It's not viable to take Metrogas up in its present situation and present home, says manager Roy Davies

METROGAS manager Roy Davies says it’s been a fantastic couple of seasons for the club.

The New-Eltham based outfit have secured back-to-back titles in the NRG Gym Kent County League and go into their last game of the season with a tasty derby against Stansfeld Oxford & Bermondsey Club.

Davies’ side clinched the Kent Intermediate Challenge Shield with a 2-1 win over Bexley at Thamesmead Town’s Bayliss Avenue on 28 March.

The Gas sit proudly at the top of the table on 70 points from 27 games and finish their season with a derby against their tenants tomorrow.

Lloyd Bradley’s side are in second-place with 59 points and they clinched the Bill Manklow Inter-Regional Challenge Cup with a 2-0 win over Division One West side Farnborough Old Boys Guild on Tuesday night.

“We were upset that we couldn’t go up last season and we re-gathered our thoughts and said can we go back-to-back titles and add a trophy to it, which we were able to do so to do a double was pleasing,” said Davies.

Looking forward to tomorrow’s derby showdown against Stansfeld, Davies said: “It’s a shame there’s nothing actually on the game in all fairness because if the title was up for grabs on the last game I think that would have added a bit of spice to it.

“We’ve had two good games with them, one in the league and one in the semi-final in the cup.

“Tomorrow’s game is going to be a good game, with nothing riding on it in terms of positions in the league.  It’s a shame because that extra bit of spice would have been nice, it always is.

“They’re on a good run as well.  If you look at their league record they’ve lost less games than we did, they’ve lost twice and we’ve lost three games. It’s the draws that’s caused them a problem in terms of their league position.  They’ve been on a good run.  Tomorrow will be a special game if there was something on it.”

Stansfeld manager Bradley revealed that there is post-match banter between the two fierce rivals’ in the bar and Davies was asked what makes the fixtures between the two sides so special.

“It’s just a lot of inter-locking weaves with players who have played for both clubs,” he said.

“I played for Stansfeld back in the day.  One of the guys that’s on the Stansfeld management side was my manager when I played one season for Stansfeld.

“There’s lots of other bits of pieces like that. Stansfeld striker Billy Shinners, I played football with his dad back in the day.

“There’s lots of people that have got a foot in both camps in terms of sides they’ve played for in the past, friends that they’ve got and obviously groundsharing makes for a special bit of banter in the bar. It makes for a good atmosphere.”

But Davies revealed friendship goes by the wayside when the referee blows his whistle at 2:45pm.

He said: “It’s always feisty, always will be, that’s a given.  There’s no part given and none expected. Everyone gives 100% and everybody wants to win but afterwards we all shake hands and everyone’s good pals again.”

Davies confirmed that the club will still be competing in the Kent County League Premier again next season.

Tomorrow’s game is being played on an adjacent pitch at Greenwich College because the main pitch at the club are being used for cricket.

Davies said: “Again, we can’t go up. We’ve explored most avenues in terms of groundshares and one thing or another and it’s not viable to take the club in its present situation and its present home.

“We just can’t take it anywhere and that’s the unfortunate fact and that’s the end of that as far as we’re concerned.”

When asked whether his current squad will fly the nest as the club cannot provide them Kent Invicta League football that they deserve next season, Davies said: “Again, I don’t discuss those type of things. I won’t want to discuss anything until the seasons over and we’ve still got one game to go. It’s not an issue that’s raised its head yet.

“We’ve got a manager’s meeting next week so I’m pretty sure there will be plenty of issues on the Agenda to be discussed.”

But Davies would like the standard of pitches in the division to improve.

“I would say that the standard of the sides’ in there this year weren’t as strong as last year and I would say there’s a few grounds in the division that are not really up to Step 7 as we’re labelled at,” he said.

“They really are park pitches and if this pyramid system is to be any type of feeder – we’re the bottom rung of the feeder levels – they really need to get their house in order and they need to get sides in there who are up to scratch.

“We’ve played on some poor pitches this season.  It does dictate the way that you can play and on some pitches you just cannot play football with the ball on the floor because it always ends up around your knees!

Davies hopes the League will hand them the Premier Division winners’ trophy tomorrow.

“I’m hopeful that they’re going to bring it down tomorrow so we can have a bit of a photoshoot.  We’ve got the Kent Intermediate Challenge Trophy in the cupboard and hopefully we can put the league trophy there too.”

Meanwhile, Premier Division rivals Erith 147 Sports have appointed a new management team of Ross Baker and Danny Joy, after the pair left Bexlians to take charge of the club.

Visit Metrogas’ website:  http://www.pitchero.com/clubs/metrogasfc

Stansfeld Oxford & Bermondsey Club  v Metrogas
NRG Gym Kent County League Premier
Saturday 9^th May 2015
Kick Off 2:45pm
At Greenwich University Pitch, adjacent to Metrogas Sports Ground, Marathon Playing Fields, Fortyfoot Way, Avery Hill Road, New Eltham, London SE9 2EX