Barkingside 3-0 Erith & Belvedere - Pressure mounts on Chris Cosgrove

BARKINGSIDE  3-0  ERITH & BELVEDERE
Ryman League Division One North
Monday 17^th March 2014
Stephen McCartney reports from Oakside Stadium

CHRIS COSGROVE should do the decent thing and resign as the hapless beleaguered manager of Erith & Belvedere if he wants the club to avoid relegation.

The Deres manager highlighted this game as a must-win game to play his get out of jail card – but fourth-from-bottom Barkingside edged six points clear of Erith & Belvedere as the relegation dog-fight intensives.

The Kent side MUST bring in a new manager for their last ten league games if last season’s Kent League double winners are to retain their Ryman League Division One North status.

Barkingside inflicted the damage in the first half with three first half goals.

Striker Chris Liddiard scored his seventh goal of the season to give the Essex side an early lead, before midfielder Steve Carvell danced his way past two defenders before scoring at the near post before left-back Charlie Rolls killed the game off on the stroke of half-time.

Erith & Belvedere put in a much better performance during a one-sided second half but they couldn’t reduce the deficit after conceding their 100^th league goal of a woeful campaign.

Cosgrove and his assistant manager Martin Barnard declined to comment following the club’s 26^th league defeat of the season.

Cosgrove made a quick dash straight to the bar and will need to do some thinking and decide whether he is the right man for the job.

Since sacking joint-manager Martin Ford back in December, Cosgrove has taken sole charge of 24 games – winning two, drawing two and losing 20.

The club must decide whether Cosgrove is suited to managing at this level of the game because on tonight’s performance he clearly isn’t and greeted Barkingside’s second goal by making a phone call and puffing on a cigarette from the side of his dug-out, which brought criticism from the travelling supporters.

Barkingside’s first opening arrived after only 44 seconds when Carvell whipped in a corner from the right and Brian Suchley flicked his header into the grateful arms of goalkeeper Bobby Sturgeon.

But things started to go downhill for Erith & Belvedere with only four minutes and 37 seconds on the clock, following a sweeping Barkingside move.

Left-winger Lewis Francis picked the ball up and played the ball inside to Matt Gulfer, who swept the ball out to the far post for Gabriel Onreti, who cut the ball back for Liddiard to stroke his right-footed drive across the diving keeper into the bottom far corner from 10-yards.

Erith & Belvedere were desperately unlucky not to equalise in the thirteenth minute when the post saved goalkeeper Chris Clark.

It appeared at first that Luis Rozan whipped in a poor corner from the right but Reis Boyle made the most of a bad situation and almost scored when his hooked volley from ten-yards agonisingly clipped the top of the near post.

Clark was to make a comfortable save in the 22^nd minute after left-back Rozan played a low pass forward for lone striker Felix Ogeah-Andrews to turn with his back to goal to unleash a right-footed drive from 25-yards, which was comfortably saved.

Central midfielder Joe Matthews launched a long throw into the Barkingside penalty area which was initially cleared by the home defence and Danny Willis saw his hooked half-volley sail harmlessly over the bar.

A hooked pass by Carvell was hit by a first time shot from Barkingside skipper Gulfer, which lacked power from fifteen-yards and Sturgeon made a comfortable save.

Barkingside doubled their lead, however, in the 32^nd minute through Carvell’s fourth goal of the season.

Set-piece specialist Gulfer delivered a free-kick from the left which sailed over the entire Erith & Belvedere defence to find Carvell at the far post, who wriggled his way past two defenders on the by-line to drill a low shot into the bottom corner from a tight angle.

Francis swept a first time shot bouncing just wide of the near post from 25-yards, before Liddiard beat the offside trap to cut across the Erith & Belvedere penalty area to send a shot straight into Sturgeon’s gloves.

Onreti played a one-two with Liddiard before his left-footed shot was parried by the visiting keeper, who gathered the ball at the second attempt.

Barkingside – who will be leaving Oakside Stadium, adjacent to Barkingside tube station after 56 years to move in to share Ilford’s Cricklefield Stadium next season after landlords Redbridge increased their rent – wrapped up the game inside injury-time.

Francis played the ball into Carvell, who found Rolls on the over-lap and the left-back stroked his left-footed shot across Sturgeon, rolling into the bottom corner.

We will never know what Cosgrove told his well-beaten troops during the interval because he was more interested in joining a friend for a drink in the clubhouse than facing a post-match interviews to apologise for his side’s woeful first half performance and how he is going to get out of this mess or admit he’s simply isn’t good enough and hand in his notice.

However, to their credit, Erith & Belvedere came out with all guns blazing and a new manager will be able to work on the pace of left-winger Taylor Thomas who impressed during the second half.

Marcus Cassius, who was pushed into a more central role after the interval after being lost out wide during the first half, stung Chris Clark’s fingers with a rasping right-footed angled drive from fifteen-yards inside the opening three minutes.

Sturgeon dived to his right to hold on to Gulfer’s right-footed drive after Liddiard cut the ball back into his path.

Erith & Belvedere went close in the 58^th minute when Rozan whipped in a corner from the right and striker Felix Ogeah-Andrews sent his back header sailing across goal and past the far post.

Thomas then cracked a first time right-footed dipping curler which only just cleared the top of the far post from 25-yards.

Barkingside, who seemed content to sit on their three-goal lead, created an opening in the 65^th minute when Danny Hayes’ cross from the right was met by a looping header from Liddiard which was comfortably gathered by Sturgeon.

Rozan ventured forward and centred low which should have been cut out by Barkingside central defender Matt Waldron, who slipped, gifting a chance for Cassius behind him to lash his left-footed shot on the turn over the bar from ten-yards.

Erith & Belvedere were enjoying their best moments of the second half through Thomas’ crosses from the left and Boyle cracked a left-footed volley screaming just past the left-hand post from 30-yards after the ball came out to him.

Erith & Belvedere forced Clark into making his first major save of the night with seven minutes of the game remaining.

Thomas whipped in a low cross towards the far post where substitute George Savage slid a first time right-footed shot towards the bottom corner from sixteen-yards, which the Barkingside keeper did well to dive to his left to tip around the post.

Their last chance arrived when Cassius teed up substitute Mo Conteh, who dragged his left-footed shot across goal and past the far post.

Barkingside almost snatched a fourth goal in the final three minutes when Carvell unleashed a first time right-footed shot towards goal, which forced
Sturgeon to dive to his left to make a fine save to hold onto the ball.

Erith & Belvedere have ten games remaining to avoid the drop, starting with a return trip to Oakside Stadium on Thursday to play fifteenth-placed Redbridge.

Thirty-points are still up for grabs. If the club still believe that they can produced the great escape then they must act NOW and appoint someone who is a proper football manager and not someone who can contribute towards the weekly playing budget and looks lost in the technical area and shuns post-match interviews when the going gets tough.

Barkingside: Chris Clark, Danny Hayes, Charlie Rolls, Joe Ellul, Matt Waldron, Brian Suchley, Gabriel Onreti (Conroy Ellis 87), Steve Carvell, Chas Liddiard, Matt Gulfer, Lewis Francis (Tom Davie 68).
Subs: Sean Crossley, Tim Pitman

Goals: Chris Liddiard 5, Steve Carvell 32, Charlie Rolls 45

Erith & Belvedere: Bobby Sturgeon, Jordan Clark, Luis Rozan, Paul Springett (George Savage 56), Reis Boyle, Danny Willis, Marcus Cassius, Joe Matthews (Jamie Miller 56), Felix Ogeah-Andrews (Mo Conteh 78), Tyler Christian-Law, Taylor Thomas.

Attendance: 92
Referee: Mr Shaun Farrer (Reigate, Surrey)
Assistants: Mr Jason Goldstein (Ilford, Essex) & Mr Mike Chrisholm (Waltham Cross, Essex)