Greenwich Borough 2-4 Sevenoaks Town - We just want to finish the season on a high, says Sevenoaks Town boss Micky Collins

GREENWICH BOROUGH  2-4  SEVENOAKS TOWN
Southern Counties East Football League
Thursday 19^th March 2015
Stephen McCartney reports from Princes Park Stadium

SEVENOAKS TOWN manager Micky Collins says he was impressed with his players after they pulled off a shock result to stun Greenwich Borough.



SHOCK: Micky Collins' Sevenoaks Town pulled off an impressive 4-2 win at Greenwich Borough, watched by only 32 people at Princes Park, Dartford.
Photo: www.sevenoakstownfc.co.uk

Sevenoaks Town raced into a 3-0 lead at the break, courtesy of two headed goals from central defender Jon Lord, which was sandwiched in between Martin Debrah’s strike.

Greenwich Borough pulled two goals back inside the final fifteen minutes through Billy Bennett’s penalty and substitute Gary Alexander’s 24^th goal of the season, before Gary Stock scored against his former club at the death to cap Sevenoaks Town’s greatest result in many years.

“Pleased with it, very pleased with it. Pleased with the lads because we had a great first half and we got our noses in front at 3-0 and we knew it was going to be an onslaught,” said Collins after this side’s 12^th league win of the season.
 
“They’re a quality side with some really good players. They’ve come back and got two goals and then it’s squeaky bum time as we say. We haven’t folded. We’ve actually kept our shape and kept to what we were trying to do and then we’ve managed to get the fourth, which has killed it off.

“It’s a shock result when you look at Sevenoaks off old and you look how Greenwich have set up this year.  We were always going to be a mid-to-top-seven side at max because we had to put a new team together but we’re unbeaten in four now and all off a sudden we’ve started to turn the corner.

“We’ve lost a lot of personnel this year as the season’s gone on, which I expected because people have come in and they nick my players! That’s what happens, I take that as a compliment. We’ve lost eight players that have gone into the Ryman this year from us, which is great. We’re still rebuilding.

“This is our pre-season now for this season so we’ll keep cracking on and pushing until the end of the season and see what we can finish with.”

Greenwich Borough’s assistant manager, Paul Blade, admitted tonight just wasn’t good enough.

“Possibly without swearing or being disrespectful, not good enough, absolutely not good enough!

“You can’t put in a first half performance like that and expect anything except a defeat.

“It’s quite frustrating really. I think football does that to you. After Tuesday’s performance (winning 5-1 at Erith Town), where we looked bright, we looked at it, we passed the ball and we was always a threat and then you put in a couple of changes because of the games that are coming up and the players that came in, not a problem. We didn’t have any hesitation. All the players know what we do. All the players played in their positions. They weren’t out of position.

“There’s no excuses on that side of it and then they give a performance they did! It’s difficult. You can put a team out but if you give a team three goals like we did, just purely by not marking, not doing their job, then you’re up against it.”

Greenwich Borough went into the game sitting in fourth-place in the Southern Counties East Football League table on 52 points from 26 games. 

They are 22 points adrift of unbeaten league leaders Phoenix Sports – who they play twice at home next week in the league and League Cup Semi-Final Second Leg.

They squandered an excellent chance to change the outcome of the game after only 104 seconds when striker Paul Vines drove his left-footed shot over from fifteen-yards after playing a one-two with Lewis Wood.

Skipper Jamie Wood, who was pulling the strings for Greenwich Borough early on, released Mohamed Eisa through on goal but he scuffed his left-footed shot and allowed Richard Stroud to make a comfortable low save to his left.

“Listen, we’ve created,” said Blade.

“There’s not many games where we’ve not really looked a threat. We look a threat every game we play in, no matter when it is.

“If we probably scored in the first five minutes like we should have done it might have been a different scenario.  The game might have been over. We could have been 2-0 up before they scored, but you don’t win a game on an If or a But or should have done or could be.

“If you get a chance, you’ve got to score!”

But Sevenoaks Town opened the scoring with their first attempt after fourteen minutes – scoring from a trademark Collins set-piece.

Tom Skelton swung in their first corner from the left and Lord came up from the back to power his header into the roof of the net from ten-yards.

Collins said: “We work on that and it proved it because Lordy got two tonight so you’re always pleased when you work on something in training and it comes to fruition. As a manager or coach you’re pleased with that.”

Blade added: “That’s a free header in the box – it’s not good enough!

“We’ve got centre halves that have played at a level.  We’ve got centre halves who know how to head a ball, who know how to mark. If you give another team’s centre half a free header in the box there’s only going to be one thing and that’s a goal!”

Sevenoaks Town should have doubled their lead just 59 seconds later when Steffan Koffi released striker Danny Powell, who swept his shot towards the bottom left-hand corner from 20-yards, but Craig Holloway scrambled across his goal to push behind for a corner.

Both teams lumped the ball in the air for large chunks of the game – which was watched by only 32 people at Dartford’s Princes Park Stadium.

Greenwich Borough were to be denied a 32^nd minute equaliser as Bennett missed the first of two sitters.

Danny Phillips whipped in a cross from the left which flashed across goal and the highly-rated midfielder cracked his right-footed volley against the crossbar from ten-yards.

Blade said: “Again, what do you do? Alright, he’s missed the chances. I know players don’t mean to do it but at the same time don’t concede poor goals! What did they have? They had three chances in the first half. It’s a hard one at the minute. It’s quite a difficult one.”

Collins added: “It just proves it.  You’ve got to take your chances in football. Simple as that! If you don’t take your chances, you don’t win games. Them or us.

“They’re gilt-edged and you sometimes have to ride that little bit of luck and when you get the chances, take them!”

Stroud made a great diving save to his right to prevent Eisa curling his right-footed free-kick around the wall and into the corner of the net from 25-yards.

Blade praised the pacy former Corinthian attacker, by saying: “He’s a threat. He’s a good lad. He never stops working hard. We talk to him as well about appreciating other players’ good movements when he’s in and he’s going to have a good future at the club.”

Praising his goalkeeper Stroud, Collins added: “He set his wall up and he’s made the kid’s mind up. He’s got to put it one place, it’s just how accurate the kid is. It ain’t a bad free-kick but Stroudy’s got across and made the save.

“Stroudy played for me at Erith & Belvedere. He was a young lad and then he went off and played elsewhere. 

“We’ve had our ups and downs with keepers this year and we’ve got him back in. He’s married and he’s got a kid now. He’s matured. You can never question his goalkeeping ability and he’s more disciplined, he’s more experienced and tonight he’s shown he’s a really good goalkeeper.”

But Sevenoaks Town doubled their lead with another piece of clinical play in the 36^th minute.

Stock swept the ball from the middle out to Powell on the left and he whipped in a teasing cross into the middle.  Debrah stole the ball off Greenwich Borough’s central defender Rob Gilman, before taking a touch to stroke his right-footed shot past Holloway from 12-yards.

“Good link-up play,” said Collins, who added, “Andy (Constable’s) gone this week to Phoenix and we wish him all the best and Danny Powell has run his socks off for us and he just needs a goal now just to calm him down.  Danny Hockton has taken the metal tonight and put in a shift and a half so I can’t argue with that.”

When asked how he was feeling to be leading 2-0 at the time, Collins admitted: “Surprised really! I didn’t expect us to be ahead and I’m just thinking we’ve got to hold onto this! There’s going to be an onslaught because they’ve got so much quality. They’ve got some really good players and we did – we managed to hold on and then get a third!”

Blade added: “It was a good finish, but it’s what happens before that! If someone scores a 30-yarder in the top corner or scores a free-kick, you have to hold your hands up and say fair enough.

“But the goals that we did give away were just basic mistakes defensively and you get punished, no matter what level you play at.  You make mistakes like we do, you’ll get punished.

“I was a full-back and my main thing was (the attacker) doesn’t get the ball in the box and full backs didn’t get tight enough and we allowed people to get balls into the box in a dangerous area, which you have to defend and sometimes we put our players in situations that shouldn’t happen.”

Greenwich Borough left-back Frankie Beale whipped in a cross from the left, which deflected off Sevenoaks winger Debrah on its way to Bennett, who placed his right-footed volley through the crowd of players and agonisingly past the far post.

That miss, however, proved costly as Sevenoaks Town raced into a 3-0 lead in the 40^th minute.

This time it was Richard Quigley who swung in a corner from the right, which hung in a gust of wind and Lord’s downward header at the far post from eight-yards had the Oaks’ in dreamland.

Collins said: “We were quite good at set-pieces tonight! Another one. Same again. Quigley from the other side. He had a couple of deliveries early on that weren’t that great and we told him to put it in a different area and he’s done that and Lordy’s come up trumps again.”

Blade was less impressed.

“It’s disappointing and you think you learn from that. You think Jesus! Free header – it don’t happen again and then they get another free header!

“That’s quite frustrating as well. You talk to the players to try to educate them a little bit and you hope they take that on board but sometimes the things that they do it looks like they don’t take it on board but all you can do is drum it into them until you get a reaction.”

Both Collins and Blade were asked what was said in the dressing room as news of Sevenoaks Town’s 3-0 lead hit home.

Collins’ message was simple. “Don’t change anything! Keep playing as we were! We knew there was going to be an onslaught and we knew that at some point we were going to struggle.  I couldn’t see us going on four, five, six so don’t change anything! Most teams change it at 3-0 up and go defensive. You can’t do that! You’ve got to stick to what you are and we did!!

Blade revealed boss Ian Jenkins gave his under-performing side some home truths inside the home dressing room, which they share with Vanarama Conference side Dartford.

“I don’t think the players were going to expect anything else apart from that – they needed to be told,” said Blade.

“We came out second half and we kept it a little bit better and we got into the game and we were a threat again.”

Sevenoaks Town went close to embarrassing their opponents further inside the opening two minutes of the second half.

Stock played the ball into Powell down the left channel and he looped his curling cross-come-shot around the foot of the far post, despite Debrah ghosting in at the far post and unable to stab the ball over the line.

Stroud was forced to make a smart low diving save to his right to frustrate Eisa converting at the near post after Beale whipped in a cross from the left.

Sevenoaks Town created a couple of decent chances just before the hour mark.

Danny Hockton flicked a reverse pass in behind the Greenwich defence but Powell’s shot was blocked by the chest of advancing goalkeeper Holloway, who then caught Hockton’s right-footed drive just 28 seconds later.

Collins added: “Half chances weren’t they? They weren’t what I call out and out chances so I think they had a couple as well. It was a bit end-to-end. The game got a bit stretched for a little while.”

Vines flashed a left-footed drive narrowly wide from 25-yards for the home side, who forced Stroud into making another fine save in the 66^th minute.

By this time, Alexander was on the pitch and the former Millwall striker cut a short corner to Eisa, who drilled a long range angled drive towards the top far corner of the net, which was tipped over by outstretched fingers.

Sevenoaks Town substitute Abaraham Eze – who hails from the successful Maidstone United Academy – dragged his shot across goal, which was gobbled up by Holloway, just in time before Powell pounced.

But Greenwich Borough accepted a lifeline with fifteen minutes left when Sevenoaks’ right-back Josh Gilbert sent Eisa to the ground.

Bennett stepped up and lashed his right-footed penalty into the top left-hand corner to score his eleventh goal of his very good season.

Blade said: “Good pen. Good finish. It just gave us a little bit of a spark and if you nick another one in the next couple of minutes – which we did – you think it could be game on here but we gave it away with another poor goal.”

Collins said: “I said to young Josh in there, he’s only young, he’s only just turned 18. It’s his first season in senior football. It’s about his 11^th or 12^th game, something like that. He’s disappointed.

“Fortunately for us that we’ve held on and got him out of trouble with that but things like that are going to happen to him. He’s a young kid learning his trade and at the end of the day that’s why I’m here giving kids like that opportunities.

“We haven’t got the money to splash out for players. We have to do it within the club. Josh came through our trailists’ system in the summer from Soccer Elite and he’s been fantastic.”

Greenwich Borough then threw everything at Sevenoaks Town, who were hanging on.

Substitute Jack Clark whipped in a cross from the left and Vines header brought yet another great save from Stroud, diving low to his left to push the ball around the post.

But Greenwich Borough deservedly pulled a second goal back with ten minutes remaining when good play by Phillips resulted in Alexander shrugging off the attentions of Oaks’ central defender Jack Miles to loop his shot into the net from ten-yards.

Blade said: “Bill got a pen and we scored again and you think we could still nick this! There was still another ten minutes to go.

“I still fancied us. I said to Jenks if we score in five minutes, we’re going to score again and you’re thinking perhaps we’ll nick one and get out of jail.”

Blade explained why Alexander started the game on the bench.

“We tried to protect a couple of players because of another game on Saturday. We’ve got a big enough squad and that was the idea of it. We knew we’d be in this position (fixture backlog) at the end of the season.”

Collins added: “At 3-1, you’re thinking if they get another one it’s going to be proper game on - and then it was!

“Lordy shouted across to me and said his groin was tight and wanted to come off. I left him on for another minute and the ball fell to Lordy and he went down.

“Gary’s quality and he’s finished it well and then it really is game on then and I’m thinking if we get a point here I’m quite happy at that stage.”

Sevenoaks Town should have killed the game off when Andy Walker’s throw released Powell in space down the left.  The striker cut in to the box but rolled his right-footed shot across Holloway and past the far post from just outside the corner of the six-yard box.

“He needs a goal at the moment. He does so much work off the ball. It’s just not falling for him,” added Collins.

“He had his chance to go 4-2 but never took it and then you’re thinking are we going to give it away and it’s going to be three-all or maybe they’re going to go and beat us.

“But I’m impressed with the boys tonight. I’m impressed with their attitude and they really put a shift in tonight so I’m really pleased with them.”

Eisa’s moment to cap off an impressive display came when he was released through on goal but lost his composure by drilling his shot high into the roof of the stand.

But Sevenoaks Town claimed a famous victory with their fourth goal with 46:59 on the clock – despite Stock picking up a hamstring strain just moments before.

Eze produced a fine turn before spreading the ball out to midfielder-turned-striker Stock, who brought the ball under control before drilling his right-footed angled drive into the bottom far corner from 12-yards.

“Abraham is only a young kid! Jay (Saunders) has given him to me from Maidstone so I signed him yesterday. He’s done the right thing.

“Stocky’s come off with a tight hammy so we chucked him forward to see the game out and the ball dropped to him. It was a great finish to be fair, a real calm finish.”

Blade added: “When you score two goals it’s a little bit of a panic. They’re a young side so a little bit more composure on the ball and you need that little bit of luck and something may bounce off somewhere and get half a chance but the chance went to them in the end. 

“It wasn’t great defending. He shouldn’t have got a shot off. The fourth goal killed it at that stage of the game.

“We huffed and puffed but you can’t put in a first half performance like that and expect anything apart from a defeat.”

Sevenoaks Town are now in eight-place in the table and host Rochester United at Greatness Park on Saturday.

Collins admitted he’s already planning for next season.

“No targets whatsoever. Just finish the season on a high, get as many points as we can and bed the team in and get organised and that’s it.

“If we finish the season with a good group of lads here and we’re organised for next season, my pre-season is a lot easier. I don’t have to go round looking for 8-10 players and all I’m doing then is just bedding in what I’ve got with two or three additions who know how we play and then we’re up and running.”

Greenwich Borough have 12 league games remaining are in the Kent Senior Trophy Final – but their aim at the start of the season was to win promotion and not settle for a top four finish.

Blade said: “It’s just an amalgamation of little things that have accumulated into bad things. It’s a poor night, a bad, bad night.”

Phoenix Sports are the only unbeaten English side after Whyteleafe’s 1-0 win inflicted Burgess Hill Town’s first defeat in 37 Ryman League Division One South games.

“They haven’t been beaten in the league yet so that’s a little thing to put to bed so we’d like to beat them in the league and obviously in the Semi-Final so that puts us into two finals,” Blade said of Phoenix Sports.

“We’ve got 12 games left in the league so runners-up is obviously a chance because you never know what’s going to happen in this league. You can still go up in second place so there’s no way we’ll throw in the towel. To win the league is going to be very difficult but we’ll keep going right until the end.”

Greenwich Borough: Craig Holloway, Nico James (Gary Alexander 57), Frankie Beale, Billy Bennett, Rob Gilman, Danny Young, Lewis Wood (Jack Clark 73), Jamie Wood (Connor Heffernan 59), Paul Vines, Danny Phillips, Mohamed Eisa.
Subs: Aaron Day, Chris Saunders

Goals: Billy Bennett 75 (penalty), Gary Alexander 80

Sevenoaks Town: Richard Stroud, Josh Gilbert, Richard Quigley, Steffan Koffi, Jon Lord (Ben Judge 80), Jack Miles, Tom Skelton, Gary Stock, Danny Powell, Danny Hockton (Andy Walker 78), Martin Debrah (Abraham Eze 68).
Subs: Mark Wallis, Tom Ripley

Goals: Jon Lord 14, 40, Martin Debrah 36, Gary Stock 90

Attendance: 32
Referee: Mr Jair Guzman (Southfields, London SW18)
Assistants: Mr Simon Cutler (Minster, Isle of Sheppey) & Mr Andrew Simmonds (Grays, Essex)