Kentish Football 
Chatham Town 0-2 Grays Athletic - We're not a bad team on the back of one result, says Kevin Watson
Saturday 10th September 2011
CHATHAM TOWN 0-2 GRAYS ATHLETIC
Ryman League Division One North
Saturday 10th September 2011
Stephen McCartney reports from Maidstone Road
CHATHAM TOWN boss Kevin Watson says he doesn’t regret shaping up with a negative formation after losing the top-of-the-table clash against Grays Athletic.
Both undefeated sides went into the game with three league wins and a draw (and a win in the FA Cup last weekend), but leaders Grays Athletic extended their lead at the top of the Ryman League Division One North table thanks to two goals from dead-ball situations from midfielder Harry Agombar.
“It is disappointing, disappointing in terms of our performance” said Watson, 30, afterwards.
“In all honesty I can’t deny that they deserved to win the game based on their performance today. Maybe we weren’t streetwise enough.”
Despite Gillingham being at home, this game attracted Chatham’s largest crowd of the season, swelled by a good turnout that travelled over from Essex, but Chatham’s performance was disappointing as lone striker Joe Fuller didn’t trouble the visiting back four, until the introduction of striker Rob Denness on the hour mark lifted the home side’s spirits, but by then the game was over.
Chatham Town were resilient in defence and in midfield, but Grays Athletic were by far the stronger of the two sides, although both teams didn’t prove they are at the summit through quality football.
Grays turned defence into attack (dealing with Matt Solly’s short corner to diminutive winger Adam Marsh, whose cross was cleared) and Kenny Beaney and David Cowley combined to release striker Louis Dennis through on goal in the eighth minute, but he was denied by the advancing Chatham keeper Adam Molloy, who blocked the shot with his left shoulder.
A diving Molloy was relieved to see Cowley’s fierce drive from just outside of the penalty box blocked in a crowded penalty area, before the Essex side really should have opened the scoring in the 26th minute.
Joao Miguel Carlos delivered a corner from the right towards the far post and central defender Junior Baker planted a header straight into Molloy’s grateful hands from six-yards.
Grays were dangerous from set-pieces and Agombar cut a corner back to the unmarked Cowley, who arrowed a right-footed shot over the bar from 25-yards.
But Grays were awarded a penalty when Dennis turned central defender Chris Hill and was tripped by the former Beckenham Town skipper in the 38th minute, and Agombar sent Molloy the wrong way with a right-footed penalty to give the visitors’ a deserved lead.
“It was a penalty!” said Watson. “That’s probably the one decision the ref made today which wasn’t debatable. I think there were many that were!”
Watson was incensed when he lost left-back Jason Barton with a cut left ear after he was elbowed by a Grays player in the 40th minute and was replaced by Jon Hogg.
“The opponent had elbowed him, it was very clear,” fumed Watson.
“The linesman could see it, I could see it. The linesman didn’t feel that he could interject when it was down there when the ref was closer, although he had a better view of it.
“We then get a free-kick for that so if you’re getting a free-kick for an elbow there’s admittance it is an elbow then the punishment needs to be more severe.”
Chatham’s solitary first half chance arrived in injury time when Garry Tilley swung in a corner from the right and Hogg sent a looping header over the crossbar at the far post.
Grays – who were wearing squad numbers – combined well down the right from yet another corner when Carlos exchanged passes with Agombar and drilled a low shot past the near post.
Grays Athletic wrapped up a comfortable victory in the 55th minute and Molloy will be blamed for the second goal as he flapped at Agombar’s in-swinging right-footed corner from the left, which he allowed to curl around him to find the far post, although burly striker Jean-Michel Sigere was creating havoc in the middle.
An unhappy Watson said: “That says a little bit of the story I suppose that two set-pieces as such – if you can say a penalty is a set-piece – apart from that they probably didn’t create certainly any more than us and we had some chances but we weren’t clinical.”
Denness replaced Marsh on the hour mark and Watson adopted a 4-4-2 formation and Chatham did rally for a time, without testing visiting keeper Andrew Hall.
When asked why he played with a negative formation for an hour, Watson replied, “We set our stall out to play a certain way. I don’t regret that formation, I don’t think it’s a formation that was to blame for the performance but I think the decision making as individuals, which then obviously affects the team.”
Fuller sent a right-footed hooked snap shot wide of the near post with a speculative 30-yard effort in the 65th minute, but nothing was going for Chatham in the final third as Grays’ skipper Lee Flynn (at left-back) snuffed out Chatham’s progress down the right wing.
A ball over the top released Denness, who shrugged off Baker’s attentions, but his right-footed stabbed shot was comfortably gathered by Hall.
A solo run from Dennis almost gave the Essex side a third, cutting in from the right and ghosting through Chatham’s defence, but he was denied by the advancing Molloy, who blocked with his legs.
Chatham substitute, John Pilbeam, struck a right-footed free-kick high over the crossbar from 25-yards at the death, but it was the vocal visiting contingent that were celebrating at the final whistle, as Chatham suffered their first defeat of the season.
The visit of former Conference club Grays Athletic swelled the attendance to 260 and Watson was disappointed that the Essex side came away with three points.
“Look, we’ve done well up to this point,” he said.
“You wouldn’t want your first loss of the season in front of the biggest crowd – but I don’t write the script. I wish I did!”
“All credit to them (Grays Athletic), what they do, they do well. They’re an experienced side and possibly today we didn’t deal with that to the best of our ability.”
Watson takes his side to Cricklefield Stadium on Wednesday to play an Ilford side that are currently second-from-bottom in the table, having collected just one point out of the fifteen available.
Chatham, who have now dropped two places to fourth, will travel to the modest ground, which has yellow floodlighting and a running track around the pitch, twice in the space of fourteen days, as they travel to tenants Waltham Forest later in the month.
“As I’ve just said to the lads’, you don’t become a bad team on the back of one result like that and we’re certainly not a bad team,” he said.
“It will be a difficult place to go and I think we need a slightly different strategy and mentality when you go to a place (like Ilford).
“But I still think the fundamentals of the way we want to play we need to stick by them.”
Chatham Town: Adam Molloy, Ryan Laker (John Pilbeam 73), Jason Barton (Jon Hogg 44), Brad Potter, Chris Hill, Kes Metitri, Adam Marsh (Rob Denness 60), Joe Fuller, Matt Newman, Garry Tilley.
Subs: Charlie Glyde, Tony Kessell
Booked: Brad Potter 16, Matt Newman 50
Grays Athletic: Andrew Hall, Craig Pope, Lee Flynn, Junior Baker, Kenny Beaney (Eljay Worrell 84), Bradley Thomas, Harry Agombar, David Cowley (Danny Bunce 72), Jean-Michel Sigere (Jared Small 79), Louis Dennis, Joao Miguel Carlos.
Subs: Grant Cooper, Jason Fontaine
Goals: Harry Agombar 38 (pen), 55
Booked: David Cowley 25, Harry Agombar 67, Bradley Thomas 81, Craig Pope 87
Attendance: 260
Referee: Mr Matthew Goldsmith (Hastings, East Sussex)
Assistants: Mr Mark Graves (Margate) & Mr Phillip Rowley (Canterbury)
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