Soccer Shorts: The only thing that I'm concerned about is us to be honest with you, says Ramsgate joint-boss Danny Ward

Here are today’s Soccer Shorts articles.

 

ASHFORD UNITED manager Danny Lye takes his side to Burgess Hill Town today aiming to pull off a FA Cup First Qualifying Round upset.

The home side go into the game sitting in the top nine in the Ryman Premier League table, having collected eight points from their opening six games, while Ashford are in the top five in the Southern Counties East Football League Premier Division.

“We have had a good start to the season as far as results go but we have not yet been consistent in our performances over 90 minutes,” said Lye.

“After Monday’s injury time winner for Sheppey, in a game I thought we controlled for long periods, I’m expecting the boys to bounce back today with a good performance against a strong Burgess Hill side.

“Win or lose today it is all about doing yourself and the club proud by putting in a decent performance and 100% effort.

“We have given soft goals away in our last two games so we will be eager to put a stop to that and push for the win.  We will go to Burgess Hill confident that we can do well against a team two divisions higher.

“Win or lose as long as we do our best, will be all I can ask from my squad.”

CANTERBURY CITY manager Ben Smith takes his side to Deal Town today searching for consistency.

The side are sitting in the bottom six in the Southern Counties East Football League Premier Division table with four points form as many games , whilst hosts Deal Town have claimed one point from their first three outings and only Erith Town are below them in the table.

Smith said: “It’s a tough game in store for us away at Deal, last season’s game aside, the club have not had too much joy against them down there. 

“I guess for Deal it’s their main derby fixture so they’ll put in the extra effort in against us and we’ll need to match them in that respect if we’re going to take anything from the game.

“We’ve not done a lot wrong in our opening league games this season, just maybe lacked some cutting edge in the final third, which has cost us and then the confidence gets sapped out of the group when you don’t get anything out of the games.

“This seemed to change on Monday at Whitstable where getting the opening goal was like a weight lifted off the lads shoulders and we finally got the monkey off our back in terms of beating one of the big spending sides. 

“Our football at times was excellent in countering their long ball and we matched them physically, which was most pleasing and to fair 4-1 flattered them!

“We’ve said to the lads that this result means absolutely nothing if we don’t go and follow it up with points on Saturday and my assistant Darren Beale has hit the nail on the head asking the players if we are a side that takes one step forward and then two steps back. We’ll have the answer to that this week.”

CORINTHIAN manager Michael Golding says he’s feeling frustrated ahead of today’s trip to newly-promoted Sheppey United.

The Gay Dawn Farm outfit reached the summit following an impressive opening night win at Tunbridge Wells but have slipped down to thirteenth-place in the Southern Counties East Football League Premier Division table on five points form four games.

“It has been a frustrating start to the season following the opening day win at Tunbridge Wells,” revealed Golding.

“Performance levels have generally been good, other than a sub-standard first half way at Fisher, where were deservedly trailing by three goals to nil.

“However, the character of the squad has been fantastic and to come back from 3-0 down at half-time and then 4-2 with 20 minutes to go at home to Hollands & Blair on Bank Holiday Monday, to get a point in both games, shows a determination and desire within the squad that we were maybe missing last year.

“We are trying as a squad to be positive, but having drawn level in both games, we had two if not three more chances to go and win both games, so there are mixed feelings following both results.”

Golding takes his side to play seventh-placed side Sheppey United today.

“It should be a good game. We have had them watched and they are a team that seem to try and play the game in a similar way to ourselves, they also have lots of pace and power up front, which is something we will have to be aware of,” said Golding.

“The pitch is good and that should allow us to go and play how we want to and as always we are confident of achieving a positive result.  However, we are aware that we go into another tough game as underdogs and hopefully that will suit us.”

DULWICH HAMLET boss Gavin Rose says he is going to give Pagham respect in today’s FA Cup First Qualifying Round tie.

The Hamlet are sitting in 11^th place in the Ryman Premier League table with a record of two wins, two draws and two defeats, while hosts Pagham are in the top six in the Southern Combination Premier Division.

“Pagham have earned their place at this stage of the competition and deserve our full respect in a game they can play in a relaxed manner,” said Rose.

“We will, of course, attempt to win the tie there today, but want to progress in the competition, even if that means a replay.

“We have had a poor start to the season, conceding poor goals and giving the opposition early leads, giving us an uphill struggle in games.

“The players and staff are disappointed with our start and determined to improve in the month of September onwards.  That said, nothing’s won or lost in August, so we are very confident that we’ll improve considerably over the coming weeks and months.”

RAMSGATE joint-manager Danny Ward says he is looking forward to the big game against Whyteleafe today.

The two Ryman League Division One South sides lock horns in The FA Cup First Qualifying Round at Southwood Stadium.

“They are not going through a good spell but if they get their injured players back then they will be a very hard test for us because they are a very good team,” said Ward.

“The only thing I’m concerned about is us to be honest with you. The lads have now set themselves a standard. If we get near to the last 135 minutes we have played second half at Molesey and the whole game against Hythe then we will hopefully progress through to the next round.

“Even though we are only five games into the season we are coming into the form that we want and the competition for places is exactly where I want it to be with it even being difficult for a place on the bench!

“I think this league will be very competitive this season even though some other teams are spending absolutely fortunes. I don’t think anyone will run away with it like the last two years!”

Travel news for players and supporters planning to use the M20 today.

Work to remove a footbridge which was damaged in a serious incident on the M20 in Kent will take place this weekend.

A section of the pedestrian bridge over the motorway near junction 3 (the interchange with the M26) collapsed after it was struck by a digger being transported by a lorry last weekend.

A complex operation was carried out to remove the collapsed section from the scene at the weekend, and the road was reopened the day after the incident. Now work to remove the remaining section will begin.

The coastbound M20 will be closed between junctions 1 and 4 and London bound between junctions 4 and 2, until 6am on Monday. The coastbound M26 will also be closed from the M25 junction 5.

The remaining structure, which is being constantly monitored, is structurally sound and safe for traffic to pass underneath with a temporary 50mph speed limit will remain in place.

Highways England’s Chief Highway Engineer Catherine Brookes said: “Safety remains Highways England’s top priority. We worked hard last weekend to reopen the M20 as soon as it was safe to do so and I would like to thank drivers for their patience while we did this.

“The remaining section of the bridge has been assessed and is safe for traffic to pass underneath with a temporary 50mph speed limit. We naturally need to remove it under safe controlled conditions this weekend. We will use the closures to carry out as much work as possible, including barrier repairs, resurfacing and litter picking. We will start planning the replacement in due course.

“There will be around 100 people working around the clock this weekend to safely remove the remaining section of the footbridge.”

The coast bound M20 will be closed between junction 1 (for the M25) and junction 4 (for the A228) and London bound M20 closed between junctions 4 and 2 for the work to be carried out. The coastbound M26 will be closed from the M25 junction 5. Clearly signed diversions will be in place via the A229 and M2/A2 to join the M25 at junction 2.

Local traffic will be able to use the A20. Long distance traffic heading to and from east Kent is advised to consider using the A2/M2. Access to the A21 from the anti-clockwise M25 will also be closed with a diversion via junction 4.

The East Street footbridge, near the village of Addington, is a pedestrian footbridge constructed of reinforced concrete in 1971. Highways England is now considering the options for replacing the footbridge, which could take some time to complete.

Last updated: 10:00 – 03/09/2016