Beckenham Town 3-2 Corinthian - To come out on top in our first home game at this level we're very happy and overall it's a good start to the season, says Beckenham Town coach Phil Wilson

Beckenham Town 3 – 2 Corinthian
Location	Eden Park Avenue, Beckenham, Kent BR3 3JL
Kickoff	16/08/2022 19:45

BECKENHAM TOWN  3-2  CORINTHIAN
Isthmian League South East Division
Tuesday 16 August 2022
Stephen McCartney reports from Eden Park Avenue

BECKENHAM TOWN coach Phil Wilson says he is feeling very happy with the good start to life to their maiden Isthmian League South East Division campaign.

Jason Huntley’s side claimed the Combined Counties League Premier Division South title at the first attempt last season and sit proudly at the top of the table in the ninth-tier of English football after two 3-2 wins over Lancing and Corinthian, who finished in a respectable eighth-place finish last season.

Beckenham Town raced into a two-nil lead inside the opening five minutes through striker Louie Theopahnous and right-back Harvey Brand but Corinthian showed great character to bring themselves back into the game through centre-half Joshua Dorling and winger Salim Futa, converting from set-pieces.

Despite having pace in attack, Corinthian were over reliant on Oscar Housego’s set-pieces but Beckenham Town sealed back-to-back wins through a late headed goal from stalwart Jamie Humphris, leaving Corinthian in the bottom two without a point after losing 2-0 at home to Hythe Town on the opening day.

“The character of the team to get that third goal at the end, I think as the second half wore on we got ourselves back into it and I think we felt it was a matter of time before we might get one,” said former Dulwich Hamlet goalkeeper Wilson, 39.

“We didn’t disappoint the crowd.  Obviously, we’d like not to concede the goals like we did.  We highlighted set-pieces where they were going to be the most dangerous.  I’d like us to deal better with them.  I think both of their goals were preventable but to come out on top in our first home game at this level we’re very happy and overall, it’s a good start to the season.”

Corinthian manager Michael Golding added: “Tough one really. I think the neutrals probably enjoyed it.  Obviously gutted when you concede that late.  It’s hard when you go 2-0 down inside the first five minutes and you’re feeling the worst.

“As I said to the boys ‘full credit to us’ and to the young team that they got ourselves back into it but you go away and you concede three goals you probably don’t deserve anything out of the game and that’s probably the truth of it.

“I certainly would’ve been happy with a point. I think a point would’ve been good.  Beckenham certainly came out of the traps well and they’ll be pleased with their goals.  We’ll pick them apart.  They’re probably two poor goals from our part, certainly the second goal I think we can avoid but for us to get back into it.

“Losing on Saturday was disappointing and you go 2-0 down early with a brand new team and you’re looking around saying ‘where’s the characters?’ and where we do we stand up and be counted and when you come away to a place like Beckenham you have do that.

“To get back in at 2-1 we felt at half-time there was something in the game for us and when you score straight after half-time I thought probably from minute 15 to minute 70 we were by far the better side.  We just started incredibly poorly and I thought they put some crosses in and put some pressure on us in the last 15 minutes.  I wouldn’t have said the goal was coming but certainly felt they were in the ascendancy for that last 10-15.”

Corinthian started the game in attack but were hit by a controversial counter-attacking goal as Beckenham Town opened the scoring with only 200 seconds on the clock.

Corinthian had very strong claims for a free-kick on the edge of the box turned down by referee Daryl Ann and Rob Carter launched a long ball forward from right-back into former Redhill winger Jamarie Brissett, who strode forward before playing in Theophanous in behind Harry Sargeant before slotting a composed right-footed finish past visiting goalkeeper Daniel Colmer.

“We know Jamarie can come in and he’s in the team to make those chances,” said Wilson.

“It was an absolute perfect ball for Louie and Louie’s going to feed off these all season. If he gets the right service, you know as soon as the ball was through.  I said to Peter Sweeney ‘that’s a goal’ and you know Louie’s not going to miss from there.”

Golding added: “Actually, it should have been a free-kick at the far end! How the referee hasn’t given that free-kick, I will never know. 

“The ball’s gone up the other end, it was poor defending from us, we got caught square. Josh Dorling and Harry Sargeant got too square so that’s poor from our part and you let an experienced player like Louie go through, he’s going to score, or at least he’s going to work the goalkeeper as a minimum.

“It’s disappointing, we’ve been drumming into the boys how important it is at Step Four that you start games well and we learnt that last year.  It’s not ideal.”

Corinthian had a mountain to climb when Beckenham Town doubled their lead with only four minutes and 57 seconds on the clock, to the delight of the home fans in the 247 crowd at Eden Park Avenue.

Brand picked up a wayward pass in midfield and pinged a long diagonal ball over to left-winger Freddie Nyhus, who whipped in a quality hanging delivery for Brand to race into the box and bury his header over Colmer, who was well beaten as he tried to claw the ball out high to his right but the header was too powerful to keep out.

Wilson said: “We know Harvey’s got that in him to do that.  Even before he’s played the ball he’s made a great interception to get the ball and he knew exactly what he was doing to make that pass out there.

“The messages to the wingers were to get into those positions and then make sure they come up with some sort of end product and Magic (Brissett) for the first goal and then Freddie for that goal. It was a great cross from Freddie and Harvey’s great making those runs into the box and you bank Harvey to score from that.”

Golding added: “It came from us, we played a sideways pass in midfield, gave the ball away and that allowed Harvey to step in.  Harvey’s a great player, a diag and then when he’s running with that power and he attacks the ball but it’s another goal that we could’ve avoided.

“Beckenham will say it was a good goal, a good cross and a good header and it was but from our point of view we should’ve definitely done better with that.

“We’ve got the game plan and it’s not necessarily pretty to watch the whole time but we’ve played it inside and no one’s expected it and Beckenham are on the front foot and 2-0 after five minutes you’re looking around and you’re looking for the character and looking to see how we get ourselves back into this because as a brand new side and as a young team we could’ve gone into our shells and we could’ve been on a back of a hiding tonight.

“But I’ll give the players credit, they clawed their way back into the game and for that we should take pride tonight.”

Beckenham Town almost made it three in the tenth minute when Luke Hedges (who impressed in Balham’s midfield in the two games against Beckenham Town last season), played a one-two with Danny Waldren before Theophanous was released in behind left-back Daniel Correia Lopes but the striker dragged his shot across the diving keeper and flashing a low drive past the far post.

“At that point, even for the team as well, you’re kind of thinking it’s going to be a night where it will just keep coming,” added Wilson. 

“I think that’s the difference when you step up to a level like this, it doesn’t matter who you’re playing, you can’t kind of expect to be on top like games that we’d have last season where we could dominate for the whole 90 minutes, so it was a chance missed and you think that may have killed the game at 3-0 but it wasn’t to be.”

Corinthian failed to create a single chance in open play and relied on Housego’s right-foot to create chances from dead ball situations.

Their first arrived by this method in the 14^th minute but centre-half Sargeant’s towering header was comfortably caught by home goalkeeper Nick Blue.

Golding explained why he played a 5-3-2 formation here tonight.

“We played it for the majority of last season. We came up, we always played 4-3-3 at Step Five and I think we were always one of the better sides along with the Sheppey’s, the Chatham’s and the Deal’s, so you could play whatever formation you want.

“Last season we settled on the 3-5-2 or the 5-3-2 and it worked for us and we’ve stayed with that but with the players that we’ve got we can play 4-3-3 or we can play a multitude of different formations.  We’ve started the season with a 5-3-2 but we’ll take it game by game and we’ll see what the opposition have got and hopefully we can input our game plan and improve.”

Beckenham Town produced a slick move when left-back Archie Johnson’s first time cross was cleared and Nick Curran’s first time pass was laid off by Theophanous, Brand got involved in the move and fed Curran before Hedges slipped the ball through to Brand but Colmer smothered the ball at his near post inside his six-yard box.

Housego’s right-footed free-kick from 35-yards screamed over the four man wall and past the left-hand post at the halfway point.

Colmer produced a fine double save to frustrate Beckenham Town in the 28^th minute.

Theophanous’s first time pass played Brand in behind Lopes and he put it on the plate for Brissett, whose first time shot was saved by Colmer’s feet, who then denied the find of last season, Nyhus with a more comfortable save.

Golding praised Colmer, who has big gloves to fill after Corinthian lost the services of former Charlton Athletic stopper Aiden Prall to Sheppey United.

“We know Beckenham’s lively front boys, they get the ball forward, they’re a bit more direct than what they used to be and it worked well for them, it got them out of Step Five,” said Golding.

“Daniel’s done well, he’s a 20-year-old lad who is trying to learn his way in senior football. Big moments and he’s come up and done well for us.”

Wilson said: “I think the first save, I thought it was a very good save from the keeper, a good decision to go with his feet.  The second one, I think you probably would fancy him to save it.  There were three or four bodies in front of it as well so by the time it got through to him, I’m not surprised it was saved.”

Johnson’s long ball released Brissett down the left channel and he cut inside but his shot from a tight angle was beaten behind his near post by the busy Corinthian stopper.

However, Corinthian showed character to dominate the final 15 minutes of the first half and they deservedly pulled a goal back in the 38^th minute.

Housego floated in a corner from the left towards the near post where Dorling planted his free header into the top left-hand corner from six-yards out.

“A side like ours, we have to spend a lot of time and we have to get our set-pieces right,” said Golding.

“It’s always frustrating when people don’t do the right runs and don’t start in the right places and I moan at the boys all the time.

“Oscar’s got a great delivery and Josh has attacked it really well. We have to be a threat from set-pieces and both of our goals have come from that tonight.

“When you break the game down into individual segments it’s a training ground goal and of course we want to score more goals in open play and if you’re going to say we’re going to win 1-0 during the season and that comes from a free-kick or a corner, I couldn’t care less!”

Wilson added: “I will have to have a look at that on Thursday. It’s difficult to see what goes on exactly because it was in the six-yard box but really, the height of it I think there was enough bodies in there that should be able to deal with that.

“I never like conceding goals from set-pieces. We don’t do it very often so it was disappointing to concede.

“You know what Corinthian are about.  I know they’ve changed their side a lot but you always expect Michael’s teams to work incredibly hard and actually credit to them, they didn’t stop running for the whole game.”

At half-time, Wilson demanded more from his side.

“We’ve got to be better on the ball. Our quality on the ball wasn’t good enough for large parts of the game tonight.

“I think bar the beginning and the last 15-20 minutes we didn’t really get our foot on the ball and try to play, it was a bit too direct.  We lost our shape a little bit.”

Golding revealed: “The energy in the changing room suggested the boys felt there was something in the game for them.  You have a mad five minutes when you give away two goals.

“I was saying to (assistant manager) Paul Sawyer on the sideline I thought we were the better side, in control of the game as such whereas on Saturday in the game against Hythe at no point where we in control and Hythe went 2-0 up and they controlled the second half and we had all of the possession and territory and they were comfortable.

“Beckenham weren’t so much on the ropes but they were there for the taking and we could cause them problems, so it was about telling them what we wanted them to do, how to set up and how to play in and around Beckenham’s formation and just giving them that belief but when I came in the energy was there that the boys believed there was something in the game for them.”

Dorling’s night was to get worse, however, as he was stretchered off with a broken leg early in the second half.

“He’s come back from a broken leg and he’s been rushed to hospital,” revealed a concerned Golding.

“We’re hopeful it’s not as bad as first feared. All the signs were it wasn’t looking particularly great. We’ll touch base with Josh tonight and hopefully tomorrow, fingers crossed.

“We brought him in and he should be a big player for us this season, so we want to make sure he’s ok.  We think it’s a broken leg and it’s unfortunate that potentially Josh has had his season stopped. We’ll find out in the next 24-30 hours.”

The second half wasn’t as free flowing as the first but Corinthian did deserve their equaliser when it arrived in the 57^th minute, courtesy of a rare mistake from Blue.

Housego floated in a corner from the right and Blue’s stretching punch from underneath his crossbar was poor and fell at Futa on the edge of the six-yard box.  He took a touch before drilling a shot through a crowd of players, the ball taking a deflection as it nestled into the bottom far corner.

Golding said: “Delighted to get that and from there you hope you can settle for the next five. Beckenham are going to be on the back foot, they had a topsy-turvey game at Lancing on Saturday that ended up 3-2.

“It was a good ball into an areas that makes the goalkeeper make a decision and then Salim’s there to put it away.

“The importance of doing set-pieces right and being organised and being on the front foot and being aggressive when the ball goes in the box and you get back into it.  We had a bit of belief coming off the back from Saturday, which wasn’t great and you get yourselves back in the game at two-all and I think we were in the ascendancy at two-all and the team looking at that stage that was looking to go on and win it.”

Wilson added: “Again, disappointed from a set-piece.  The tempo of the game, we got caught up with it being frantic and I think it comes from ball watching.  Yes, I think Bluey could punch it a little further but then at the same time we’re all watching the ball under the crossbar and they’ve reacted best to it.

“They looked at where the ball was going, no one’s shutting down, he’s had far too much time at that point to get a shot-off and then the minute you put the ball in a crowded box like that no-pone’s going to see what’s going on so we do need to be a bit cuter there and stick to our jobs and not get caught ball watching.”

The last time Beckenham Town suffered a home league defeat was a 5-1 home thrashing by Scott Lindsey’s Chatham Town in the Southern Counties East Football League Premier Division on 10 October 2020.

Beckenham Town took 28 minutes to create their first second half opportunity.

Johnson floated a free-kick into the Corinthian box for captain Waldren to head straight at Colmer, who played for Margate and Sevenoaks Town last season after coming out of Dartford’s Academy.

Corinthian’s next chance also came from a set-piece.  Housego was close to the half-way line on the left when he put the ball into the box.  Brandon Davey, Lopes and Sargeant all got involved before the ball found its way to long-serving centre-half Jamie Billings and his low angled drive was comfortably held by Blue.

Golding said: “It was a comfortable save by Bluey, a great goalkeeper, he’s been around for years.  We put the ball into an area, asking a question.  On this type of surface (an immaculate bowling green of a pitch), the pitch is unbelievable, there’s loads of water on the pitch, just have a shot and make the keeper work and you don’t know what’s going to happen but Jamie’s had a good strike with his left-foot, he’s got a good left-foot and I think that’s really comfortable for Bluey.”

Wilson added: “They didn’t really trouble us too much, what did trouble us was the pace of their forwards but from the most part in open play we dealt with it quite well.

“I think, if anything, our clearances needed to be better. We were put under pressure by not clearing it far enough but I’d expect Bluey to save them.”

Referee Daryl Ann pulled out a red card with 48:45 on the clock to send Dorling off but no one walked off the pitch and it became clear afterwards that he booked the wrong man and it was substitute right-winger England Kurti who picked up a yellow as he attempted to take a throw in within the right channel.

Wilson said: “What the referee said ‘he had 14 in his head’ because he just booked the 14 (Tiannie Wilson) for Corinthian.  I think it was a harsh yellow to be honest.  England Kurti did take a throw in for the second goal but full-backs take throw ins so I think it was harsh to book him when Harvey Brand was going to take the throw in anyway.  It would have been a ridiculous red card!”

Beckenham Town snatched the victory with 44:48 on the clock, following a set-piece of their own to score the third headed goal of the night.

Kurti threw the ball to Waldren, who pinged a precise cross into the middle of the six-yard box from the right for Humphries to jump up to bury his header into the roof of the net.

“Say what you like about Jamie Humphris, he’s an absolute livewire in the box,” added Wilson.

“I think Luke Hedges got himself in a position where we were a little bit concerned he might get sent off and where the game was it probably made for Jamie Humphries to come on.  As he came on you knew he had the bit between his teeth. He was probably a little bit unlucky not to start tonight so he had a point to prove and he done that exactly.”

Golding said: “Humphris is a quality player, he’s done that for years. Unfortunately, when the ball goes in, probably that little bit of experience he’s got, he’s up against an 18 or 19 year old and he used that and they’ve nicked it.

“Listen, they’ll tell you they’ve scored three goals at home and they’ve started the game incredibly well. I just feel that third goal was disappointing on the night because I felt we deserved a little bit more out of it.”

Beckenham Town and Whitehawk are the only sides with maximum points from their opening two league games.

“It’s nice to see, we’ll enjoy it, but it means nothing at this time of the year,” insisted Wilson.

“I think we’ve got to find our feet in the league, we’ll see how we get on over the next few weeks but we’ll be looking to put as many points on the board as we can and just get in the pack and see where we are at Christmas and go from there.

“You couldn’t have asked for anymore really.  There’s always a few things that we need to look at and address but on the whole if you had offered six points from the first two games at Step Four, we would’ve bit your hand off for it.

“We’re very happy with it.  The boys are rightfully pleased with what they’ve done so far but there will be no complacency but we know we’ve still got a lot of work to do and a long way to go.”

Both sides are in FA Cup Preliminary Round action at home on Saturday, with Beckenham Town welcoming K Sports to Eden Park Avenue, while Corinthian host Combined Counties League Premier Division South side Guildford City.

K Sports beat Whitehawk 3-2 after extra time in a replay after coming back from Brighton with a goal-less draw – and tonight they won 1-0 at Lordswood to get their first league win on the board after three games and sit in fifteenth-place in the Southern Counties East Football League Premier Division table.

Wilson said: “We had people at the game last week.  The Batten boys (Ian and George) have gone in there and build a bit of character and togetherness and put in a very resilient performance over both games. 

“We absolutely cannot take them for granted going into that game and we definitely won’t.  It will be nice to get a little cup run going alongside the league start too.  They’ll come here and they’ll absolutely want to get one over on us having already beaten Whitehawk.   I expect them to come here with a bit of confidence. It’s almost a free hit for them isn’t i.  We’ve been that team in the past and being the bigger team, we have to live up to that reputation.”

Reflecting on Corinthian’s start to the league campaign, Golding replied: “We’re disappointed to have zero from two games and six points available. We would’ve targeted more points from those two games but we’ve come into the season not knowing in a competitive game what we were going to have.  We’ll dissect it over the next 24 hours, we’ll train on Thursday and prepare for Saturday but we’re positive.”

Golding also revealed that he’s had Guildford City watched twice ahead of their FA Cup tie.

Beckenham Town: Nick Blue, Harvey Brand, Archie Johnson, Luke Hedges (Jamie Humphris 84), Rob Carter, Mudiaga Wanogho, Freddie Nyhus (England Kurti 71), Danny Waldren, Louie Theophanous, Nick Curran, Jamarie Brissett (Alfie Bloomfield 62).
Subs: Callum Henry, Ishmael Erskine

Goals: Louie Theophanous 4, Harvey Brand 5, Jamie Humphris 90

Booked: Mudiaga Wanogho 23, Luke Hedges 67, Alfie Bloomfield 83, England Kurti 90, Nick Curran 90

Corinthian: Daniel Colmer, Jack Beerling (Dominic Wynter-Stephens 90), Daniel Correia Lopes, Jamie Billings, Joshua Dorling (Tiannie Wilson 53), Harry Sargeant, Salim Futa, Brandon Davey, Oladapo Olatunji, Festos Kamara (Oliver Box 71), Oscar Housego.
Subs: Joel Flavien-Howard, Daniel Pepple

Goals: Joshua Dorling 38, Salim Futa 57

Booked: Tiannie Wilson 70, Daniel Correia Lopes 72, Jack Beerling 83

Attendance: 247
Referee: Mr Daryl Ann
Assistants: Mr Stephen Ryan & Mr Jack Phillips