Phoenix Sports 0-3 Whyteleafe - Jon Main is the club's biggest signing by a mile, says Beckingham

 PHOENIX SPORTS  0-3  WHYTELEAFE
Pre-Season Friendly
Tuesday 29^th July 2014
Stephen McCartney reports from Mayplace Road East

PHOENIX SPORTS’ joint-manager Tony Beckingham says he doesn’t know how the club has managed to entice star-striker Jon Main to sign for them.

Main, 33, needs no introduction after his long list of achievements in non-league football, but he put pen to paper to sign a Southern Counties East Football League registration form before making his debut with 53 minutes on the pitch as Phoenix Sports went down to a 3-0 defeat to last season’s league champions Whyteleafe.

The Leafe, who are preparing for their Ryman League Division One South return after a two year absence, took an early lead before Greg Andrews’ header, before he added a second with an excellent second half free-kick, before substitute Tommy Harper tapped home a third at the death.

Main becomes Phoenix Sports’ biggest ever signing, in only their second campaign at this level.

When asked how they have enticed the former AFC Wimbledon goal-machine to the club, Beckingham admitted: “I don’t really know to be honest with you!
 
“He lives local. He’s obviously been there, seen it and done it and I believe he just wants to play locally. Hopefully enjoys football at a half-decent club.

“I’m hoping that we can give him what he wants out of football for the remainder of his career really.

“You probably have to ask him that question rather than us. We’re just delighted to have him.

“I’m a bit speechless by it. I still kind of am.  You’re not going to turn your nose up at a player of that quality that becomes available.  It’s just great for our club. When you consider where we were a few years’ ago in the Kent County League and now in the Kent League and even for that type of player to be linked with Phoenix, let alone actually playing for the club, just shows you how far the club has come.”

Main started last season at Ryman Premier League side Thamesmead Town before announcing his retirement on 29 September, before coming out of retirement to have short spells with Erith & Belvedere, VCD Athletic, Old Roan, before finishing the campaign at Ramsgate.

Beckingham added: “It’s the club’s biggest signing by an absolute mile.  The only thing with Jon as everyone knows, he just needs to get himself fit really. Tonight was the first step really towards achieving that.”

Reflecting on their penultimate pre-season friendly, Beckingham said: “I got a lot out of that tonight.  So far we’ve had a really good pre-season and we’ve had a good result last Friday against VCD, which was an excellent performance and tonight I thought we played a really good side actually in Whyteleafe.

“I thought they looked really strong and they’ve strengthened from last year.

“We made too many individual errors really and we got hurt from it but that’s good because we play good sides for that reason really. It sharpens you up and making them on August 9^th against Greenwich Borough, then I will be upset but I’m glad it was tonight.

“I think sometimes you learn a lot more from that kind of game then you do playing somebody two or three levels below you and beating them 10 or 8 or whatever it is.

“It was a good exercise for us, (against) a good side and we’ve learnt a lot about ourselves tonight.”

Whyteleafe manager John Fowler, who guided the club out of the Southern Counties East Football League in only his first season in charge at Church Road, was delighted with his side’s night’s work.

“Really good performance,” said the former Croydon boss.

“I thought coming in it, it was always going to be a tough friendly. Playing against them last year we had four competitive games against them and we knew it would be a really tough friendly because I think they’re a good side and obviously they’re looking to push on in their league next year, so it was a good test for us, especially coming off the bounce of two losses to Bromley and Dulwich.

“It was important that we had a positive result tonight and we had a good performance. We worked on our fitness and some stuff that we’ve worked on in training and I think it all pulled off tonight so it was really good, pleasing for me.”

Kick-off was delayed by around ten minutes due to the late arrival of Whyteleafe’s away strip.

But Whyteleafe took the lead with their first attempt inside the opening seven minutes.

Ryan Fowler swung in a corner from the left with his right-foot towards the far post and Andrews was left unmarked to plant his header through a crowd of players into the back of the net.

Manager Fowler said: “Greg’s not the tallest of people, but he’s not a bad header of the ball so it wasn’t no surprise in all fairness, but good goal.”

Beckingham added: “Really poor defending! That’s all I can say.  A free header on our six-yard box is unfortunate but they’re the only reasons why you have pre-season friendlies and you need to sharpen up.

“As I say make that mistake on Saturday week, I’ll be upset. Having said that we didn’t have Scott Whibley or Chris Hill tonight, who have played the majority of our pre-season games at centre half and we definitely missed them.

“Danny Moore normally plays at left-back and Brownie (James Brown) hasn’t been around much due to school, work commitments, so he was a bit off the pace.  A bad goal from us. A good goal for them!”

Phoenix Sports’ first chance arrived exactly three minutes later but Main picked the ball up and cut in to the middle but scuffed his left-footed shot, flashing harmlessly across visiting keeper Adam Highstead and past the far post from 20-yards.

Fowler was delighted that his two central defenders, Louis Hollingsworth and Dillon Merchant kept Main quiet on his debut.

“I honestly think our two centre halves can play at a higher level easy anyway, so I knew they would be comfortable anyway.”

Beckingham added: “I thought he (Main) looked sharp.  I know he’s a very good player but even the best players need to get fit and if you’re not fit and haven’t got your match sharpness then you give him that chance six to eight weeks down the line in the Kent League then that would be buried!

“I thought he did well. He made those runs. I wasn’t really judging him tonight. I wasn’t really looking at him as a player. It’s just a matter of going out there and getting some minutes and get on the road towards getting match fit for us.”

Phoenix Sports’ substitute Sean Rowson made an early introduction to the game after midfielder Jason Goodchild was forced off following a knee injury picked up in their 1-0 defeat at neighbours VCD Athletic last Friday night.

Rowson, 18, whipped in a cross from the right flank, which sailed over Highstead’s head, which bounced on top of the crossbar before dropping behind for a goal-kick.

Beckingham said: “He’s only 18. He’s come to us. He’s only a young lad. He can play midfield, centre half or right-back. He’s good. He doesn’t look or play like an eighteen-year-old and we’ve got really high hopes for him.”

Poor defending by left-back Frankie Beale, gifted Whyteleafe a chance in the 17^th minute but keeper Dean Nash made a smart diving save to his right to deny Andrews scoring with a left-footed shot from 18-yards.

The home side attempted to play the ball out from the back but Ryan Andrews’ pass from right-back was given away to Jason Thompson and Whyteleafe spread the ball about with Andrews playing the ball inside to Bentley Graham on the right, who put striker Shawn Lyle through on goal but he rolled his shot across Nash and past the far post.

Fowler added: “I thought he should’ve showed a bit more composure in all fairness.  But in all fairness to the lad he made a great run in to position so on another day you’d expect him to hit the back of the net but obviously he had to show a bit more composure.”

Phoenix Sports were lively down the right flank with Andrews and Louis Valencia linking-up well to give Whyteleafe left-back Alex Penfold plenty to think about.

But Whyteleafe called Nash into making a comfortable save in the 37^th minute when Fowler played a diagonal pass from left to right to pick out Thompson, who played the ball into Kieran Kenlock and the right-back put Graham through on goal but his shot from the outside of the right-boot curled into Nash’s gloves.

Phoenix Sports created a half chance inside the opening two minutes of the second half.

Valencia, who was the home side’s most impressive player on the night, clipped the ball in an attempt to release Main down the channel, but he was stopped in his tracks by the ball bouncing off his back and the striker swept his shot into Highstead’s gloves from a hopeful angle.

Valencia swung in Phoenix Sports’ first corner of the game which was met by James Brown’s looping header at the far post which was comfortably caught by Highstead.

But the game turned in Whyteleafe’s favour as soon as the home side replaced their front three of Main, Rikkie Cable and Miles Cornwell just before the hour-mark.

“That’s typical pre-season, that’s why no-one of us like it very much because it’s disjointed. It is what it is. It’s just a means to an end really,” said Beckingham.

“We had some youngsters and some players on the bench who needed minutes. We had a look at them. I totally agree, it was disjointed. It was scrappy for us. It was just a case of getting minutes in their legs and that was it. We’re not worried about chasing the game. It’s lost.”

Whyteleafe were awarded a free-kick on the very edge of the penalty area after Brown brought down Graham and Graham stepped up and drilled his resulting right-footed free-kick agonisingly past the foot of the left-hand post.

Within seconds, Nash moved swiftly off his line to block Graham’s shot with his legs when the Whyteleafe striker only had the keeper to beat.

But Whyteleafe made no mistake with a second free-kick, clinically despatched by former Leatherhead striker Andrews after 66 minutes.

Andrews clipped an excellent right-footed free-kick over the wall and above Nash’s left-hand shoulder to find the roof of the net from 30-yards.

Fowler said: “It was a really clever free-kick to be fair. Phoenix were caught asleep there in all honesty but that’s what we’ve tried to put into our game.  That little bit of awareness and a bit of sharpness in the mind. We set it and played before they were even ready so a good goal to score.”

Beckingham added: “It was in the top corner. It was a static ball. He’s hit it over the wall into the top corner. I don’t think if we were totally switched on anybody would’ve done anything about that!

“It’s a wonderful strike in the top corner.  Not many keepers in the world would save that – a great goal!

“What I was upset about was the way we rushed to re-start play when it went out of play and we gave it straight back to them!”

Halfway through the second half, Harper was played in on goal, cut into the penalty area and his right-footed angled drive was pushed away by Nash, who got a strong right hand to the shot as he dived to his right.

Andrews spotted the Phoenix keeper out of position in the final fifteen minutes and drilled a speculative right-footed drive wide of the left-hand post from 30-yards.

Phoenix Sports created their best chance of the second half when substitute Carl Cornell released Valencia through on goal but his left-footed drive was palmed away by the diving Highstead.

Valencia’s pace down the left was giving Whyteleafe’s defence problems and if he can do this against Ryman League Division One South players, then the former Hollands & Blair winger will be a threat this season.

“Do you know what? That’s his worst game for us,” admitted Beckingham.

“He missed last week’s training. He went away on a stag weekend to Marbella. He didn’t play at the weekend. It’s his first game back tonight.

“Louis is a very good player. He will be an excellent player for us, but I think he needed the 90 minutes tonight to blow away the cobwebs that were there from his weekend away.

“We like Louis. We were impressed with him from before when we played against Hollands & Blair and we went in for him and fortunately for us he decided to come.”

After running for 30-yards, Valencia cut into the middle but failed to connect properly and the ball rolled apologetically into Highstead’s gloves.

However, poor goalkeeping from Nash gifted Whyteleafe a third in the 89^th minute.

A poorly executed goal-kick went straight to Andrews on the edge of the box, who ran forward and laid the ball off to Graham, who cut the ball back for Harper at the near post, who steered his shot into the empty net from six-yards.

Fowler said: “To be fair, I thought he’d take it first time in all honesty, but the guys come in. It’s his first game for us and he’s showed some good stuff in that 30 minutes.

“He’s been playing all over the place. His main team is Dorking. He had a good time at Dorking. He scored a number of goals for them. He’s a good, young prospect.”

Beckingham added: “I don’t think anyone will miss from there! But it don’t help when we’ve passed the ball straight to their feet!

“It was a goal-kick and we gave it straight to them. Fair enough what went on after that but if you kick it straight to them on the edge of the box, it’s not like it’s been some fantastic move that’s broke us down. We passed it straight to them and it was our goalkeeper, three-on-one. It’s never going to work, is it?”

Whyteleafe almost scored a flattering fourth when Grant’s ball over the top released Graham through on goal down the left and his chip sailed over the advancing Nash and Russell Bedford got back to clear the ball off the line.

A fourth goal would have been harsh on Phoenix Sports.

Fowler said: “Like I say, they’re not one of those teams who lie down. They’ll always try to stop goals going in and he did.

“Like any team, sometimes there mentality ain’t right, they would’ve just let that go in.”

Beckingham said: “By that time there was nothing on the game. You’ll find our players have switched off a little bit. I don’t even think 3-0 reflected the game if I’m honest. They’ve scored the three and good luck to them. I thought it was a lot closer than three but I would also like to say they were the best side we’ve played pre-season so far and I think they’re going to do really well in the Ryman South, so good luck to them.

“I have learnt a good few lessons out of today, so yes, it was a really good exercise for us.”

Beckingham admitted he missed fellow manager Steve O’Boyle, who is on a family holiday in Swanage.

“I never miss him. He gives me a headache,” he joked, before adding, “Of course you do!   You’re used to working with your partner. You have a way of working. You miss people when they’re not there.  You bounce ideas of each other and talk things through so you turn around to speak to him and he’s not there! I know he’s only little, but I do find him eventually!”

Whyteleafe welcome Beckenham Town to Church Road on Saturday to contest the Roy Vinter Southern Counties East Football League Challenge Shield.

Fowler expects a tough examination against Jason Huntley’s double cup winners.

He said: “It will be another tough game because we’ve had some good battles against Beckenham.  It’s a pre-season friendly that’s got a bit of an edge to it but looking forward to it and it will be a good work out for us.”

When asked about the club’s Ryman League return, the Whyteleafe boss said: “It’s really exciting. We’re really looking forward to it. In all fairness a lot of the boys have played at that level as well and I think a lot of them have got a point to prove because they’ve been to clubs and not used as much as they have at Whyteleafe so I’m hoping they’ve got the attitude to put things right and show people what they’re about.

“We’re just looking to hold our own, give everyone a game who we play against and end up as high as we can.”

Phoenix Sports: Dean Nash, Ryan Andrews (Shaquille Richards 46), Frankie Beale, Russell Bedford, James Brown, Danny Moore (Baris Bozyigit 65), Louis Valencia, Jason Goodchild (Sean Rowson 10), Miles Cornwell (Carl Cornell 56), Jon Main (Ricky Freeman 53), Rikki Cable (Enoch Adjei 53).

Whyteleafe: Adam Highstead, Kieran Kenlock (Cedric Abraham 60), Alex Penfold, Jensen Grant, Dillon Merchant (Dom Huell 60), Louis Hollingsworth, Ryan Fowler (Shawn Lyle 85), Jason Thompson (Simon Mensah 60), Shawn Lyle (Tommy Harper 60), Greg Andrews, Bentley Graham.

Goals: Greg Andrews 7, 66, Tommy Harper 89

Attendance: 55
Referee: Mr Tom Marshall (Eltham, London SE9)
Assistants: Mr Kevin Greenhead (Bexleyheath) & Mr Zach Moules (Erith)