Phoenix Sports 1-1 Greenwich Borough - I think we got our reward at the end, says Greenwich Borough's Paul Blade

PHOENIX SPORTS  1-1  GREENWICH BOROUGH
Macron Southern Counties East Football League Challenge Cup Semi-Final First Leg
Wednesday 11th March 2015
Stephen McCartney reports from Mayplace Road East

PHOENIX SPORTS’ manager Steve O’Boyle says he’s feeling happy that his patched up side claimed a draw against Greenwich Borough.



HAPPY: Phoenix Sports manager Steve O'Boyle says he's happy that his side are still in the tie after a 1-1 draw in the first leg.
Photo: www.phoenixsportsfc.com

Phoenix Sports grabbed the lead through Harrison Carneige’s deflected fluke three minutes before the break, before Lewis Wood came off the bench to keep this Macron Southern Counties East Football League Challenge Cup Semi-Final tie alive by levelling things up for Greenwich Borough five minutes before the end.

The two sides meet for the Second Leg at Dartford’s Princes Park Stadium on Tuesday 24 March to see who will meet Beckenham Town or Tunbridge Wells in the Final.

Two goals from Jamie Humphries, 25, taking his goalscoring total for 41 goals for the season, gave Jason Huntley’s side the edge, having claimed a deserved 3-2 win at Eden Park Avenue last night.

O’Boyle said: “I’m really happy. I was worried about tonight. You could see we’ve had a patched up side out tonight.

“I’m not worried about the performance really. What I was impressed with was our work-rate. That hasn’t been there for the last few weeks and the work-rate was there so that’s a massive improvement.  If we can show that work-rate until the end of the season, I’ve got no complaints.”

Greenwich Borough assistant manager Paul Blade added: “Fair result in the end I think considering we didn’t play particularly well in the first half and conceded a lucky goal, a deflection and goes in.

“We didn’t really do a lot in the first half to cause many problems. Defensively we looked ok.

“A few words were said at half-time to try to be a little bit more positive, get our ball players on the ball and try to do a little bit more. I think we did do that.

“We started really well second half. We had a little patch where we could have got a couple. A little bit more clinical in front of goal and we could have put our noses in front really and I think if we had done that I don’t think they would have come back into it but when you have to score when you’re on top.

“There’s going to be a part of the game when they’re going to get on top of you again and that’s what happened.  They had a couple of little half chances but Hollers has pulled a couple of saves off and then you’re thinking are we going to get another chance, which I thought we will do, the way we play. Our perseverance paid off in the end.”

O’Boyle was without three central defenders with Chris Hill, Scott Whibley and James Brown all injured, so Dean Kearley came out of retirement to partner Danny Moore at the heart of defence.

And it was as if Kearley hasn’t been away as he turned back the years with a fine performance.

O’Boyle said: “I had to dig Dean Kearley up, bring him out of retirement.  I had three centre halves missing and he’s come in and done me a favour.  I trust him, I know him, he’s one of my best mates. I think he’s done a job tonight. We had a real scratch side out tonight and we’re in the tie still.

Phoenix Sports created the first chance inside the opening five minutes of an uninspiring first half.

Winger George King’s out-swinging corner from the left came out to Carneige on the edge of the box and he swept his first time volley just over the crossbar from eighteen-yards.

But the ball spent an awful lot of time in the air during a cagey, yet frenetic first half.

Greenwich Borough squandered an excellent chance to break the deadlock in the 29^th minute with the next chance of the game.

Left-back Frankie Beale was given space to float in a cross towards an unmarked Paul Vines but the striker failed to add to his sixteen goals this season by glancing his header agonisingly past the far post from 12-yards.

Blade said: “That’s a perfect ball. We’ve been telling Frankie about pushing out wide, which he took a little bit of time to get used to that and when he did he crossed it in with his right foot and it only needed a decent header on target. The keeper was stranded. It was a chance.

“If we had gone 1-0 up it might have been different but apart from that we didn’t have a shot in the first half.”

O’Boyle added: “It’s probably the only time where we let them out from the back and we wanted to squeeze them high – that’s what we said we’ll do.  It’s the only time they really got out. It’s a chance but it never went in!”

Beale produced another chance for Greenwich Borough by swinging in a corner from the left but Joe Vines came up from the back and his downward header was cleared off the line by Lewis Mingle.

Phoenix Sports’ striker Carl Cornell whipped in a cross but the lively Carneige smacked his right-footed volley wide from fifteen-yards, before Alexander was penalised for handball on the edge of the box and Michael Jenner sent his right-footed free-kick over the bar.

But Phoenix Sports received a slice of luck as Carneige’s fourteenth goal of the season gave them the lead.

Jenner pressed to win the ball down the left before playing the ball inside to Cornell, who sprayed the ball out to Carneige on the right.

Carneige cut inside and dinked over a cross from 20-yards, which looped off Nico James and sailed over Craig Holloway’s head to go in off the far post.

“Like I said to them, that goal was all down to work-rate and desire to win the ball back and we got our reward for the goal,” said O’Boyle.

“Maybe a little bit of luck with the cross but things haven’t been really going for us in the last couple of weeks. I’ll take that at the moment.”

Blade added: “With a deflection off Nico’s knee so it’s one of those ones. There’s not much you can do! A deflected cross that goes in, loops in over the goalkeeper.  You think Jesus! Another spawny goal. We made a mistake on Saturday that let them in as well. You think it’s happened again but we had enough time to get back into the game.”

When asked about his thoughts at the break, O’Boyle said: “It’s quite pleasing to come in at half-time and not shout at them! I thought we worked hard. Everything that we worked on in training on Monday was working.

“I told them to make sure that we don’t stop off in the second half and we’ve got a big second half ahead of us and that’s basically the long and short of it!”

Blade added: “We just needed a bit more from them like. We needed to believe in ourselves more, kind of thing.  We’ve got to roll your sleeves up and have a go and just be positive.

“The players that we’ve put faith into had to look at themselves and believe that they’re good players and when they went out there, stick their chest out and roll their sleeves up.

“Sometimes if you do that and go back to basics and you put a shift in you get your reward.”

Greenwich Borough’s best spell of the game arrived early in the second half.

Billy Bennett and Danny Phillips charged towards the edge of the Phoenix box and the ball rolled out to 27-goal Alexander, who cracked a left-footed volley screaming agonisingly past the right-hand post from 20-yards inside three minutes.



Greenwich Borough midfielder Billy Bennett has had a good season for Ian Jenkins' side
Photo: www.greenwichboroughfc.co.uk

“I think we started a little bit of purpose about us and on the front foot and being a bit more positive,” said Blade.

“On a pitch that’s flat and hard, you help the balls on into little areas, little pockets where you want people to get into and get behind instead of trying to threat a little worldy pass that’s going to run out of play or get cut out.  These sort of pitches and these sort of games you have to keep things on in little areas and gamble.”

Carneige whipped in a cross from the right and the ball found King’s feet inside the Greenwich box, but the winger swept-shot rolled past the near post.

Greenwich Borough created another great chance to level things up in the 51^st minute.

Paul Vines cut the ball back from the right, which evaded Alexander and Bennett drilled his low shot agonisingly past the post.

Blade said: “He had two good chances. He had the shot and he had the one that looped up when he should have took it first time instead of trying to put it down.

“Pitches like this when it bounces up again, you’re going to lose control, that’s why he should have taken it first time but he had two great chances in the space of two minutes.”

O’Boyle added: “They had a couple of early chances. We was hanging on for a little while. It was a key time in the game and it looked like they could have got one back.

“We held in there. The started lively in the second half. I felt we was comfortable for large parts of the second half.

Greenwich Borough went close again when Beale delivered a corner in from the left and Phillips’ shot was scrambled away and substitute Jamie Wood hooked his volley over the bar from 12-yards.

The unbeaten league leaders were under the cosh for the first 15 minutes but they rode the storm and started to dominate.

Carneige cut in from the right on the break and slipped the ball through to striker Yacine Gnahore, who placed his first time shot into Holloway’s hands, the keeper making a comfortable low save to his left.

“The thing with Nico (James), he’s a young lad and he’s got a lot to learn,” Blade said of his central defender.

“We’re trying to educate him what he needs to do. He lets people come off him a little bit. He doesn’t open his mouth and talk so we’re just trying to get him to talk a little bit more, understand the game, when to press and mark.”

Mingle floated in a deep cross from left-back, which was knocked down by Cornell down the middle and Moore’s right-footed shot on the turn flashed just wide of the post from 15-yards.

Phoenix Sports almost took a two-goal advantage going into the second leg in the 72^nd minute.

Cornell’s clever pass released Gnahore through on goal but his right-footed dink cleared Holloway and clipped the top of the crossbar and went behind for a goal-kick.

“He hit it too well, didn’t he? It was the right idea but maybe too much on it,” added O’Boyle.

But Greenwich Borough kept their season alive when Lewis Wood pounced in clinical fashion.

Aaron Day hurled a long throw into the penalty area, Phoenix Sports had a couple of chances to clear their lines but Wood’s finish was pure quality, cracking a left-footed volley into the top left-hand corner from 12-yards.

“I think we got our reward in the end,” added Blade.

“He’s the sort of player you want in that area. He hasn’t got great pace. He doesn’t get behind people but in and around the box you give him a chance and he puts it away.  He was lucky it fell to him. He’s got good composure. He is a good finisher. He only had one chance and he put it in the back of the net so fair play to him.”

O’Boyle added: “We’ve attacked the first ball, won the first ball and second ball we haven’t defended and Lewis Wood, that’s all he’s done all his career basically, hasn’t he?  A little fox in the box and he’s put the ball in the back of the net.

“We maybe should have defended it better but that’s a massive improvement in what we’ve been doing off late.

“I can’t say a bad word about the players tonight. I’m so pleased with their work-rate and the desire out there tonight.

“Nothing’s been won, nothing’s been lost tonight. We’ll see what the second leg brings.”

However, a lapse in concentration from Joe Vines gifted Gnahore a chance to win it for Phoenix at the death, but his right-footed drive from 12-yards was expertly pushed over the bar by Holloway.

O’Boyle added: “I’d like to see him put that one low down but I can’t be critical. I was really impressed with Yacine tonight.  He has been a little bit off form and he’s led the line well tonight. He looked aggressive, held the ball up for us well. I’m really pleased with the shift he’s put in.”

League leaders Phoenix Sports travel to Beckenham Town on Saturday, sitting six points clear of Erith & Belvedere and unbeaten in 26 league games.

They then travel to Corinthian (17 March) and then Greenwich Borough (21 March) before the Second Leg.

“I hope we’ve got a few players back by then,” said O’Boyle.

“How do I see the second leg going? I haven’t got a clue!

“Listen, they’re a good side. You see the players that they’ve got on display.

“I think we’ve got the hardest Semi-Final draw. They’re not up there in the league really. We lost to them in the Kent Senior Trophy Quarter-Final and the better team won. We’ve got a decent side to play in the Semi-Final. If they turn up and play well, we’re going to have to play very well!”

When asked whether his side can complete their league campaign undefeated, O’Boyle replied: “I don’t really care about that! I’ll be a liar if I said I didn’t want to win the league. I think we can win the league and going the whole league season (unbeaten), that’s tough. We’ve got some tough games to play. As long as we’ve got that trophy at the end of the season, I don’t care!”

Greenwich Borough still have to play 15 league games, the Second Leg of this Cup and the Kent Senior Trophy Final against Hollands & Blair at Bromley’s Hayes Lane on 12 April.

Blade said Ian Jenkins’ 24-man squad will be able to cope with the gruelling fixture back-log.

“With a squad of 24 players hopefully, which is why we’ve got a big squad. People are starting to pick knocks up with the pitches starting to get hard, that’s when the pitches start to play a fixture in the injury front so our physio will be working full on to get everyone fit and ready and we’ll just take every game as it comes.”

Greenwich Borough are in seventh-place in the table with 46 points from 23 games – 22 points adrift of the leaders.

“We’ve got four games before we play the second leg so we’re looking at four wins, 12 points and then see where that takes us. Teams are playing around us and are taking points of people and all off a sudden we’re back into it again. Anything can happen. The next four games will be interesting before we play these again.  It will be interesting to see how far behind them we are in four games time – that will make a difference.”

When asked what he’s expecting for the second leg, Blade replied: “Tight again! I think if we can apply ourselves a little bit, we’ve got another four games between now and then. We need to take care of the four league games we’ve got first. We’re at home and we’ll be at it and we’ll do the same thing again and hopefully the right result.”

Phoenix Sports: Steve Phillips, Ryan Andrews, Lewis Mingle, Jason Goodchild, Dean Kearley, Danny Moore, Harrison Carneige, Michael Jenner, Carl Cornell (Louis Valencia 75), Yacine Gnahore, George King.
Subs: Myles Keizer-Burrows, James Brown, Steadman Callender, Danny Kemp

Goal: Harrison Carneige 42

Greenwich Borough: Craig Holloway, Nico James, Frankie Beale, Aaron Day, Joe Vines, Danny Young, Chris Edwards (Jamie Wood 31), Gary Alexander (Lewis Wood 64), Paul Vines, Danny Phillips, Billy Bennett (Jack Clark 79).
Subs: Jack Mahon, Gary Borrowdale

Goal: Lewis Wood 85

Attendance: 67
Referee: Mr Wally James (Eltham, London SE9)
Assistants: Mr Daniel Smith (Gillingham) & Mr Harry Phillips (Sidcup)