Sevenoaks Town 2-0 Erith Town - We were just going through the motions, admits Sevenoaks Town boss Micky Collins

Sevenoaks Town 2 – 0 Erith Town
Location	Greatness Park, Mill Lane, Seal Road, Sevenoaks, Kent TN14 5BX
Kickoff	19/10/2016 19:45

SEVENOAKS TOWN  2-0  ERITH TOWN
Southern Counties East Football League Premier Division
Wednesday 19^th October 2016
Stephen McCartney reports from Greatness Park

SEVENOAKS TOWN manager Micky Collins says he expected more from his players against a poor Erith Town side tonight.

The Oaks extended their winning run to four games with a comfortable 2-0 win to climb up a couple of places into seventh in the Southern Counties East Football League Premier Division table.  They are 10 points adrift of league leaders AFC Croydon Athletic tonight but with four games in hand.

Erith Town joint-manager Ian Jenkins spent most of his three minute post-match press conference berating referee Jack Owen and declined to speak about the game where his players lacked heart and desire and put in a poor performance that leaves the club in the bottom five on 11 points from as many games and three points clear above basement side Fisher.

Just 32 days after Sevenoaks Town recorded their second highest ever attendance of 426 to watch their FA Cup Second Qualifying Round 2-2 draw against Chesham United – when Barry Hayles, 44, scored a heartbreaking last-gasp equaliser here at Greatness Park, only 46 people turned out tonight.

The hardcore fans watched an uninspiring affair which Sevenoaks Town sealed a deserved victory with striker Byron Walker, 30, scoring twice in the space of 226 seconds in the first half.

“Good result, pleased with it, clean sheet is decent.  We haven’t played at home for a little while,” said Collins after his side’s sixth league win of the season.

“Second half I thought we were poor.  We didn’t come out, we were lax, a little slap dash and yes not good enough second half so I had a little bit of a moan at the end but we done the damage in the first half, played some good football, scored two good goals.”

When asked about the huge drop in attendances since the club’s longest run in The FA Cup, Collins blamed football on the television.

He said: “There’s nothing you can do about that! People don’t want to come out on a night when there’s Champions League on the tele and they’re sitting in the warm. Can you blame them?

“You need to be professional, come here, don’t look at the crowd and play your football. Even if there’s two thousand here tonight you wouldn’t look at the crowd so no, it’s not about that.  We didn’t look like we were playing in front of 46 people in the first half because we came out of the block and playing like how we should.”

Jenkins said: “I thought they’re a good side mate to be honest with you.  I think they’re a very, very good side.  They’ve got a lot of ball runners and they’re very effective.

“First half they deserved to go in, they went in 2-0 up.  They’re a good side.  I think they’ll be one of the ones at the end of the season that will be there or there abouts. 

“We came out second half, after having a bit of a go at them at half-time, showed a bit more endeavour, created a few half chances. We hit the post and I think we had a one-on-one at the end where maybe one of our players should’ve done better with and a header at the end so we could’ve really nicked a draw but would it have been deserved? I don’t really know.”

Jenkins walked out of the portacabin to voice his disgust following an incident inside the opening two minutes of the game.

The flag stayed down and winger James Hawkins latched onto a ball and only had Sevenoaks keeper Oshane Brown to beat.  He chipped the ball over the advancing keeper’s head, who appeared to have used his hands to make a vital block – outside the penalty area – and play re-started with a throw-in to Erith Town.

“The game could’ve been different if the referee seen the handball in the first minute or the second minute of the game when the goalkeeper came out and handled outside the box stopping a certain goal,” fumed Jenkins.

“Hawkins’ going one-on-one with the goalie, the keeper comes out of the area, he lobs it over the goalie’s head, the goalie saves it with his hands, outside the box, definitely outside the box!

“The people on the line said it was outside, even from where I was, I could see it was outside the box. Disappointing mate, really does my head in. He can’t even admit it!

“I’m just totally gutted with it mate to be honest with you and it does my head in!

“I want you to report this as well.  All you get three assessors here tonight, whether they’re assessing the ref I don’t know. Two of them are watching the dug-outs, ‘have you got Macron gear on? Have you done this, have you got this? Are you standing up?’ two standing and all that.

“I’m not allowed to be passionate.  We turn up a little bit late, we kicked off a little bit late (the game kicked off at 19:49). The referee’s banging on the door shouting his head off ‘hurry up, we’ll do you for a late kick-off!’

“We’re human beings, we all have to go to work, have a bit of leeway with us! Talk to us, come and talk to us! They don’t want to know mate. That’s what annoys us and that’s why I’m talking to you now mate to be honest with you.  I don’t really do no talking nowadays because it seems like I’m whingeing all the time!

“It could be a red, it could be a red. It does change it. I’m not making excuses. It does change it. Whether he’ll send him off or not I don’t know. He might not have done that because of new rules and regs. I don’t really know. Might’ve got a free-kick on the edge of the box. You never know what might have happened. He definitely would’ve got a booking instead of four of our players getting booked and one of theirs. I’m just gutted mate!”

When asked his version of events, Collins replied: “Do you know what? I didn’t see it! I was looking the other way and I was talking to the boys in the dug-out.  It was so early and I turned round and everyone was moaning so I didn’t actually see what went on. 

“It’s up to the official to make those decisions isn’t it? If they got that one wrong, they’ve got it wrong. I didn’t see it so I can’t comment really.”

Erith Town’s right-back James Coppins, who suffered a nightmare as Sevenoaks winger Kieron McCann drove past him at every opportunity down the left wing, cleared the ball off the line twice to deny Billy Bennett and Stephen Camacho converting two Greg Benbow corners.

McCann brushed past Coppins once more to find space down the left channel and float over a cross but Harrison Carnegie’s stooping header from eight-yards was caught by Bobby Sturgeon.

“We played in some good areas and they came out quite quick. They came out of the block quite alright Erith so we had to contain that, which we did and then we didn’t have any impetus for me. We weren’t direct enough to get at them and make things happen and it took us a while to get going.”

After that flurry of openings inside the opening 10 minutes the game then turned into an uninspiring stalemate.

That was until Sevenoaks Town opened the scoring, the goal timed at 25 minutes and 4 seconds on the clock.

Bennett robbed the ball off Hawkins some 30-yard from goal, played the ball out wide to Benbow, who whipped in a lovely low first time cross towards the far post for Walker to sweep the ball into the bottom near corner from eight-yards.

Collins said: “It was good football, it was good football. Two or three passes, moved the ball well and then squared it up and then it’s a goal but that’s what you should do.   You should move the ball that quickly and we were guilty of not doing that earlier in the game.  It took us 20 odd minutes to actually make that happen.”

Jenkins declined to reflect on the two goals following his rant about the referee.

Walker squandered a glorious chance when Carnegie’s low cross from the right was cleared out to him, only for the lone striker to lash his shot over the bar from 12-yards.

But Walker bounced back to take his goalscoring tally for the season to nine goals with a very close range header.

McCann easily beat Coppins down the left again and his cross looped over the stretching Sturgeon and Walker nipped in to steer his header into the back of the net from inches.

“Another one.  You’ve got to be there to miss them.  Byron’s spent his whole career tapping them in,” said Collins.

“It was good move. Kieron’s roasted him down that side and he’s put a great little teasing cross in.  On Saturday, Kieron’s on the end of them and scored two, so that was a good move and it was good for Byron to get on the end of them and get two goals tonight.

“It’s good that the goals are coming from all over the park. Kieron’s got two, Billy Bennett’s got two on Saturday and Byron’s got two tonight. It’s what you want, goals coming from all over the park  and spread out.”

We will not know what Jenkins felt about a glorious chance his side squandered in the 32^nd minute.

Winger Hawkins raced down the left, whipped in a deep cross towards the far post where an unmarked Bradley Simms failed to connect with his header properly, when the Oaks keeper should have been called into action.

Walker did well to ride a challenge on the edge of the Dockers’ penalty area to thread the ball through to Bennett, who hooked his shot over the crossbar from 12-yards when he only had Sturgeon to beat.

Collins said: “I think he had a lot of time and he waited and waited and waited and then thought he’d stick his foot through it. Unfortunately, he’s got underneath it and it’s gone over.

“Again, it’s good football to get in and that’s the bit I look at. Forget about the finish because at the end of the day it either goes in the back of the net or doesn’t but it was the football that we played to get in that position that I was pleased with.”

McCann moved inside into the heart of the pitch and hit a poor shot from 30-yards, which bounced more than once on its way into Sturgeon’s hands for a comfortable save.

Erith Town had to improve after the break after putting in a poor first half performance.

“I wanted more, that I expected more. I wanted us to come out and have a really emphatic second half and it was flat as a pancake,” admitted Collins.

“They came out a bit livelier, changed a little bit and we were just going through the motions and I wasn’t happy about that at all.

“It’s very hard at this level to come out and not be focused and really push on then try to turn the tap on and make it happen and that didn’t happen second half and I’ve let them know my thoughts at the end, even though we’ve won 2-0, that needs to be better.”

Coppins launched a big long ball out of defence but Simms lacked heart and desire to reach the ball before Brown, who advanced to the corner of the penalty area and his big presence helped as the ball bounced behind for a goal-kick.

Sevenoaks Town midfielder Jimmy Rogers looped a free-kick into Sturgeon’s hands, before Erith Town’s best chance arrived in the 57^th minute.

Keeper Brown rushed off his line towards the corner of his penalty area and Simms’ chipped the ball over his head and looked on in despair as the ball dropped down to clip the near post and Camacho was on the line to clear the ball away.

Collins said: “They’re going to get chances.  They’re quite lively, there’s some lively players out there, some good lads playing and they’re going to get chances so I’m just glad we got the clean sheet to be honest.  We’re back at home after a few games away from it and our unbeaten run carries on.”

Carnegie did cut inside Dockers’ left-back Dembo Dremmeh, who slid in to try to make a tackle on the corner of his penalty area, but the winger’s finish was poor and skied over the crossbar.

The highly-rated winger was a shadow of himself tonight and this meant that there was no tempo to the second half.

Collins added: “That happens at this level. The boys come out you’re 2-0. Maybe in their eyes they’re thinking we beat Beckenham 4-0 on Saturday, it will happen. It just doesn’t happen, you have to work hard and you have to keep the intensity up. 

“Don’t get me wrong, we created quite a lot of chances second half. We’ve just haven’t been clinical enough to put them away. Maybe if the third one goes in, maybe you’ll get another couple. That’s how it is but for me even they’ve got in and there’s a couple of opportunities they’ve had and probably should’ve done better. It’s a clean sheet at home so I’ll take the three points.”

Walker drilled his left-footed shot across the keeper and towards the corner-flag inside the final 15 minutes.

Erith Town’s lone striker Liam Donaldson had no service at all until he had his only opportunity, a header from a tight angle which was caught by Brown, after Olakunle Giwa’s driven shot was charged down inside the Sevenoaks penalty area.

Sevenoaks Town’s midfielder Billy Bennett revealed before the game that he hasn’t been speaking to his dad Ricky (Erith Town’s joint-manager) for three days and he almost rubbed it in when he nearly scored with a great late chance.

Benbow slipped the ball to the Oaks number ten, who cut the ball on to his right foot to bend the ball around Sturgeon, only for the ball to curl agonisingly around the foot of the far post.

Collins said: “Bill’s been round the block too much and so has his dad.  Bill’s turned up, wants to put in a professional performance irrespective who he’s playing against. He plays for us, for Sevenoaks and he wants to win as many games as he can and that’s why we’ve brought him in because he’s a good player.”

Erith Town were awarded a free-kick inside injury-time but Michael McKenna went close with a right-footed dipping 25-yard effort, which only just cleared the crossbar but it was a night to forget for Erith Town.

Third-from-bottom newly-promoted side Bearsted visit Greatness Park on Saturday, with a playing record of two wins, three draws and seven defeats.

“We watched them last night so we’ll formulate a plan to try to come here and get a win again on Saturday,” said Collins.

“They play slightly differently to Erith so that will be a tough ask but again if we turn up and we play well and we’re on it and we’ve got our goalscorers firing, we’ve got a chance of winning games especially at home.

“We’ll come here, the boys are confident. They’ve had a flea in their ear for the second half performance. Hopefully we’ll turn up and be professional and carry on.”

Sevenoaks Town can be classed as dark horses for the league title this season but Collins is playing down his club’s chances.

“I’m not even looking at it to be honest with you at the moment,” said Collins, whose side have won six and lost two of their league games this season.

“All I’m doing is chipping games off because we’re trying to play catch up massively because of our FA Cup run, so it’s just another three points.  We’ve got two more home games on the bounce which is great, which takes us into November.   We just have to keep turning up, playing how we’re playing and getting results and hopefully the momentum will carry on.

“I don’t look at the league table.  When we get to January, with Christmas out of the way, then you’ll have a look at it. You can see if you’ve got a realistic chance of having a push or you’ll know if you’ve got no chance.”

Sevenoaks Town: Oshane Brown, Jack Miles, Greg Benbow, Jimmy Rogers, Tom Ripley, John Lord, Harrison Carnegie (John Brown 71), Stephen Camacho, Byron Walker (Mikey Dalton 88), Billy Bennett, Kieron McCann.
Subs: Andy Constable, Chris Edwards, Tom Menditta

Goals: Byron Walker 26, 29

Booked: Tom Ripley 82

Erith Town: Bobby Sturgeon, James Coppins, Dembo Dremmeh (Quintin Conteh 79), Olakunle Giwa, Harry White, Nico James, James Hawkins (Liam Birks 86), Harry Blackwood, Liam Donaldson, Michael McKenna, Bradley Simms.
Subs: Jack Clark, Jack Mahon, Marcus Adu-Nyanko

Booked: Olakunle Giwa 14, James Hawkins 58, Nico James 73, Bradley Simms 74

Attendance: 46
Referee: Mr Jack Owen (Sevenoaks)
Assistants: Mr Joseph Dann-Pye (Maidstone) & Mr Chris Goulbourn (Otford)

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