Cray Wanderers 2-3 Brightlingsea Regent - When we get put under pressure we crumble, admits Cray Wanderers boss Tony Russell

Cray Wanderers 2 – 3 Brightlingsea Regent
Location	Hayes Lane, Bromley, Kent BR2 9EF
Kickoff	16/01/2016 15:00

CRAY WANDERERS  2-3  BRIGHTLINGSEA REGENT
Ryman League Division One North
Saturday 16^th January 2016
Stephen McCartney reports from Hayes Lane

CRAY WANDERERS manager Tony Russell admits his players have failed to cope with the pressure of being involved in a title race.

The Wands suffered their fifth league defeat of the season when they threw away a 2-0 lead to lose to Brightlingsea Regent at Hayes Lane for the second successive season.

The Bromley-based outfit remain in second-place in the Ryman League Division One North table with 61 points from 30 games, six points adrift of leaders AFC Sudbury, who have a game in hand.

Cray Wanderers raced into a deserved 2-0 lead inside 22 minutes through striker Ben Hunt’s brace before the Essex visitors hit back in clinical fashion with two goals inside four minutes.

Jake Clowsley started the comeback by finishing off a fine sweeping move, before right-sided midfielder Russell Malton equalised with an angled drive.

Malton wrapped up Brightlingsea Regent’s 15^th league win of the season with a 35-yard drive only 39 seconds into the second half to score his seventh goal of the season.

Brightlingsea Regent’s victory puts them in the play-off picture as they climbed up a place into seventh-place on 52 points from 28 games, two points adrift of fifth-placed Harlow Town.

“Yes, a funny game for everyone who was here watching it,” said Russell afterwards.

“It looked like it was going to be how many we wanted to get and then the fragilness of us at the moment in terms of confidence in terms of players not being able to retain information came to the fore.

“They (Brightlingsea) didn’t look like doing anything. We’re two-all at a blink of an eye and then it’s so hard to be battling against that confidence and to be fair I think that’s probably the worse that I’ve ever seen from one of my sides play in the second half if I’m honest.”

The Essex side created a half-chance inside the opening five minutes through Terry Rymer’s angled drive, which bounced off Nathan Fox and was gathered by goalkeeper Nick Blue at his near post.

Karl Dent’s through ball released Hunt, but a well-timed tackle by Warren Joseph allowed Brightlingsea goalkeeper Sam Cowler to grab hold of the loose ball.

Poor defending by midfielder Dean Carpenter – who was later withdrawn with an ankle injury – gifted the ball to Jake Turner, who ran forward before stroking his right-footed shot from 20-yards, which Blue held well low to his left.

Cray Wanderers created a chance just 22 seconds later but left-winger James Duckworth was released and cut in to drag his shot across goal and towards the corner flag.

But a fine passing move resulting in Cray Wanderers deservedly taking the lead inside 14 minutes.

Duckworth played the ball in from the left flank inside to Dent, who slipped the ball through for Hunt to cut past his man to curl his right-footed shot into the far corner of the net from 15-yards.

“It was good build up as well,” said Russell.

“There was a good few passes in there and there was a little one-touch in there.  It’s how I want my teams to play and I thought we was doing that in the first  half-an-hour. They couldn’t get near us!

“It looked like we were going to carve them open every time we got it and confidence was up and little bits we work on in training were coming off and I was nice and relaxed on the line. I thought here we go.”

Brightlingsea Regent went close following their first corner of the game.

The ball was swung in from the right by Ricky Griggs and midfielder Matt Cripps’ free header was palmed down by Blue and Ben Payne was there to clear the ball away.

Cray Wanderers doubled their lead with 21:46 on the clock.

Central defender Payne played a sublime defence splitting pass to put Hunt through on goal. The striker shrugged off central defender Josh Gould and swept his right-footed shot across the keeper, the ball rolling into the bottom far corner from 15-yards.

Russell defending the route-one style of the goal.

“Teams come up with different ideas the way we’re going to play. We wanted to work on that,” he said.

“If they press us and the full-backs press on and to leave that gap in behind so we had that movement in behind and isolated the centre halves and go at them.

“Hunty’s obviously isolated the centre half, moved to the side and put it nicely into the corner.

“You couldn’t say it was undeserved. It was 2-0, it even flattered them then. It looked like a different class to them all together but.”

Brightlingsea Regent showed great character to go up the other end twice and turn the game around.

Lone striker Rymer was released down the right and he cut the ball inside to Luke Read inside the box, who laid the ball off to Clowsley in the middle to tap the ball past Blue, just 126 seconds after going two goals down.

“I think from our point of view, poor defensively,” admitted Russell.

“I think young Nathan (Fox), he’s a good young centre half.  There’s stuff he needs to learn, he’s got to trap the ball on the half-way line and he’s trying to dribble it out and he’s nicked it and he’s running after the guy out wide – he’s a centre half!

“The midfield hasn’t marked the man so the right-back’s come across and he then squares it and he’s got a free tap-in so a poor goal from us.

“I think that was probably their first shot on goal, first time they ventured into our half of any real sustain.”

Poor defending from Cray central defender Fox saw him give the ball away to Read, who rolled the ball out wide on the right to Malton, who was allowed to cut inside and hit a right-footed angled drive across Blue to find the bottom far corner from 25-yards – with 27:44 on the clock.

Russell said: “Young Nathan, he’s a work in motion. You’re going to get that with youngsters, he’s 19 years of age!  He’s learning his trade. I think he’s a good young player but he had one of those games today, for somebody whose so good on the ball and composed, I’m not sure.

“I said to him at half-time, I don’t understand why he was doing his own little thing a couple of times. He was just running out of defence with the whole ball all the way.

“I don’t know if he had a scout in the stand watching him – I have no idea – he was doing his own thing rather than doing what we’re asking him to do, which is a little frustrating!”

This goal knocked the stuffing out of title-chasing Cray Wanderers, much to Russell’s disappointment.

“When you’re in complete control and you’re dominating a game and you’re 2-0 up and it looks like how many (are we going to score?) they weren’t getting near us and all off a sudden bang, bang, it’s two-all.

“It knocks the stuffing out of you and I think all off a sudden it really did knock the stuffing out of us.”

Both sides failed to create a single clear cut chance but Griggs swung in a corner from the right which was met by Josh Gould’s looping header, which dropped over the bar.

Brightlingsea Regent then had a couple of long-range shots that sailed over the crossbar as the game edged towards the break.

Malton floated in a cross from the right, which was headed away by both Payne and then Fox before Read cracked his volley over the bar from 25-yards.

Malton then issued a warning when hitting his right-footed shot the bar from similar distance after the home side failed to clear their lines following Griggs’ free-kick from the right.

When asked his thoughts at the break, Russell said: “I just said that I thought we shot ourselves in the foot if I’m honest!

“I just thought it was a game we were in complete control in, a game in which we could’ve run away with it and put on a real good show but individual errors and it’s two-all.

“There was a little bit of bickering. We just tried to calm everyone down.

“If you need any evidence to suggest when you move the ball and pass it they could not get near you. You make them look bang average. They’re a side up there and you make them look ordinary.

“But if you’re going to do your own things, we ain’t doing to win this game. That’s exactly what we said to them.

“If we do the basics and just do what we ask you to do, we’ll win.  I thought we’d win this game four or five-two but if we go in and start doing their own thing we’ll lose the game and ultimately that’s what happened second half.”

Brightlingsea Regent won the game after only 39 seconds on the clock.

Rymer ran forward before playing the ball inside to Malton, who capped off his man-of-the-match performance by taking touches – as the home side failed to close him down - and unleashing a right-footed drive nestling into the bottom left-hand corner from 35-yards.

“I just thought the whole second half we never got going. We didn’t put no passes together, people weren’t doing what we asked them to do. It was unfortunate from my perspective unfortunately.

“It’s the last six weeks that’s happened for some reason. It just seems to be that thing where we all act differently under pressure in whatever walks of life you’re doing. Some people panic, some people are calm. Unfortunately we’ve got too many people who panic when things aren’t going our way.

“When the confidence is up, we looked a different side but when the confidence was down, when someone puts us under pressure, that’s the worrying thing for me that I have no control over it.  I can’t stop it. I try to talk to them about it and they’re not listening!”

Malton turned provider when he drove the ball into the six-yard box for Clowsley (who had his back to goal) to turn and hit the ball straight at Blue, who caught the ball on the line like it was a hot potato.

A fine passing move by the home side which included substitute Peter Smith, Dent and Aryan Tajbakhsh resulted in Dent’s shot being blocked by Josh Gould and sailing behind for a corner.

Grant Basey swung in Cray Wanderers’ second corner of the game in the 54^th minute but Fox sent his header over at the near post.

But the game was marred when 62^nd minute substitute Uche Ibemere was stretchered off after suffering a double broken leg within seconds of coming on.

Russell revealed afterwards that the winger will need an operation after suffering his second leg break of his career.

Paramedics were called onto the pitch to treat the player – his team-mate Adetayo Osifuwa was visibly shocked holding his head in his hands and Ibemere was stretched off screaming in agony as he headed down the tunnel.

“I think it’s the same leg he’s broken before when I was at VCD,” said Russell.

“It’s upsetting to see. I like him as a person as well but it’s the story of our season, we’ve had lots of injuries.

“He seems to be in a lot of pain.  They’ve called an ambulance and he’s gone off to hospital and hopefully there’s some news back but I fear the worst from that one.”

When asked about the expected lay-off from the injury, Russell replied: “He’ll struggle to come back because the last one he struggled to come back from mentally as well. I didn’t think he was the same player he was before he broke it mentally.”

When asked about Osifuwa’s reaction, Russell said: “It’s hard because they’re very close with Uche. To see their mate in agony and they all know the struggles he’s gone through when he was out for a year with a broken leg so it’s never nice.

“But I won’t use that for any reason why we lost it in the second half. It’s so sad for everyone. We all love Uche and we all wish him a speedy recovery.”

The rest of the game was an uninspiring affair.

Rymer ran forward and hit his shot on the turn over the crossbar from 25-yards as the game tip-toed into the final 20 minutes.

Cray Wanderers should have equalised with their best second half chance.

Duckworth fed Tajbakhsh down the left, who cut inside and dragged his low right-footed shot harmlessly past the left-hand post.

Russell admitted Tajbakhsh needs to impress during the whole game instead of showing glimpses of his talent inside the opening 25 minutes, before disappearing before that shot at goal.

“Aryan is very much that player where for 20 minutes could look unplayable and for the next 20 minutes he could look like you’ve just dragged him off the park,” said Russell.

“We’re searching, yearning for a bit of consistency from him for the whole game. When he’s on it, he’s top drawer and when he’s off it, he’s very frustrating.”

Malton hooked the ball into Blue’s hands after Griggs’ free-kick, before Gould ran out of defence with the ball before drilling his left-footed shot past the left-hand post from 30-yards.

Read released midfielder Cripps down the left flank, the Brightlingsea Regent skipper cutting into the penalty area before his shot was blocked by Blue, diving low to his right at his near post.

Brightlingsea Regent then hit the post inside the final three minutes.

Turner over hit a pass, which was retrieved by Read on the left-hand by-line who floated over a cross for an unmarked Turner to head the ball across Blue, the ball hitting the far post before it was caught by Blue on the line.

“I just think the whole second half, we had no control. It was you attack, we attack, you hit it long, we hit it long. You battle for second balls, the non-league shouts, we shout out these days, it was just that,” said Russell.

“If you come to us it’s like Jekyll and Hyde. You watch the first half, you can see what the manager wants to do. Second half, who’s in charge? Who’s calling the shots here? That’s my worry, right there.

“That’s what I said to them in there.  100% we’re going to play a certain way and we’re going to do what I want them to do and those that don’t do it are not going to play for Cray Wanderers. It’s simple as that!”

Cray Wanderers created one last chance when a run from substitute Leigh Bremner down the right, the ball came across to Duckworth, who lashed his shot high and wide whilst under pressure.

Pressure that Russell admits his players cannot cope with.

“When we get put under pressure we crumble in a sense that everyone does their own thing, everyone panics and all off a sudden it’s off everything that we spoke to them about it.

“You feel like you’ve lost control of the game because everyone’s doing what they want!

“I just said to them in there, I can’t watch that no-more! I can’t! I can’t stand there and have no control on what’s going on.  People unfortunately just can’t retain information.

“We’ve had a start of a min-clear out (striker Andre McCollin and defender Joe Vines signing for Kingtonian and Chatham Town respectively) and that clear out is going to continue unfortunately.”

Russell revealed that the club are now out of the title race despite having 16 league games left to play.

He said: “Listen, we’re in no position to win it. I know that. I know where we’re at, what we need. We just haven’t got the personnel unfortunately. 

“Sometimes you don’t actually know when you sign players how good they are or when you try to go through a league how they deal with that pressure.

“Some people deal with it differently. I don’t think I’ve got any bad eggs in the dressing room. I don’t think they’re deliberately not doing what I ask. 

“I just think under pressure when situations happen they can’t cope with it and they just revert to this panic mood.

“We’ve persevered with it and it’s not going to work so we need to roll the dice again and if it ain’t this year we’ve got to make sure we’ve got the squad in place at the start of next year.

“At the moment I’m worried about getting a side together that trusts me and Razor (Ray Powell, my assistant) with what we’re asking them to do and that can deliver game plans and when the poo hits the fan they keep calm and they stick to the plan.”

The way that the small band of visiting supporters celebrated their victory at the final whistle proves Cray Wanderers are the team to beat this season.

Russell added: “Listen, at the end of the day, me and Razor are here for the long-term. 

“We need to start bringing in people. I don’t like signing loads of people during the season but I also want people I can build for the future.

“We’re going to need to do a little bit of work in the week and get on the phone and do bits, that’s the plan.”

Cray Wanderers: Nick Blue, Adetayo Osifuwa, Grant Basey, Nathan Fox, Ben Payne, Sean Roberts, Dean Carpenter (Peter Smith 32), Karl Dent (Uche Ibemere 62, Leigh Bremner 68), Ben Hunt, Aryan Tajbakhsh, James Duckworth.
Subs: Lea Dawson, Sam Faulkner

Goals: Ben Hunt 14, 22

Booked: James Duckworth 59, Nathan Fox 79

Brightlingsea Regent: Sam Cowler, Russell Malton, Jake Gould, Warren Joseph, Josh Gould, Matt Cripps, Luke Read, Jake Turner, Terry Rymer (Jake Phillips 85), Jake Clowsley (Shamido Pedulu 73), Ricky Griggs.
Subs: Lewis Haughton, Phil Kelly, Robbie Lee

Goals: Jake Clowsley 24, Russell Malton 28, 46

Booked:  Jake Clowsley 62, Russell Malton 90, Jake Phillips 90

Attendance: 103
Referee: Mr Stephen Brown (Ashford)
Assistants: Mr Stuart Marriott (Ashford) & Mr Michael Barnes (Heathfield, East Sussex)