially in the first half I set up in the wrong manner and once we made the change it enabled us to move up a little bit higher up the pitch and to actually get involved.

“Until that point we were far too deep but once we made the changes it enabled us to start picking up the balls, start winning the second balls and start playing.

“I think a 4-0 defeat seems harsh but when you’re 2-0 down at half-time you’ve got to go out and have a reaction and I think we done that.

“I think we kept the ball superbly in the second half and when you’re pressing and you’re looking to nick a goal, you can always get caught on the counter and I thought we didn’t clear our lines for the third and it was a little bit of a blow because I really thought we was on the front foot and if we could’ve nicked one and we certainly had chances in the second half, it could’ve been a different game.”

Fireworks blasting off from an adjacent pitch greeted both sets of players as they entered and left the field, but fourth-from-bottom FC Elmstead squandered an excellent chance to spoil the party after only 72 seconds.

Former Hythe Town winger Taser Hassan swung in a free-kick from the right but midfielder George Bryan steered his towering header over the crossbar.

“Goals change games. If we put that in the back of the net, if we then ask questions of them, it should’ve been a different game,” added White.

Glebe opened the scoring with six minutes and 9 seconds on the clock.

Right-back Jordan Clark was given licence by Elmstead’s defence to go on a bursting 20-yard run before whipping in a quality cross into the penalty area. 

Lockyer peeled off his marker to plant his header into the right-hand corner from six-yards, leaving keeper Dan Teeley rooted to the spot.



GOAL: Glebe striker Gary Lockyer (red shirt) heads home the opening goal in the Chislehurst derby against FC Elmstead under the floodlights at Foxbury Avenue.
Photo: Alan Coomes


“Brilliant goal, brilliant goal,” came Copley’s reply.

“With his addition he gives us not just Golding as the beast up front and holds the ball up and Jamie (Williams) playing off him.  We have a chance to play two of them together and they’re both handfuls. It’s hard for any back four to deal with and we just said deliveries to them two and in behind, those two get their heads into anything.

“It’s a great ball in, it’s a whipped ball. We’ve thrown a couple in before that and I said to Jordan if you float them in and their goalkeeper don’t go and claim it, if you whip some in and all off a sudden he doesn’t fancy it, he doesn’t come for balls that often.  It’s a great delivery in and a great header, a really good finish.”

White admitted: “Look, the ball was extremely good and the finish matched that. He’s put it on a plate for him. He’s jumped and he’s met that so if I’m being critical we’ve got to stop Jordan moving up that flank and that had to start from the front.

“We didn’t press the centre midfielder as he came out with the ball, he’s found Jordan in a deep area and he’s able to cross it in and we haven’t defended well enough but that’s led from the front.”

Glebe were in dominant fashion during the early stages as their local rivals lacked quality, despite having the likes of former Hythe Town pairing Hassan and George Savage in their team.

Glebe were to be denied a second goal in the 17^th minute when Thomas Fitzgerald played the ball out of defence into Ben Williams feet and he was given time and space to unleash a right-footed drive which struck the top of the right-hand post from 35-yards, leaving Teeley rooted to the spot.

Copley said: “We’ve worked in training in unlocking the diamond that we play and unlocking those two players, Colin Richmond and Ben Williams and we said if we can reverse the ball back into them, they’ve got a lot of space.

“Don’t get me wrong, we haven’t worked on Ben hitting 35-yard screamers but he is the most unsung player. His work-rate is just immense. He’s a player you need in your team. Ben is just a stalwart in midfield. If I can wish anyone to score, it’ll be him, he deserves it.”

Jack Hooper also played the ball out of defence, a fine diagonal out to Clark, who cut a low centre towards the near post and Golding’s flick shot deflected past the near post.

Glebe deserved their 2-0 lead when it arrived with 24 minutes and 12 seconds on the clock.

Skipper James Day fed the ball into James Alderman’s path, who spun away from his marker, Elmstead central defender Anthony Elms and was denied a goal from 25-yards, as Teeley dived low to his right.

Golding reacted first to slide the ball into the corner from eight-yards and FC Elmstead were facing a mountain to climb to find a way back into the one-sided game.

Copley said: “He doesn’t miss! He missed a couple afterwards but he don’t miss that often!

“Again, that was little diamond unlocked. Alderman, he took the chance to take a shot and it forced the keeper to make a very good save.  As you quite rightly say, Golding doesn’t miss from there!”

White added: “Not good enough! Teeley’s made a great save and we’ve not reacted to that and at half-time that was something that was mentioned.

“You can’t have the keeper pull off a worldy and then not have your defenders not react quick enough!

“I was disappointed. First goal quality cross, great header. Goals like that are hard to defend against – second goal, not good enough!”

FC Elmstead created an opening when Steve Strotten and Hassan linked up well outside the box down the left hand side but Bryan’s right-footed drive looped over the bar.

Glebe were to be denied a third goal after 33 minutes as FC Elmstead wasted a chance to get the ball into the Glebe penalty area following their corner on the left hand side.

Hassan choose to play the corner short to Christian Howells and Glebe got the ball away.

Glebe broke down the left through Lockyer who swept the ball across the face of the penalty area to Golding at the far post but his right-footed shot was blocked by the advancing Teeley.

Copley said: “One-on-one’s are hard. I don’t care what anyone says! People look at them and they say you’ve only got the goalkeeper to beat but it’s not only. He’s a goalkeeper and he trains for those things and for Ryan to try to dink it was the right thing to do.

“Their keeper Dan, who was here before, I know some comment on his size, which is a little bit cruel but his reflex saves, one-on-ones, he’s good at these things and his kicking’s good.

“If you can beat him with momentum, if you’re going at pace and at an angle, you’re going to beat him, but you’ve got to give some credit there as well.”

White added: “He was superb, Dan Teeley is superb. He is possibly the best goalkeeper I’ve seen play and that’s why he’s in the sticks because he gives you that little bit of reassurance.”

There was a gulf in class during the one-sided first half and Teeley made a comfortable save at his near post after Lockyer’s low drive from 20-yards flashed underneath Elmstead’s right-back Marcus Howell.

FC Elmstead created a decent opening with four minutes of the first half left.

Hassan found Howell on the overlap down the right-hand side and his outswinging cross was hit on the volley by Savage, the midfielder cracking his shot high over the bar and into the trees.

Glebe midfielder Colin Richmond swung in a free-kick from the right, which was cleared away by Elmstead substitute Micky Mulhane and Ben Williams drove his shot over the bar from 25-yards.

Both managers were asked their thoughts at half-time.

“At half-time we said what we said at Bearsted,” said Copley.

“We said their getting the ball out to full-backs, they’re playing it into their 9 (Hassan) so what we’ll do is we’ll split our two married couple, as we call them, split Golding and Lockyer up and go and sit on the full backs and when we have the ball double up down the middle of the pitch and draw their whole back four into our two.

“Gary took a little bit longer to do it. Golding did it really disciplined well but Gary has never done that role at Lydd and he certainly hasn’t done it for us and he had to do it a couple of times and you could tell he was blowing because it’s a job that he hasn’t done before.”

White was honest when he admitted: “Those changes were always in the plans to be made and I always knew we’d set up that way. We trained on Wednesday night to press them higher and to ask questions of them but with personnel dropping out due to injuries at the last minute, I had to revert back. It’s one of those things unfortunately.

“I got the shape wrong in the first 45 minutes and it’s cost us today’s game.”

White apologised to his players during the half-time team talk.

He said: “I told them basically I’m going to hold my hands up. I picked the wrong shape. I told them for the second goal, it wasn’t good enough. I told them if we defend like that then it’s going to be hard for us to stay in games.

“I told them in that final 15 minutes in that first half we started to get a little bit more joy.

“When the changes were made and we went 4-3-3 we started passing higher up the field. We had much more possession, if anything we was the more dominating team going into the half-time and I said to them look we will go out there on the front foot in the way that we finished the first half.”
 
FC Elmstead started the second half with better attacking purpose and they went close to pulling a goal back through Hassan’s dipping 35-yard drive, which only just cleared the crossbar after 88 seconds.

Copley said: “They had a very good spell. If you look at the stats and possession they had more possession than us but they never went anywhere and that was the rewarding thing.

“We contained them in the middle of the park. Balls in the box were dealt with comfortably, my keeper’s had one save to make.

“Give them credit, they had a spell but it wasn’t anything that would hurt us and we said on the side about riding a storm and we did that.”

White added: “I wouldn’t say we didn’t create many (chances) but the opportunities that we done we should’ve been a little bit clinical with the opportunities that we did have.

“But that’s credit to Glebe. They’re very well drilled, they kept the ball well and being honest first 30 minutes, they were superb.  The last 15 minutes of the first half we certainly had a much better spell in terms of possession.  I think we bossed it.  Our possession in terms of them was far superior. 

“We created but we didn’t quite have that end product today that I know going forward we will have.”

Alderman found Clark down the right and he whipped in another quality cross but Golding’s right-footed flick forced Teeley to dive low to his left to turn around his post.

A big kick straight down the middle of the pitch from Glebe keeper Alfie George was met by Golding’s rasping drive, which screamed past the post.

Lockyer curled his right-footed free-kick around the wall and just past the right-hand post from 32-yards with 62 minutes on the clock.

Alderman cut in from the left and his shot deflected past the post and Richmond swung in the resulting corner from the right and Jack Hooper swept his shot just past the post.

FC Elmstead left-back Harry West showed bundles of desire to deny Glebe a fourth goal in the 66^th minute.

Lockyer released Ben Williams down the right and his shot sailed past Teeley, heading towards the near corner, but West got back on his line to head the ball off the line.

FC Elmstead substitute Dan Carpenter played a ball inside to Thomas Pratt, whose initial shot was blocked and Carpenter’s right-footed angled drive was saved by George at his near post.

But Glebe raced into a 3-0 lead with 78 minutes on the clock, although Copley refuses to take all the credit.

He made a double substitution to bring on Jaie Nuttall and Jamie Williams and within seconds Nuttall found Jamie Williams who steered his shot into the bottom right-hand corner from six-yards.

Copley said: “Me and him (Ian Varley, my assistant) chatted like an old married couple, like the two old blokes out of The Muppets (about making a change).

“Our team is quite well balanced and when we make a substitution we didn’t want to change the system so the change originally was maybe Alderman coming off and we put Jamie (Williams) in there but Gary was blowing a little bit and I said to Jai when he came on and play up the shoulder.  It’s not a number 9 battle like we had in the first half. It was play off the shoulder, ball in behind and Jamie’s got that run all day long and we said to Nutts just replicate what Alderman was doing and Nuttall’s got that in his locker.

“He can cut inside, technically he’s excellent and the two of them have combined and scored a goal.

“He (Varley) turned to me and I said to him ‘everyone in that stand will think I’ve got the magic touch’ and we laughed it off! Sometimes it goes for you, sometimes if don’t, but it worked for us!”

White added: “It’s not so much creating the third goal.  We’re pressing and we’re pushing hard to go and nick one so we can then obviously go and get an equaliser and you get caught on the counter and unfortunately its bobbled off one of our players chests and it’s fallen cleanly for him.”

FC Elmstead went close to scoring a consolation – before Glebe went route one to score their fourth goal only nine seconds later.

Savage and Mulhane linked up down the right and played the ball short to Carpenter, whose angled drive was saved by George at his near post.

The Glebe keeper launched a big kick straight down the middle of the pitch which the Elmstead defence failed to head away as the ball dropped and Golding  lashed his right-footed drive into the top left hand corner – with 39 minute and 1 second on the clock.

Copley said: “That’s a great finish! He hit a looping one just over the bar before that, which we teed up nicely and Jamie Williams hit a similar one from an angle.
As an ex-striker, I used to do similar things.

“When Golding’s taken that touch and he’s it with the outside of his foot across the keeper in to the top left-hand corner, it’s a great finish and that’s the one where you can say Dan Teeley don’t deserve to save it! The other ones, the one-on-ones I say he does but from an angle that ball tees up, that’s a strike and you want those kind of finishes.”

White added: “If I’m being honest, the third one killed us, it deflated us.

“The fourth one, you’ve got to read the flight of the ball a little bit better. It’s gone straight through and he’s put it in the back of the net.

“Dan Carpenter had a shot, the keeper caught it near post and its gone straight downfield. We didn’t get the flight of the ball, it’s just gone over him and it’s nice and easy to tuck in really.”

Hassan, who was Elmstead’s best player on the night, whipped in a low cross and Pratt got in front of the goalkeeper but failed to score from six-yards as the game reached its conclusion.

Glebe are sitting pretty at the top of the table with 37 points from 14 games, while FC Elmstead are nine points clear of the bottom on 12 points from as many games in their debut season.

Copley said: “We’re doing alright, we’re doing alright.  Delighted with that.  They can wake up in the morning without having a game because everyone wakes up excited about their matches and we don’t have to worry about that.

“We can go 11 points clear, they can wake up and go and have a fry up if they want to and just look at the Saturday ahead and relax a little bit.

“A third of the way of the season, the amount of games (12) that we’ve won and the points (37) that we’ve got, it’s good, it’s exciting.

“We won 10 on the spin on the back of last season, another 12 wins from this season, that’s 22 from 24. Yes, I’m delighted.”

White added: “I think we’re good enough to be a mid-table team. We have got quality within the side. We’re lucky to, not inherit is probably the wrong word, to have recently have  layers like (Louis Sprosen, Taser Hassan, George Savage and Thomas Pratt) all come in.

“I’d like to see us finish midtable. Could we go higher than that? Yes, I believe so but I think it’s always best to set the bar and if you over-achieve, then fantastic!”

Glebe: Alfie George, Jordan Clark, Daniel Palfrey, James Day, Jack Hooper, Thomas Fitzgerald, Colin Richmond (Aaron Guard 81), Ben Williams, Ryan Golding, James Alderman (Jamie Williams 77), Gary Lockyer (Jaie Nuttall 77).
Subs: Connor Charlton, Carson Dennis

Goals: Gary Lockyer 7, Ryan Golding 25, 85, Jamie Williams 78

FC Elmstead: Dan Teeley, Marcus Howell, Harry West, Christian Howells, Anthony Elms (Dan Carpenter 72), Reece Barrett, George Bryan (Lewis Gregory 77), George Savage, Taser Hassan, Steve Strotten (Micky Mulhane 28), Thomas Pratt.

Attendance: 272
Referee: Mr Matt Pollington (Paddock Wood)
Assistants: Mr Danny Geary (Aylesford) & Mr Darren Kavanagh (Orpington)