Kennington 7-0 Shoreham - I think a lot of teams will certainly look at that result today and won’t fancy playing us, so we’ll make sure we go into the next round with confidence, says Kennington boss Dan Scorer

Kennington 7 – 0 Shoreham
Location	Homelands Stadium, Ashford Road, Kingsnorth, Ashford, Kent TN26 1NJ
Kickoff	11/10/2020 13:00

KENNINGTON 7-0 SHOREHAM
The Buildbase FA Vase Second Qualifying Round
Sunday 11 October 2020
Stephen McCartney reports from Homelands Stadium

KENNINGTON manager Dan Scorer insists no one will want to play his side in The FA Vase First Round after humiliating a poor Shoreham side at Homelands Stadium.

The Ashford based side recorded their highest victory in the competition in only their sixth game as they showed their ruthless streak that has seen them score an impressive 27 goals in 7 games in all competitions this season.

Kennington sit at the top of the Southern Counties East Football League First Division with maximum points from their opening four games, although Greenways, Sporting Club Thamesmead and Rochester United have played a game more.

This tie was all over inside the opening 10 minutes when striker Gary Lockyer scored a brace, before right-sided midfielder Ryan Philpott added a third before half-time.

Philpott killed the game off as a contest inside the opening four minutes of the second half before a lull in play before Kennington notched three goals inside the final 17 minutes.

Holding midfielder Gary Clarke capped off an impressive performance with the fourth goal before Lockyer headed in his well-deserved hat-trick before Callum Peck came off the bench to find the top corner.

Shoreham were so poor that they only created one chance during the entire game, despite playing at the same level as Kennington and sitting in seventh-place in the Southern Combination League First Division table with 10 points from five games.

It was Shoreham’s worst FA Vase outing since losing 7-0 to fellow Sussex side Pagham in a First Round Replay back in 1981.

“Delighted obviously, I thought coming into today’s game with momentum and I’m glad more than anything that we’ve been able to keep that going,” said Scorer, whose side were top of the First Division table in March when last season was curtailed due to the coronavirus health pandemic.

Obviously, the disappointment of how the season ended last year certainly spurred the boys on to make sure we’ve come back and start positively this year. The mindset is a lot stronger and we’re making sure that we’re seeing sides out and being ruthless to the end. We’ve now kept five clean-sheets on the bounce as well, which is brilliant.”

Kennington opened the floodgates with only 256 seconds on the clock, such an easy goal from a set-piece.

Left-back Reiss Crimmen launched the first of three long throws into the Shoreham box and an unmarked Lockyer easily guided his header over goalkeeper Rudy Stilgoe from eight-yards.

“We’ve added well in that area (goalscoring). We’ve got Gary Lockyer whose like a new player for us really. He’s come back in unbelievable shape,” said Scorer, whose side reached the Second Round last season.

“It’s good to see Ryan Philpott. He’s had to wait his turn for minutes and he’s now scored three in the last two and Callum Peck’s come back in and scored today as well. We’re scoring goals from all over the pace as well.”

On the goal, it was evident that Shoreham came into the game without doing their homework.

“They’re a side that didn’t really do too much digging in terms of what we’ll set up like,” claimed Scorer.

“I think most Kent sides now know Crimmo has got a long throw, it’s quite well known throughout Kent. He’s played at a decent standard and it’s a massive tool to have. They weren’t aware of it, they weren’t expecting that sort of long ball and Gaz was completely empty really on the edge of the six-yard box.”

Central midfielder Harry Lavender split open Shoreham’s back three to put Philpott through on goal and after taking a touch inside the box, he lashed his shot over the top of the near post from the right-hand side of the penalty area.

Kennington went route one as they scored their second goal of the game with nine minutes and 32 seconds on the clock.

Goalkeeper Joe Mant launched a big kick straight down the middle of the pitch and his opposite number Stilgoe failed to get off his line and Lockyer hooked his right-footed chip over the keeper’s head and watched the ball land into the centre of an empty goal.

Scorer said: “Again, it’s a long ball over the top. It’s a clearance really from Manty but again you’ve got to give credit to Gaz because he’s sharp in that area now and any ball that comes his way he certainly looks to get on the end of it.”

Lockyer should have scored his hat-trick with only 15:05 on the clock against a Shoreham side that just didn’t turn up.

Charlie Owen swung the ball in from a left-wing corner towards the far post and Lockyer flicked his header past the near post from three-yards out.

“I think the deliveries on all set-pieces were fantastic today, it’s something that we’ve certainly changed this year and tried to make sure in those set-piece areas that we’re dangerous,” said Scorer.

“Charlie is a player who has had to bide his time. It’s his first start this season and he’s come in and he really enjoyed himself today, which is the most important thing for me is he comes in and enjoys himself.”

Shoreham’s one and only chance arrived with 19:41 on the clock, from a set-piece.

Right wing-back, Jonathan Lonsdale launched a long throw into the Kennington box, the ball was flicked on by Joel Sayers - the central man of their three man defence - and striker Robin Deen poked his shot across Mant and past the far post.

Scorer said: “The opposition will not be too disheartened by that in all honest, we’ve done that to most sides this season!

“Defensively we’ve been brilliant. We did a lot of work in the off-season on the defence. They’re good players who all work for each other and it helps with the way that we press from the front.”

Kennington opted to put the ball on visiting goalkeeper Stilgoe at every opportunity

Crimmen’s in-swinging left-footed free-kick from just outside the corner of the box, on the right-hand side, was plucked out of the air by Stilgoe.

Philpott and Lockyer both linked up in the 28^th minute and Owen hit a speculative right-footed chip towards the top right-hand corner from 16-yards, with the goalkeeper struggling, who was relieved the ball just clear the top of the upright.

Sayers temporarily switched to the right-hand side of the three-man defence in a bid to stem the tide but Kennington were miles better in all departments.

Stilgoe made a mess in trying to catch Joe Fisher’s whipped free-kick from the right, juggling the ball on his line before grabbing hold of it at the second attempt.

Kennington sealed the deal by scoring their third goal just 23 seconds later, the goal being timed at 35 minutes and 12 seconds on the clock.

Shoreham defended poorly and failed to clear their lines and Fisher played in Philpott, who cut the ball onto his left-foot to chip the ball into the top-right hand corner from 20-yards.

“What a fantastic finish,” said Scorer.

“I think it was Vinny’s (Philpott) first start last week, he’s obviously hungry now for minutes. Joe Fisher’s another one that was his first appearance this season. He’s been away suspended after being sent-off towards the back end of last season so he’s been back in and amongst the squad for the last two games but hasn’t got on, so it was important he got some minutes today and he’s another one who's done really, really well.”

Sensing blood, Lockyer tried to score from 40-yards after seeing Stilgoe off his line but his right-footed drive bounced once and was comfortably gathered by the keeper.

If this was a boxing match then referee Matthew Goldsmith would have ended the contest at the half-way point because Shoreham - an Isthmian League club for one season in 2017-18 - failed to offer Kennington any competition.

“In all honesty, I don’t think it was a performance that was anywhere near what our best has been this season, in terms of retaining the ball and moving the ball quickly,” warned Scorer.

“It became very easy for us to just slow the tempo of the game down because there wasn’t a great deal of press from them.

“I expressed my unhappiness that we didn’t play with the greatest of intensity so that was our key going into the second half.”

Dominant Kennington created their first chance after only 181 seconds.

Mant thumped a big kick straight down the middle was flicked on by Lockyer and this caught out defender Matthew Firmin.

Owen cut into the box and his progress was thwarted by the keeper and the ball fell kindly for Philpott, who sliced his first time shot past the top of the right-hand post despite being pressed by Harry Bowles inside the box.

However, Kennington notched their fourth goal of the game with only three minutes and 57 seconds on the clock.

Lavender pinged a diagonal cross-field pass over to Philpott, who took a touch before chipping his right-footed shot over the keeper from 18-yards, the ball dropping into the empty net.

“Again, another fantastic finish from Philpott. I don’t think there weren’t many goals today that weren’t really well finished,” said Scorer.

“Harry Lavender is another one that’s come in, first start today and he’s a big, big player for us. It’s frustrating for him not getting the minutes. We’ve signed Robbie Dolan, who has come in and been brilliant this year. Lavender had to take a bit of a back seat but he’s another one that’s come in and I thought he was fantastic today.”

Lockyer floated in a 20-yard cross over to Philpott, who guided his free-header past the right-hand post from 12-yards before he was withdrawn with a left hamstring pull.

Fisher whipped in a deep cross from the right and Lockyer got in behind Lansdale but the angle was too tight and all he could do was poke his shot past the near post.

Lockyer drilled a right-footed shot towards the roof of the net from 20-yards, forcing Stilgoe to tip the ball over his crossbar in the 55^th minute and Crimmen’s resulting corner was flicked on by centre-half Calvin Sedenu and Lockyer steered his header over the Shoreham crossbar at the far stick.

Kennington created an opening on the hour-mark when Sedenu hit a diagonal pass, which was cut out by Luke Gedling’s hooked clearance and Crimmen drilled his shot from close to the by-line, which was pushed towards safety by Stilgoe at his near post.

Crimmen played the ball down the line and Lockyer swept his speculative 40-yard lob towards goal but Stilgoe comfortably caught the ball, as Shoreham failed to press Kennington’s players when it really mattered.

“After the hour mark it got to a point, we made one or two changes and myself and my assistant (Sam Fisher) made it very clear that we wasn’t happy from the sidelines,” said Scorer.

“We certainly could’ve killed the game off further if we lifted the intensity and I felt in the last 10-15 minutes we certainly did that.”

Shoreham weathered the storm for a 10-minute spell before Kennington found their ruthless streak again, notching their fifth goal with 27 minutes and 37 seconds on the clock.

Defender Adam Phillips played the ball into Lockyer, who had dropped deep, and he split open Firmin and Sayers to put Clarke through on goal.

The goalkeeper rushed off his line and stooped down but Clarke showed more desire to win the tackle before poking the ball past the keeper and rolling his right-footed shot into the back of an empty net from four-yards.

“It’s one of them, it could’ve been given as a foul but it wasn’t,” admitted Scorer.

“That’s Clarkey all over, throwing himself into absolutely everything if he thinks he’s got a chance.

“Last week he got himself off the mark in terms of goals because last season he got himself 19 goals for us, which is brilliant for a holding midfield position.

“We moved him a bit further on with Robbie Dolan coming on and Charlie Owen going off , so I’m just glad he got his goal as well.”

Lockyer was to be temporarily denied his hat-trick in the 75^th minute, the keeper using his legs to block his first-time shot from eight-yards after he got in behind a poor defensive line to meet Clarke’s cross from the right, after Clarke easily reaching the penalty area on a 30-yard run with the ball.

Lockyer kept knocking on the door and Jack Nicholls gave the ball away to Clarke and his cross found Lockyer outside the box and Stilgoe stepped to his right to comfortably catch the ball.

Kennington’s sixth goal arrived with 35 minutes and 51 seconds on the clock when Lavender split open Firmin to put substitute left-winger Callum Peck in behind down the left-channel.

Peck cut into the box and Stilgoe narrowed the angle to make a block at his near post and the ball looped up for Lockyer to plant his diving header into the bottom near corner from four-yards to score his tenth goal of the season.

“The introduction of Peck enabled us to have a little bit more energy in that front line,” said Scorer.

“Joe Fisher on the left-hand side is technically one of the best players in the side. Peck’s a lot different and he’s nice and direct and when you’ve got those options and you’ve got someone that can come on and be that quick and can cause problems to a side that were already deflated. The ball has bobbled up and it’s a very, very deserved hat-trick for Gaz.”

Kennington’s seventh goal came with 37 minutes and 14 seconds on the clock, courtesy of Peck’s solo goal.

He picked the ball up down the left-wing some 40-yards from goal, went on a mazy run into the middle before cracking a stunning right-footed drive which sailed into the top left-hand corner from 25-yards.

Scorer said: “Peck has been a breath of fresh air in our side. He’s come in certainly the missing piece to our puzzle pre-season. We were looking to strengthen in wider areas throughout pre-season.

“Last year we played with Tom, my brother and Sam Conlon, who neither are out-and-out wingers, so it was important for us this year to try and bring players in who can make a difference in those wide areas and he’s certainly done that.

“He’s skipped past three or four players and a hell of a strike, so I’m glad he’s come back into the side today and come on and made a massive impact, as he always does.”

Shoreham offered very little during the game as Mant maintained his fifth clean-sheet on the spin.

“I think they had one shot all game, as pleasing as it is from a defensive point of view the whole side have got to take credit for that,” said Scorer.

“Shoreham were not a great deal of threat on their part, it’s just as important that we stayed alert and switched on for any kind of danger and I thought they did that brilliantly.”

Kennington can expect a much sterner test in the FA Vase First Round on Saturday 31 October but before that they welcome FC Elmstead (17 October) and Croydon (24 October) to Homelands Stadium in the League.

Scorer said: “It will be nice to have an away draw to be honest. We play Elmstead next week here and Croydon the following week, so it will be three home games on the bounce. It will be a nice way to top off what’s hopefully going to be another strong month for us with a nice away day.

“I said to the boys before the game, the performance you put in today has got to be worthy of being in the next round and you’ve got to make sides that are Step Six in other Leagues and Step Five, whatever, look at us and say ‘we don’t want Kennington in the next round.’

“I think a lot of teams will certainly look at that result today and won’t fancy playing us, so we’ll make sure we go into the next round with confidence.”

Kennington: Joe Mant, Luke Hughes, Reiss Crimmen, Gary Clarke, Calvin Sedenu, Adam Phillips, Joe Fisher (Robbie Dolan 70), Harry Lavender, Gary Lockyer, Charlie Owen (Craig Calvert 65), Ryan Philpott (Callum Peck 59).
Subs: Tom Scorer, Harry Stow

Goals: Gary Lockyer 3, 10, 81, Ryan Philpott 36, 49, Gary Clarke 73, Callum Peck 83

Booked: Ryan Philpott 30

Shoreham: Rudy Stilgoe, Jonathan Lansdale, Harvey Green, Joel Sayers, Harry Bowles, Matthew Firmin, Jack Nicholls (Jack Baden 78), Dean Gilmour (Scott Clampin 53), Neil Munday (Michael Death 66), Robin Deen, Luke Gedling.
Subs: Mark Pulling, Jake Wilson, Charlie Tuck, George Stone

Attendance: 192
Referee: Mr Matthew Goldsmith
Assistants: Mr Benjamin Marshall & Mr George Head