Cray Wanderers 0-0 Folkestone Invicta - I don't know how Folkestone didn't win it - we need to be a little bit more clinical in front of goal, says Folkestone Invicta joint-manager Roland Edge

Cray Wanderers 0 – 0 Folkestone Invicta
Location	Hayes Lane, Bromley, Kent BR2 9EF
Kickoff	15/02/2023 19:45

CRAY WANDERERS  0-0  FOLKESTONE INVICTA
Isthmian League Premier Division
Wednesday 15 February 2023
Stephen McCartney reports from Hayes Lane

FOLKESTONE INVICTA joint-manager Roland Edge says not being clinical in front of goal and having to settle for a goal-less draw leaves a little bit of a sour taste in his mouth.
 

Cray Wanderers grabbed a point and leapfrogged over Canvey Island in to the Isthmian League Premier Division play-offs after Folkestone Invicta were wasteful in front of goal.

Folkestone Invicta struck the woodwork on three occasions and Cray Wanderers once as this Kent derby finished goal-less at Hayes Lane.

“Really, really happy with so much of the performance.  I thought our shape was brilliant. I thought we moved the ball well and created loads of chances but the sad thing today is we created enough chances not only to win the game but by winning by two or three and to be nil-nil leaves a little bit of a sour taste in my mouth,” said Edge.

“I thought the lads were excellent again.  I think the posts are a bit bigger than usual because they definitely saved them.

“I’ve got to say as well, they could argue they should’ve had a couple of goals as well.  They hit the bar too.

“If you were coming as a neutral you watched a good game of football today.  I thought it was brilliant showing the level of ability of this league. It’s such a shame really, we didn’t get the points.”

Cray Wanderers assistant manager Tim O’Shea was put forward for post-match media duties.

“I think we got away with one tonight if I’m perfectly honest.  I’m one to give credit where it’s due.  They probably should’ve gone in one or two to the good first half. It probably wasn’t the best display from our boys first half.  I thought we didn’t have too many performers, how they should be performing first half.

“Second half, I thought we were a bit more on the front foot and apart from possibly late on when both sides were going for it, the game got stretched and they had a few opportunities again but equally, so did we.

“It could’ve gone either way second half but they certainly shaded it and fair play to them.

“Folkestone are a good side, there’s still aspirations for them to be in the play-offs.  Ourselves, if it happens, it happens. We’ve played one or two more games than everybody else. We just have to take each game as it comes and see where it ends up.”

Neil Smith kept faith with the same starting eleven that beat Carshalton Athletic here 2-1 at the weekend, while Louis Collins was handed his Folkestone Invicta debut, while on loan from National League South side Tonbridge Angels and James Rogers slotted in at left-back as Nathan Green was rested because of a knock. Edge revealed that Ronnie Dolan was replaced by Josh Vincent because he was suffering a sore foot.

Edge said: “Myself and Mev (Micheal Everitt) like Louis (Collins) on the bits and pieces we’ve seen. He’s an intelligent player. He moves well. He works very, very hard. It’s hard because you probably give our forwards nine out of 10 today for how they defended.  The job is to put it in the net.

“I thought Louis came in like he’s been there for weeks. I thought he made us solid. I thought he was a constant threat and I was really impressed and pleased with him.”

When asked about Green’s injury situation, Edge replied: “I don’t know. I really don’t know to be honest.  The thing with Greenie is the minute he’s probably 10% alright, he’ll play.  He was a 50-50 tonight and I think if he would’ve played tonight we might’ve lost him for Saturday so we decided it made sense to leave him out really.”

Folkestone Invicta started tonight’s game on the front foot and were the better side during the first half.

They created their first opening inside 14 minutes when central midfielder Scott Heard switched the play out to the right and Ira Jackson’s sublime first touch saw him bring the ball down and cut into the box and his low drilled cross-shot was parried by goalkeeper Shaun Rowley, low to his right.

Folkestone Invicta missed a glorious chance to take the lead at the halfway point.

Heard and right-back Robbie Dolan linked up well down the right and Robbie Dolan’s cross sailed over the head of Cray Wanderers’ centre-half Jalen Jones and Ian Draycott hooked his half-volley straight at Rowley from eight-yards.

“Some passages of play today were really nice, one-touch, round the corners and supporting each other and it’s a shame, that was a good move and Draycott’s caught it lovely and sometimes you’re better off not hitting it as sweet and it might find the net.  He struck it well and it went in the keeper’s hands,” said Edge.

O’Shea added: “There was one straight at Shaun and you expect him to save that!  They had the lion’s share of possession in the first half.  We always had a threat ourselves, especially second half.”

Rowley then made a comfortable save as Ian Gayle hit a long low ball out of defence and Heard, Jackson and Ibrahim Olutade all swapped one-touch passes in and around the corner of the penalty area but Olutade’s low angled drive comfortably rolled into the keeper’s gloves at his near post.

Folkestone Invicta kept knocking on the door and the crossbar saved Rowley in the 32^nd minute.

Draycott (who played behind the front three of Collins (left), Olutade (central) and Jackson (right), switched the play from inside the Folkestone half out to Jackson, who reached the by-line before cutting the ball back for Olutade to sweep his first time shot crashing against the underside of the crossbar from inside the six-yard box, aiming for the top right-hand corner.

Edge said: “That was a really good move and that’s unlucky.  Ira gets there and delivers a good ball and Ibs’ got across the front, which you want, hits the bar.

“I was winding Louis up about it. He’s looking at the ball and waiting for it to drop and he’s only a small lad and the keeper pretty much caught it above his head.  That was a little bit of fortune for them.

“But I will say this, as well, despite the fact that we should’ve scored a few, I thought they defended really well.”

O’Shea added: “They asked whether it had crossed the line but it was debatable but it was a great strike.  I don’t think Shaun could’ve done anything about that one. That was unlucky on their part, other than that, defensively we were ok.”

Rowley kept the home side in the game with a block at his near post.

Ronnie Dolan rolled the ball to Rogers, who played the ball into Olutade, who fed the ball inside to Heard, whose first time pass was played in behind Cray Wanderers’ Leyton Orient loanee, right-back Jephte Tanga.

Twelve goal striker Olutade cut in along the by-line but Rowley came to the corner of his six-yard line to narrow the angle and make the block.

Cray Wanderers offered very little in attack during the first half, creating their only opening after 43 minutes.

Centre-half, Gillingham loanee Freddie Carter ran out with the ball and crossed the half-way line before feeding Yahaya Bamba, who cut in from the left wing before unleashing a stinging 30-yard angled drive which was comfortably caught by visiting goalkeeper Patrick Ohman.

“That was it. I think that summed our first half up. There was no invention from us. We were a little bit flat, there weren’t enough people wanting the ball,” admitted O’Shea.

“I asked the defenders at half-time, how many passes and options did you have in the first half - and there weren’t too many coming forward.

“I said just to be braver on the ball, want the ball more. We were going too long, too often because that’s because there wasn’t enough options in the middle of the park and it was just a case of look on the bright side.  The only positive we took from it was we wasn’t coming in behind so that something from that and go out there and have a right go!

“There were a few words said but nothing more than what you would say in a changing room.  They’re a great bunch of boys, you don’t need to get into them too much.”

Edge added: “Pretty much keep going. How we didn’t have a goal in the first half, I don’t know.

“I did say we’ve all got to want the ball, make the pitch big. I thought if we could get it to Ira and isolate him, we would have joy so I wanted us to do that but I’ve got to say the boys executed the plan brilliantly again. It’s just we didn’t get the goal, that’s all.”

Cray Wanderers came out with all guns blazing at the start of the second half and put in a vastly improved performance.

The Wands almost grabbed the lead after only 106 seconds when Tanga threw the ball in to play and Bennett cut in to space before cutting his left-foot before cracking a right-footed drive crashing against the crossbar from 30-yards.

O’Shea said: “Both sides were having a go, probably good for the neutral. I’m surprised it was a nil-nil game.”

Edge admitted: “When he cut inside, left-foot and whipped it and he hit the bar, I thought we were in a bit of trouble there.

“He was a constant threat and we had to put Rogo (James Rogers) back there because Greenie’s got a knock.  Rogo’s excellent and then you know their ability levels and the threats that they can cause.”

Cray Wanderers missed a glorious chance to take the lead shortly afterwards after Carter hit a long ball out of the home side’s defence.

A poor sliced clearance from Ohman fell kindly to ineffective striker Tom Derry, who stepped inside his man inside the final third and put it on a plate for Yahaya Bamba but the former Sevenoaks Town winger lost all composure on the edge of the D and looped a right-footed shot harmlessly wide of the right-post.

“I think maybe the ball that went to Tom, maybe Tom probably should’ve shot at goal himself.  Yes, Yahaya rushed things, was a little bit anxious. In fairness we should’ve capitalised on it. It was a gift from them. It wasn’t a case of us creating it for ourselves,” said O’Shea.

It was then Folkestone Invicta’s turn to miss a glaring chance in the 56^th minute.

Draycott’s fine 20-yard pass cut open Tanga and Jones to play Olutade through on goal but the striker wasn’t clinical enough with his left-foot in a one-v-one situation and Rowley came out on top with a comfortable save.

“Ibs’ probably ran the quality out of his legs today. He worked so hard. It was a shame he shifted it, he’s right-footed, he caught it with his left and it kind of trickled to the keeper,” said a frustrated Edge.

“I spoke to him at the end of the game and he was disappointed but he’s young and he’s trying to get better so that’s all you can ask for really.”

O’Shea added: “I can’t say anymore. They probably had the lion’s share of clearer chances I would say and that’s credit to them and the two boys (Edge and Everitt) and Cugs (Neil Cugley) is still involved there and they were a side that’s always going to be up there, always going to be in with a shout and to go to Horsham and get the result that they did (3-1 win) and come here tonight and get the result albeit they probably felt that they probably deserved more.

“They’ll have a shout who finishes in and amongst the mix of it (the play-offs).

Rowley and Cray Wanderers received another huge slice of luck in the 65^th minute when Ronnie Dolan rolled a free-kick out to Heard, in space down the right wing and his whipped in cross some 35-yards out, sailed over the goalkeeper’s right shoulder and kissed the crossbar.

“It’s one of those when you had all of these other chances, you think one of these miss-calculated crosses might go in. He has crossed it, he has caught the keeper out and hits the bar and hasn’t gone in,” added Edge.

Bamba showed his pace when he reached the left by-line before pulling the ball back in the air towards the edge of the Folkestone box but Bennett sliced his right-footed drive past the right-hand post.

Folkestone Invicta struck the woodwork for a third time with 17 minutes remaining.

Centre-half Carter opened the gate for Jackson to easily cut through two home defenders and he drilled a low left-footed shot against the base of the near post.

Edge said: “Well, that’s what Ira possesses.  I mean, he’s beaten two players like they’re not even there. He then sits the keeper down and then pulls it inside, which he fully intended to do and then it just hits the post.  You can’t really believe it to be honest.”

O’Shea added: “You kind of rode your luck a little bit towards the end. Maybe they’ll look at their forward line and say they wasted some good chances there, should’ve been a bit more clinical.”

Cray Wanderers went close to grabbing the lead with a left-footed free-kick from Bailey Akehurst, who whipped his left-footed free-kick from 28-yards around the three-man wall and past the diving goalkeeper only to bend it just past the foot of the near post.

O’Shea said: “Bailey’s doing well.  With all of the loan signings, Jephte Tanga, Freddie Carter and Bailey Akehurst, what I like about the lads, they’re young, they want to learn, they’re eager and they’re full on.

“Normally loan people come into a club and it’s obviously about their own progression, their own learning curve, it’s a learning process for them.

“But what I like about the ones that we’ve brought in is they actually want to put themselves on the line for the cause for three points and that’s a credit to them.

“Bailey, for instance, was not well before Saturday’s game  and he was feeling the illness in the first half and he told us in no uncertain terms that he wasn’t coming off and that’s a guy whose on loan. That’s nice.  That’s the changing room that creates that as well.  It’s a decent changing room and the boys are together and they buy into that and there’s no room for individual sentiment.”

Edge added: “He’s had nice quality, the young lad from Gillingham.  Every set-piece was a little bit dangerous and that was going to happen.  You’re telling everybody out there not to give away any silly fouls but he whipped some of those balls in brilliantly.

“The thing is on that one goalkeeper’s know their angles. They know it’s going wide and they leave it but for us on the bench you’re thinking has that beaten him?  But no, he’s got his angles right. It was a good attempt but it didn’t threaten Pat’s goal.”

The last real chance came Folkestone Invicta’s way in the 32^nd minute when Heard whipped in a cross from the left towards the near post but nine-goal Jackson steered his downward header into Rowley’s gloves for a comfortable save, instead of burying the chance inside the bottom left-hand corner.

O’Shea said: “Our boys go away disappointed with the performance and the result but equally we were probably thankful that we’ve ended up with a draw out of it.”

Edge admitted: “It weren’t much of a header was it?  I don’t think he could’ve done anything else but you have to generate so much power with the header to trouble the keeper. He’s in the right position, that’s all I can say, but heading isn’t Ira’s strength.”

Edge has high praise for his former Smith, his former team mate at Gillingham.

“I think you come here and you know what you’re up against.  They’re a decent side, well-drilled, manager’s are decent but today if you’re honest and you came here and just paid £12 to watch a game, “you’d say I don’t know how Folkestone didn’t win it!’

“Smudge was in the first team when I was given my first professional contract and he’s one of football’s nice guys, so it’s nice to see him here doing well and he’s one of those pros who’d always be there to help and give advice and stuff like that and that doesn’t happen a lot, believe me and that’s why he’s such a good guy.”

Bishop’s Stortford are top of the table with 59 points from their 29 (of 42) games, while the play-offs contain Aveley (57 points from 31), Enfield Town (55 points from 28), Hornchurch (53 points from 27) and Cray Wanderers (51 points from 31).

Folkestone Invicta remain in 12^th place in the pecking order only eight points adrift of the play-offs with 12 games remaining.

Smith and O’Shea take their men to Hastings United on Saturday, a side that came away from bottom-four side Kingstonian with a 3-0 win tonight and they have climbed up into the top eight and have banked 48 points from their 29 league outings.

“Listen, there’s no easy games whatsoever, we learnt that two Saturday’s ago when we went to Wingate & Finchley (and lost 1-0),” said O’Shea.

“Listen, there’s going to be a lot of twists and turns. All we can do is just chip away and see what happens. We’ve said to the boys, ‘let’s just go for it’.  We have 11 more games, now let’s see where it takes us.  Just take each game as it comes.

“Teams will be playing two a week and it’s not a given.  You only have to get two or three injuries at a certain time and all off a sudden you’re down to the bare bones.  Sometimes it can work in your favour, sometimes it doesn’t.

“Hastings are a good outfit. When they came here they done a great job on us (winning 1-0). They nullified everything that we could throw at them, so it’s going to be a tough game, especially down there place with that crowd behind them.

“On our day we can go and compete with anybody and we’ve done that. Every game now we have to go and try to win a game of football.  Tonight, ok, we’re thankful for a point but we were going all out for three points.  The position that we’re in, we’ve played more games, all we can do is set the bar and try to win games.”

Folkestone Invicta, meanwhile, welcome second-from-bottom side (19 points from 31) Corinthian-Casuals to Cheriton Road.

“I’m happy with a lot of things, myself and Mev have actually got the team playing but you’re right, I think it’s two points dropped today,” admitted Edge.

“It’s all about application. Don’t get me wrong after the last couple of games we’ve been really good. We need to maintain that level and be a little bit more clinical in front of goal and we get what we want but if you make the mistake of underestimating a team it can be a horrible day, so that’s what we’ll be saying to the boys.

“Look, any knocks or niggles, get yourself mentally and physically ready because it’s going to be a tough game on Saturday and if you don’t turn up, it’s going to be a horrible day.”

When asked about grabbing a play-off place by the end of the season, Edge replied: “That’s what you want really, you want to be there or there abouts.  We’re just going to play until the end and we’ll find out where we are. If we can maintain the standard that we’re setting at the minute and it’s about keeping that standard, who knows where we’ll be?”

Cray Wanderers: Shaun Rowley, Jephte Tanga, Bailey Akehurst, David Ijaha, Freddie Carter, Jalen Jones, Danny Bassett (Nyren Clunis 90), Sam Wood (Sam Skeffington 81), Tom Derry (Dayshonne Golding 64), Anthony Cook, Yahaya Bamba.
Subs: Matthew Weaire, Leevi King-Bassett

Booked: Jephte Tanga 55

Folkestone Invicta: Patrick Ohman, Robbie Dolan, James Rogers, Ronnie Dolan (Josh Vincent 74), Callum Davies, Ian Gayle, Louis Collins, Scott Heard, Ibrahim Olutade, Ian Draycott, Ira Jackson.
Subs: Lenny Atherton, Matthew Newman, Nathan Green, Joe Coleman

Booked: Ira Jackson 80

Attendance: 229
Referee: Mr Craig Barnett
Assistants: Mr Lewis Moore & Mr Leigh Ballinger