Cray Wanderers 0-2 Billericay Town - Don't perform and you'll be dropped, warns Jenkins

Although Billericay were deserved winners on the pitch, courtesy of two goals inside the opening half-an-hour through strikers Billy Bricknell and Joe Flack, their unprofessional antics over the scheduling of this Ryman Premier League game will do more long-term damage.

Comments made by Steve Kent, Billericay’s chairman, a couple of weeks ago, left a sour taste in the mouth of everybody from Cray Wanderers, who were forced to move the game from Sunday to tonight and because their landlords Bromley had functions in both of their bars tonight, they called upon their neighbours Dartford to play the game at Princes Park tonight.

Hiring out the best football stadium in the Ryman League doesn’t come cheap and Cray Wanderers also had to pay their landlords compensation over the loss of bar takings.

And to sum up people from the dark side (also known as Essex!), officials of Billericay Town even had the guile to complain about hospitality at Princes Park tonight.

When www.kentishfootball.co.uk suggested to one Cray Wanderers official that hiring this marvellous stadium was an estimated £1,000, he replied, “you’re not far off!”.

This was a public relations nightmare from Billericay Town Football Club and pity them when in the future they need one of their neighbours to offer them a lending hand in their hour of need.

Thankfully, here in Kent, people running football clubs have plenty of respect towards each other.

“Back in the 1990’s after the Dartford had lost their Watling Street ground and been forced to the wall, the Wands saw their plight and offered them the use of their Oxford Road facilities,” wrote Greg Mann in his programme notes.

“Although basic it allowed the Darts to continue as a senior club and years on they have risen up the pyramid to become where they are now.

“That hand of friendship had been shown again this week with Dartford reciprocating the gesture and for this we are eternally grateful,

“Non-league football at this level should always carry the values of sportsmanship, fair play and honesty.  

“It’s a shame these views aren’t shared everywhere!”

The friendship between the two Kent clubs were evident in the bar afterwards, when Dave Skinner and Gary Hillman (the chairmen of Dartford and Cray Wanderers respectively) spoke at length.

This is not sour grapes, but the antics of Billericay Town must be known to fellow non-league clubs, to ensure that when their hour of need arrives, they turn their back on them.

You could not, however, fault their players on the pitch, who came to Princes Park looking to win their first league game of the season, having not scored in their games against Hendon and Wealdstone.

Meanwhile, Cray’s hard-working striker, Leigh Bremner failed a fitness test, due to his ankle injury, and midfielder Jamie Kempster is still on the sidelines, nursing a knee injury.

Having been outclassed during the first half of their last home game, against Tonbridge Angels at Hayes Lane last Tuesday, Cray Wanderers boss Ian Jenkins dropped defenders Tommy Osborne and Colin Luckett and midfielder Dean Standen, bringing in Steve Aris, Tyrone Sterling and Scott Kinch.

Osborne had scored an own goal after just 48 seconds against the Angels; and Billericay almost broke the deadlock after just 38 seconds when Glen Knight tipped away Billy Bricknell’s shot on the turn at the near post, following Russell Pond’s throw - a replica of Tonbridge’s opening goal.

Cray created a couple of half-chances, before Billericay opened the scoring after just nine minutes.

Cray were caught out as Billericay played the ball through for Bricknell to race through on goal and as goalkeeper Glen Knight advanced, clinically drilled a right-footed shot into the bottom right-hand corner.

The Kent side then hit the top of the crossbar just two minutes later - it was a frustrating night for the newly promoted side.

Lover whipped in a free-kick and striker Michael Power sent a towering looping header, which bounced agonisingly off the top of the crossbar and out for a goal-kick.

Cray were playing well, and created their best chance of the first half in the 24th minute.

Mark Willy was felled by Michael Shinn, who escaped punishment from the Essex based referee, and Lover’s resulting free-kick found Tommy Tyne, who played in Lewis Wood, but his fierce drive was beaten out at the near post by former Maidstone United stopper, Andy Walker.

Billericay, however, grabbed a second fortuitous goal, against the run of play, in the 28th minute, which left Jenkins and his number two, Joe Francis seething.

“The fella (Greg Oates) came onto the pitch without being called onto the pitch as far as I’m concerned,” Jenkins told www.kentishfootball.co.uk afterwards.

“The referee said he gave him a signal. The signal was a thumbs up or something.  I’ve never seen that before and he told him to come on.”

Jenkins added: “I don’t know if it made a difference with the goal, it might’ve done.  It was in the area but he’s got away with it the fella, fair play to him.”

Shinn’s driven shot from outside the box appeared to be going well clear of it’s intended target, but the ball fell straight at Spencer Knight’s feet.  As the winger was unmarked he had time to unleash a low angled drive, which bounced off the foot of the far post, but the ball fell to striker Joe Flack, who fired the ball low into the net.

Things could have got worse for Jenkins, had the unmarked Flack converted Pond’s whipped in cross from the right and had his own winger, Lover found the roof of the net with a screamer from 30-yards, then they would have got some reward for their first half efforts, a marked improvement from their first half shocker against the Angels.

But Billericay called Cray goalkeeper Glen Knight into action inside the opening three minutes of the second half when Bricknell turned on the edge of the box and cracked a right-footed drive, which the keeper did well to beat out.

Skipper Mark Willy met Lover’s swung in corner from the left in the 62nd minute but instead of meeting the ball with his forehead, the ball looped of his shoulder and dropped over.

Flack issued the Kent side a warning when he looped a header just over Knight’s crossbar after Shinn whipped in a free-kick and Ian Wiles’ shot was blocked.

And with seventeen minutes remaining, Lover’s right-footed free-kick from 30-yards, dipped over the wall, but flashed agonisingly past the foot of the near post.

But highly-rated Walker pulled off a fantastic double save to ensure that he kept a clean sheet, when, in the 82nd minute, he denied both Power and Lewis Wood.  The rebound fell to Power, who disappointed tonight, but the striker drove his shot through a crowd of players and agonisingly past the post.

Despite his side’s second successive defeat, Jenkins was able to take plenty of positives out of a promising display.

“Tuesday night we played against a good (Tonbridge Angels) side and got undone big time, but (I got) a good reaction tonight and I thought we thoroughly deserved something out of the game,” said Jenkins, who added, “A bad result on how we played, so that’s disappointing.”

Jenkins insisted that his newly promoted side would be going for promotion this season, but admitted tonight that his side are behind set targets.

“We’re looking, before the season, we’re looking at mini-leagues of three or four games and we’re looking at 10 points for four games,” he said.

“But we haven’t really started yet.  Today was a big improvement, but we haven’t played anywhere near our best but we’re working hard and tonight was a big performance, work-rate wise was much better.

“Just in front of goal we lacked a little bit of an edge.  We weren’t strong enough when good opportunities came.

“It’s something to build on tonight.”

With a large squad at his disposal, Jenkins will make changes if players don’t perform, as was the case against Tommy Warrilow’s side.

When asked about Osborne, Luckett and Standen, the long-serving boss replied, “They were dropped, it’s just one of those things.

“It had to be shook up a little bit. The boys (that came in tonight) have been sitting there being patient and deserved a chance and they proved that they can handle this level as well.

“There will be other changes as well during the season as you need a squad.  That’s part and parcel of football.”