Parkwood Rangers 5-1 Johnson & Phillips - I'm extremely happy to win the cup against a good strong team quite convincingly and to make promotion, says Parkwood Rangers manager Doug Scott

Parkwood Rangers 5 – 1 Johnson & Phillips
Location	Greatness Park, Mill Lane, Seal Road, Sevenoaks, Kent TN14 5BX
Kickoff	07/05/2019 19:30

PARKWOOD RANGERS  5-1  JOHNSON & PHILLIPS
Barry Bundock West Kent Challenge Shield Final
Tuesday 7 May 2019
Stephen McCartney reports from Greatness Park

PARKWOOD RANGERS celebrated winning the West Kent Challenge Shield for the first time in their 22-year history after thrashing Johnson & Phillips at Greatness Park.

Kidbrooke-based Johnson & Phillips play in the Andreas Carter Kent County League Division Two West and are in the bottom four (ninth-place), having picked up 20 points from their 22 league outings.

Bexley-based Parkwood Rangers, meanwhile, completed their Division Three West campaign at the summit with 56 points from 26 games and can only win the league if Tudor Sports Reserves (whom are level on points with one game left) fail to pick up at least a point at home to Peckham Town Reserves on Saturday.

This was a comfortable victory for Parkwood Rangers as they raced into a two-nil lead inside 11 minutes through striker Chris Grizzle and winger Harry Scott here in Sevenoaks.

Physically strong, Johnson & Phillips, pulled a goal back through Andrew Stainer’s looping header, before Parkwood Rangers killed the game off with a third goal just before half-time through central midfielder Benjamin Malyon’s 22^nd goal of the season.

Jordan Davids was gifted a fourth goal following a corner before pacey left-winger, substitute Harry Obrien slotted home at the second attempt.

“Absolutely delighted for everyone involved with Parkwood Rangers to win the cup against a good, strong team tonight quite convincingly and to also make promotion, I’m extremely happy,” said Parkwood Rangers’ manager Doug Scott.

Parkwood Rangers set the tone, creating their first opening after only 20 seconds when Benjamin Malyon cut towards the edge of the box before playing in Grizzle, who hit an awful shot past the near post when he only had goalkeeper Harry Ebdon to beat from inside the six-yard box.

Parkwood Rangers opened the floodgates with six minutes and 2 seconds on the clock following their first of six corners on the night.

Holding midfielder Tom Malyon floated in a corner from the right and the ball fell to Scott, whose drive was blocked before Grizzle drilled a right-footed drive towards goal from 15-yards that deflected off Johnson & Phillips’ right-back George Dennis and beat the keeper to his left.

Scott said:  “It was an excellent start!  We always planned to use our pace and our strength behind a very strong, physical and slightly older Johnson & Phillips, so to get the early goal through Chris Grizzle was quite important.  Once you get the first goal, you need to either consolidate or get the second goal.”

Parkwood Rangers doubled their lead with their next chance, which was timed at 10 minutes and 46 seconds.

Tom Malyon released winger Nathan Parke down the right and he easily beat his man to cut into the penalty area before putting it on a plate for an unmarked Benjamin Malyon, who placed his left-footed shot past Ebdon from eight-yards.

“My son, who doesn’t score enough goals for Parkwood, he’s a midfield player who works extremely hard, it’s his fifth goal of the season, but a second goal tonight was important because it gave us a little bit of leeway and a little bit of time to compose ourselves but to be fair to Johnson & Phillips, they came back into the game then.”

Johnson & Phillips worked a good three-man set-piece move in the 18^th minute when left-back Jimmy Beauchamp played the ball up to lone striker Steve Diamond, who laid the ball off for Mark Naden to crack his right-footed drive over the crossbar from 20-yards.

Parkwood Rangers squandered an excellent chance to score their third goal at the halfway mark.

Tom Malyon delivered a deep corner from the left which was retrieved by Benjamin Malyon on the by-line on the other side of the pitch and he put the ball back into the box, which was helped on by big centre-half Nathan Cross and Grizzle hooked his right-footed shot over the crossbar from 15-yards.

Johnson & Phillips relied on a set-piece to accept a lifeline back into the game by scoring with 22 minutes and 49 seconds on the clock.

Player-manager Lee Jull launched a big free-kick into the box, which was flicked on by the impressive Diamond and an unmarked Stainer looped his header across the keeper and into the far corner from eight-yards.

Scott said: “We felt we gave possession away too easily earlier in the field. They’re a strong, good side in the air. If you allow them time on the ball and you allow them time to send the ball to the back post, they’re going to win balls, it’s as simple as that!

“We were disappointed to concede because it did mean that we had a real game on our hands for the next 15-20 minutes.”

Jull’s men then enjoyed a good spell and they missed a couple of good chances to grab themselves an equaliser.

Firstly, Diamond was released down the right-channel and he played in a low cross, which was laid off by Rob Grogan into Sam O’Keeffe, who teed up Reiss Campbell, who scuffed a poor shot straight into Jacob Quieros hands from the 18-yard line.

Diamond created an even better chance for himself, cutting along the penalty area before curling his left-footed drive around the top of the far post, with the keeper flying to his right.

“We felt we lost our way a little bit for 20 minutes and that was mainly due to Johnson & Phillips being a tough team to play against and ourselves perhaps losing our passing game,” admitted Scott.

Parkwood Rangers suffered similar fate just five minutes before half-time when Grizzle’s driving run forward earnt his side a free-kick just 28-yards from goal, which curled and dipped over the crossbar from Tom Malyon’s whipped in right-footed effort.

Parkwood Rangers scored their third goal with 42 minutes and 47 seconds on the clock, after Johnson & Phillips switched off from a set-piece.

Left-back James Hirsch threw the ball into the box, the ball was flicked on by Cross and Benjamin Malyon hooked hit shot past Ebdon from eight-yards.

“We’ve been working on that move for a while now where Ben picks up several goals in that position. We were very happy to get that goal because it’s something that we’ve worked on in training,” added Scott, who was then asked his thoughts at the interval.

“We talked about the 15-20 minutes where we felt that Johnson & Phillips were seriously back in the game.

“But we gave them a bit of encouragement to play the way that we set out, which was to move the ball very quickly, not get involved with the physical tangles with Johnson & Phillips because we felt we’d lose that but to move the ball quickly and get behind their defence and stretch their play and I think we did that in the second half more so early on. 

“It’s a big pitch and it took a lot out of the boys and we’ve had a long season.”

Johnson & Phillips missed a glorious chance to scare their opponents when they went close to scoring with just 15 seconds on the clock.

A long ball split open Parkwood’s defence to put Diamond through on goal but all the striker could do was bend his left-footed shot around the keeper and agonisingly past the foot of the far post when he only had Quieros to beat.

“Diamond’s got a lot of praise. We felt he was their dangerman throughout the game. He’s a technically gifted player and we had to mark him, double mark him,” added Scott.

Parkwood Rangers’ Davids, who was wearing the number 80 shirt, drove at the Johnson & Phillips defence before drilling his right-footed shot just over the crossbar from 20-yards.

Davids had the simplest of task to put in goal number four, which came with 10 minutes and 16 seconds on the clock.

Johnson & Phillips failed to deal with Tom Malyon’s floated in corner from the right and allowed Davids the simple task to prodding the ball over the line when he found a pocket of space just a couple of yards from the goal-line.

“He couldn’t miss it after it dropped down,” said Scott.

“The quality of the corners was good tonight. We put their team under pressure and we always felt in the last 15-20 minutes if we can have the energy that we might get another goal and that’s how it worked out.”

Jull could have scored in the 62^nd minute when he met Diamond’s great cross in from the right with a diving header, which cleared the crossbar.

Half-time substitute Obrien started to explode into life with his explosive pacey runs down the left wing and his angled drive was held by Ebdon at his near post.

O’Keeffe swung in a corner from the right which was met at the far post by substitute Michael Faponle, bouncing off his shoulder and looping into Quieros’ hands.

O’Keeffe worked a ball into Thomas McLean, who played the ball back to O’Keeffe to curl his low shot into the Parkwood Rangers’ keepers hands at his near post, as this experienced Johnson & Phillips side kept plugging away.

Parkwood Rangers scored their fifth goal of the night with 26 minutes and 49 seconds on the clock.

Benjamin Malyon swept a low 20-yard cross which split open the Johnson & Phillips defence to put Obrien through on goal. His first shot was parried by Ebden before the winger ifled in the rebound.

Scott said: “Harry’s our leading goalscorer four our under 21 side so I’ve not been able to use him too much. He’s got a massive among of pace and we’re hoping to see him in the first team next season.”

Obrien sped through the defence again but Ebden saved his side’s bacon by rushing off his line and smothering the 15-yard shot, low to his right.

Inside the final 10 minutes, Faponle rolled a weak shot from the edge of the box into Quieros’ hands after Johnson & Phillips created the move, which included Diamond and substitute Roy Brooke.

Naden turned on the edge of the Parkwood Rangers penalty area in the final seven minutes to strike a sweet left-footed drive which was tipped onto the crossbar by Quieros and dropped behind for a corner.

Scott said: “A good shot. It was a good save. Jacob’s had good handling tonight. Like most goalkeeper’s his eccentric to say the least and he’s done brilliantly for us.”

Quieros then had his fingers stung by a angled drive from a tight angle coming in from substitute Steve Martin on the right, before Parkwood Rangers wasted two more chances at the other end inside stoppage time.

Defender Tom Collins advanced over the halfway line to put substitute Ryan Firth through on goal – in behind Jimmy Beauchamp – but he dragged a poor shot across the keeper and past the far post from 16-yards.

The impressive Obrien latched onto Scott’s pass, cut onto his right boot before drilling a right-footed shot from 25-yards, which forced Ebdon to dive to his right to push the ball over the crossbar as the winger aimed for the top left-hand corner.

Scott revealed that he will be at Oxford Road in Sidcup on Saturday and hopes Peckham Town Reserves can beat Tudor Sports Reserves so that Parkwood Rangers secure the double.

“It’s a very, very slim chance but we’ve had compliments from Peckham Town and a few teams that we deserve to get promoted,” said Scott.

“Anything can happen in football. We expect Tudor to win but we’re going to go along and hope.  It’s been a fantastic season.”

Parkwood Rangers: Jacob Quieros, Alex Faulks, James Hirsch (Ryan Firth 77), Tom Malyon (Harry Scott 88), Tom Collins, Nathan Cross (Michael Hibbert 46, Tom Goodyear 77)), Jordan Davids, Benjamin Malyon (Nathan Cross 77), Chris Grizzle (Alfie Hughes-Martin 46), Nathan Parke (Chris Grizzle 88), Harry Scott (Harry O’Brien 46).

Goals:  Chris Grizzle 7, Harry Scott 11, Benjamin Malyon 43, Jordan Davids 56, Harry O’Brien 72

Johnson & Phillips: Harry Ebdon, George Dennis (Steve Martin 78), Jimmy Beauchamp, Sam O’Keeffe, Tom Cocks, Lee Jull (Thomas McLean 63), Mark Naden, Andrew Stainer (Jack Castle 88), Steve Diamond, Reiss Campbell (Roy Brooke 63, Reiss Campbell 88)), Rob Grogan (Michael Faponle 63).

Goal: Andrew Stainer 23

Booked: Rob Grogan 50, Lee Jull 54, Jimmy Beauchamp 72

Attendance: 180
Referee: Mr Tony Woods (Bexleyheath)
Assistants: Mr Paul Taylor (Greenwich) & Mr John Quirke (Maidstone)
Fourth Official: Mr Steven Page (Maidstone)