Corinthian 0-9 Maidstone United - A little trip to Wembley will be nice, says five-goal Welford

Saturday 03rd September 2011

CORINTHIAN  0-9  MAIDSTONE UNITED
FA Cup with Budweiser Preliminary Round
Saturday 3rd September 2011
Stephen McCartney reports from Gay Dawn Farm

SHAUN WELFORD says he should scoop the FA Cup Player-of-the Round award after he scored FIVE of Maidstone United’s NINE goals that humiliated Kent League side Corinthian in a one-sided Preliminary Round stroll in the September sunshine at Gay Dawn Farm.


Target-man Welford, 32, grabbed the headlines as Ryman League Division One South side Maidstone United avoided slipping over a potential banana skin, as other goals from Graeme Andrews, Sam Bewick, Ellis Green and substitute Baff Addae ensured it was the club’s record FA Cup victory, and Corinthian’s record FA Cup defeat.

When asked whether it was his best ever performance, Welford, a fork-lift driver, said: “No! I wouldn’t say that!  I think four or five we’re inside the six-yard box, which is all round good play I think.

“I came to the club (in the summer from Margate) knowing we’ve got great wingers and I was going to get great service and it was evident today.”

Welford, whose previous club’s include Corinthian, Dover Athletic, Ramsgate and Margate, added, “To be fair to Corinthian, first 25-30 minutes first half they came at us.  We got an early goal, which settled us a little bit.  Maybe too much we let them back in but I think the result was always going to go our way.  I think we had too much for them and nine goals didn’t flatter us in the end.”

He added: “The manager said before the game it’s a potential banana skin – it’s the FA Cup and it’s a leveller.  You’ve seen these lower league sides going to League club’s and getting results so there was no reason why Corinthian couldn’t do it today, so they would’ve been pumped up for it anyhow.” 

Welford said “it would be nice” if supporters vote for him as Player-of-the Round.

He said: “It was in the back of my mind, I must say!  A little trip to Wembley (the player-of-the-rounds throughout the entire tournament get treated by The Football Association to watch the Final), would be nice.  I don’t know how other results went, there’s always big scorelines in this round and maybe the next round so who knows?  I think I’ll be in the hat, worth a shout!”

Welford, who received a match ball from Corinthian, expects his phone to be red-hot in the next day or so.

“I’ve already had a few texts from the family back up north, they have been texting me ‘well done’ and the wife and the kids’ have been on the texts as well.  It’s nice to score five goals.  It’s good to win and it’s good to be in the next round.”

Maidstone United player-manager Jay Saunders, meanwhile, was delighted that his side created FA Cup history for one of Kent’s biggest clubs.

“I can’t remember the last time I was involved in a game like that,” said Bearsted based Saunders.

“I still think we can improve slightly but obviously to win 9-0 and be in the next round is a bonus.”

With motorsport sounds coming from Brands Hatch nearby, Maidstone United were quickly in the driving seat – taking the lead after just 75 seconds.

Green’s corner from the right didn’t beat the first man, who headed the ball away, but Jimmy Humphris had time and space to float in a cross and an unmarked Andrews was in hand to plant a header past a stranded Daniel Bygrave, the ball bouncing into the bottom right-hand corner.

Saunders said: “It was important that we started (well) in the first and second half and to be honest we got the goal, a little bit against the run of play.  The first ten to fifteen minutes I wasn’t happy at all, even though we scored the goal.  The boys’ have gone on and done a job and that was what it was all about.”

Maidstone’s next chance arrived in the 12th minute when Tom Mills’ ball over the top released Alex Flisher, who cut the ball back to left-back Karl Knight, who whipped in a first time cross, but Welford headed down and straight at the Corinthian keeper.

Winger Green, almost capitalised on a sleeping Corinthian defence by cutting along the by-line, but his shot on goal was blocked by Bygrave at the near post.

This sparked a mini revival from Corinthian, with skipper Ryan Johnson pulling their strings in midfield, and he was always eager to join the attack.

Stocky striker, Lee Barnett, was tackled inside the Maidstone penalty area and Johnson picked up the loose ball and he stroked a left-footed shot, which skimmed the foot of the near post.

Corinthian were enjoying their best spell of the game, and after a penetrating run from Lee Woodyard, Johnson curled a left-footed shot past the post from 30-yards.

But it was soon to go downhill for Corinthian, as Maidstone United went up the other end and doubled their lead in the 29th minute.

Knight clipped the ball over the top of James Lyons, who allowed Welford to out-muscle him down the left, but the on-form striker - who scored a hat-trick in the 5-1 win at Crawley Down last Saturday – produced a quality finish, a left-footed chip which dropped into an empty net.

Corinthian won themselves three dangerous looking free-kick’s during the first half, the first two were wasted, but winger Joe Minter sent a right-footed free-kick over a five-man wall, but visiting keeper Charlie Mitten made a routine catch in an otherwise quiet outing.

Maidstone raced into a three-goal lead in the 36th minute, as Corinthian left-back Joe Penny, who later went off injured, lost a foot-race with Green.

Humphris released Green down the right and with cries of “come on Ellis” coming from the Stones faithful, the winger darted forward, cut inside and his shot flashed past the advancing Bygrave, but Bewick applied the finish, stabbing the ball into an open net from three-yards out.

Saunders was pleased that four other players also got on the scoresheet.

He said: “It gives everyone good confidence.  We’ve asked Sam Bewick to get on and get in the box and he’ll get goals and he’s done that today.  Obviously Ellis offers you a lot and he will score goals and Flish probably thought he should’ve got a goal.  It’s good when their coming in from all areas.”

It should have been four on the stroke of half-time, but Bygrave made a fine block.

Corinthian were once again slack at a corner, Knight cut the ball from the left back to Green, who cut inside and smashed a right-footed angled drive towards the far post, but the former Sevenoaks stopper stuck out his left leg to turn the shot away.

Corinthian went close too.  Central defender, George Benner chipped a right-footed free-kick into the penalty area and at the end of the move, Johnson stabbed a right-footed shot wide of the near post, whilst under pressure.

Despite being 3-0 up and coasting, Saunders admitted he wasn’t happy with his side’s performance.

“No, I wasn’t to be honest,” he said.  “I just said to them ‘I don’t want to be moaning at you all the time’.

“I’ve got such confidence in this team.  I just think sometimes as a team defensively we’re not as solid as we can be.

“First half, we weren’t moving the ball as quick as we could and we said the next ten to fifteen minutes of the second half will be important.

“I said ‘we’ll come out and up the tempo’ we’ll go on and win the game comfortably and to be fair to the lads’ they did that.”

Corinthian hit the post inside the opening four minutes of the second half.

Darren Birch, who was a holding midfield player in front of the back four, clipped a diagonal pass to release Barnett down the right and he played the ball inside to the supporting Woodyard, whose angled left-footed drive from the edge of the box beat Mitten but bounced agonisingly off the near post.

That deflated Corinthian and they went to pot when they changed formation to three central defenders as Maidstone’s wingers ripped substitutes Vinchenzo Wade (right) and Jamie Taylor (left) apart as Maidstone ran riot.

Bygrave started to lose the plot when just before the hour his goal kick went straight to Green some 30-yards from goal – the winger brought the ball down with a right leg hook, sprinted forward and drilled a shot across the keeper and just past the far post.

Mitten was then called into action when he got his body fully behind the ball following Johnson’s well struck right-footed free-kick on the angle.

But Maidstone United made it 4-0 in the 63rd minute, with Bygrave’s first blunder.

Right-back Nick Reeves pumped the ball harmlessly into the penalty area from the half-way line and Bygrave came rushing out to the edge of the penalty area with Welford in close attendance, but the keeper failed to gather and the ball dropped to Welford’s feet, who accepted the gift by driving a left-footed shot into the bottom far corner of an empty net.

It was now Corinthian’s turn to almost punish slack defending as Barnett’s quickly taken free-kick released Woodyard through on goal, but he was denied by Mitten’s strong right arm.

Maidstone made it five in the 66th minute, as Welford turned provider.  He chested a ball into Green’s path just inside the Corinthian half and Green raced forward and once inside the area skipped past the advancing Bygrave and produced a quality left-footed finish from a tight angle to find the corner.

A second blunder from Bygrave gifted Welford his hat-trick with 20 minutes remaining, which was a carbon copy of the fourth goal.

Reeves chipped the ball from the half-way line and Bygrave failed to gather and Welford slotted a right-footed finish into an empty net to the delight of the vast Maidstone support standing in the shade behind the goal.

Welford ensued it was a day to forget for Corinthian keeper Bygraves.

He said: “I think it’s just one of those days for the lad.  It looked like he was quite confident at times with crosses and took a couple but it’s just one of those days for him.  He’ll want to forget it quite quickly!”

Maidstone were running at will at the battered Corinthian defence, Green, after being released by a long ball by Tom Mills, took too many touches and looped a shot over and another Green effort , just a minute later, was parried by the Corinthian keeper at the near post.

Maidstone United made it 7-0 in the 83rd minute.  Welford chested the ball down to substitute Addae, who sprinted past two men and once inside the box he fired a shot across goal and Welford applied a decisive touch from close range with to score his fourth.

Welford said: “I definitely got a touch.  I was unsure whether it was going to go in at the back post.  It’s striker’s instinct, I think.  I’m in the six-yard box, if I can get something on it, I’ll take it!  He gone one, one’s enough for him!  If I can put a toe on it, I’ll put a toe on it.  It was right foot, big toe.  They all count!”

Things got embarrassingly worse for the home side, as Maidstone United wrapped up the game with two goals in a devastating 50 second period.

Goal number eight arrived with 43:58 on the clock as Stones hit Corinthian on the counter attack as the underdogs failed to capitalise with Minter’s right-wing free-kick. 

Flisher broke forward and released Green down the left and his low centre was easily smashed into the net by substitute Addae from six-yards.

And the Stones made it nine when they Flisher raced down the left and his cross from the by-line found Welford in the middle and the obvious Player-of-the-Round cracked a right-footed volley into the roof of the net.

Saunders said: “I said to him when I signed him if you come here with Flisher and Ellis Green on the wings he’ll get chances and it’s proved that. 

“To be honest a few of the goals today he’s worked hard for himself.  The first one’s a great finish but what you’ll get with Shaun he’ll work hard and he will score goals for you.”

Saunders felt Welford deserved to be rewarded for his work-rate when it came to Byfield’s two blunders.

He said: “You have to be there and a couple of times he’s chasing down a lost cause where on another day another centre forward may not have chased it down and the keeper’s got an easy catch but I think he’s a presence and if he’s chasing things down keepers are going to panic.”

Corinthian manager, Tony Sitford, 72, was clearly upset by the poor performance from his team and didn’t enjoy being on the end of the club’s highest ever FA Cup defeat.

“I’ve got no complaints – we were absolutely dire defensively,” was Sitford’s honest summing up of the humiliation.

“We were possibly the worst I’ve ever seen in my life, in all my time in football.  To concede after 75 seconds, the way we conceded was crap!

“Then we had a spell actually just after that when we played a little bit - we didn’t cause them trouble but we played a little bit.  We kept the ball a little bit and every time the ball was knocked forward it was a goal – simple as that.

“It took 90 minutes and we still couldn’t defend the long ball, even though we told one of them to drop off. 

“At the end of the day, Maidstone are a good side, they play good football, they’re well organised and the thing is we lacked composure, ideas, the worst thing is we lacked enthusiasm and that’s what upset me more than anything.  The fact that we didn’t compete and we didn’t close people down.  We allowed them to play and you’re not going to let a team like that play are you because you’re going to finish up (losing) 9-0.”

Sitford, who as groundsman can take great pride on the immaculate playing surface, added: “I was glad it was nine because it could have been a lot more.  At the end of the day I’ve got no complaints about the result as they deserved to beat us.  They were far superior to us in every department and we just lacked composure, we lacked togetherness and that’s been our secret.  We’ve been together.  We play together.

“We only had one missing (Charlie Burgess) that would have been playing.  We had a full side out.  We just didn’t perform on the day.”

Sitford was seething that the club’s biggest ever game since their return to senior football just three years ago – described by him as their the FA Cup Final – produced such a shocking display against a side that are just one league above them.

He said: “Did we freeze?  How the hell can you freeze in a FA Cup Final, playing on a billiard table, playing on a football pitch that you can play football on, freeze? It’s a load of crap!  We didn’t freeze, we didn’t play!  We weren’t alive!  We didn’t believe!  After the first goal went in you could see one or two players (drop their heads).    You could say defence starts at the front.  Ok it does but you’ve got to be organised at the back.”

Reflecting on Welford’s five goals, Sitford said, “The goalkeeper made two dire mistakes but here, seven of the goals you can’t blame him for.  They were just poor marking, poor communication.   It was poor, very, very poor!

“He got five and he deserves it.  Well done. I’ve got no complaints.  Good luck to him.  We was lucky he only got five. He could’ve had more.  It cost us a football, we had to give him a football as he scored five goals.”

Sitford added: “It’s dire!  I don’t drink, but I think I might have a drink tonight!"

Corinthian: Daniel Bygrave, Chris Kinnear (Vinchenzo Wade 56), Joe Penny (Jamie Taylor 56), George Benner, James Lyons, Ryan Johnson, Joe Minter, Mark Axell, Darren Birch (Daniel Nash 71), Lee Barnett, Lee Woodyard.
Subs: Alfie May, Jack Highwood, Ray Mfon, Craig Clarke

Booked: Darren Birch 42

Maidstone United: Charlie Mitten, Nick Reeves (James Abraham 74), Karl Knight, Tom Mills, Graeme Andrews, Danny Lye, Ellis Green, Sam Bewick (Sean Johnson 74), Shaun Welford, Jimmy Humphris (Baff Addae 63), Alex Flisher.
Subs: Tommy Osborne, Peter Gill

Goals: Graeme Andrews 2, Shaun Welford 29, 63, 70, 83, 90, Sam Bewick 36, Ellis Green 66, Baff Addae 89

Booked: Nick Reeves 28, Danny Lye 54

Attendance: 214
Referee:  Mr Nigel Bond (Chelmsford, Essex)
Assistants: Mr Chris Dodd (Eltham, London SE9) & Mr Ronald Albert (Catford, London SE6)