Cray Wanderers 1-2 AFC Hornchurch - We wasn't up for it, admits Ian Jenkins

The Wands would have climbed from fourth to second in the Ryman Premier League table after 22 games had they beaten the Essex side, but they simply didn’t turn up and lacked interest and commitment as Hornchurch sealed a comfortable victory to remain in seventh place.

Hornchurch are now only one point behind fifth-placed Tonbridge Angels, but Tommy Warrilow’s side can leapfrog over the Wands with a win at Wealdstone on Monday night.

Jenkins was without the services of solid central defender Mark Willy, who is expected to resume training at the end of the week as he battles back from a knee injury he sustained during the 2-0 win away to Margate on 27 December, and hard-working forward, Leigh Bremner, who began his three match ban.

Jenkins partnered 19-goal Frenchman Laurent Hamici alongside Lewis Perkins, who has returned on loan from Charlton Athletic, although that combination failed to produce a single chance during a poor game from the Kent side.

Mistakes from defender John Guest and fit-again goalkeeper Dave King handed Hornchurch right-winger Jonathan Hunt two goals, before Cray Wanderers pulled a goal back in the final thirteen minutes through the versatile Tyrone Sterling, his first goal of the season.

Jenkins admitted he had no complaints over the result, admitting it was a bad day at the office.

He said: “But the last 20 (minutes) we could’ve nicked something and that would’ve been a bit of injustice on their part but they thoroughly deserved the win today, (they were) a much better side.”

Jenkins added: “I think going in 1-0 down, it could’ve been two or three.  I said that at half-time!  I just wanted a reaction second half, which we got for the first ten minutes, then they scored, a sloppy goal.

Hornchurch put Cray Wanderers on the back-foot from the very first whistle and stand-in referee Mr Constantine Hatzidakis, who passed the Hayes Lane pitch playable at ten o’clock, before taking over as scheduled referee Matt Foley was ill before the game, awarded the visitors a tenth minute penalty.

Hornchurch built up down the right and flicks from Hunt and striker Martin Tuohy found Lewis Smith on the right-hand side of the penalty area and Guest slid in to bring the striker down.

Hunt stepped up and tucked his left-footed penalty into the bottom right hand corner, despite King diving the right way.

Jenkins blamed Guest - who received a cut above his left eye following a challenge later in the half - for giving away the penalty.

He said: “Sloppy all round.  John held his hands up at half-time and knows he should’ve stood up and taken the bloke up to the by-line, that was where he was going, lunged, and it was definitely a penalty.  What a bad start!”

King - who has recovered from his back injury which forced Jenkins to release his replacement Charlie Mitten who is now playing for Croydon Athletic - made a comfortable save as Tuohy tried his luck from just outside the Wands penalty area.

Cray skipper Ross Lover picked the ball up from Sterling (who started alongside Guest at the heart of defence) and ran at the Wealdstone defence but his right-footed drive from 30-yards whistled past the right-hand post.

Hornchurch won the corner count 8-2 - Cray’s two corners arrived in the 83rd minute - and the Essex side twice went close from this method.

Firstly, Hunt corner from the right found it’s way all the way to Frankie Curley on the corner of the penalty area and his low drive took a deflection and just missed the foot of the far post by inches.

Dave Collis swung the resulting corner in and unmarked skipper Elliot Styles headed wide from inside the six-yard box.

Cray Wanderers got lucky in the 29th minute after right-back Adam Cottrell brought down Michael Spencer on the very edge of the penalty area.

Up stepped Hunt and he curled a left-footed free-kick from 19-yards, which left King rooted to the spot, but the former Tooting & Mitcham keeper was relieved to see the ball clip the post.

Cray’s one and only chance of target during a poor first half came in the 42nd minute when Lover swung in a free-kick from the right and the ball was headed on to Sterling and his weak header was plucked out of the air by Darren Behcet at his near post.

And at the other end, Smith’s cut back was slammed into the side netting by Hunt.

The half-time whistle blew and Hornchurch should have been at least two goals up at the break.  Cray’s vice-chairman John Woolf admitted it was “men against boys” during the one-sided first half and the home fans in the above average crowd of 227 demanded a vast improvement from their team.

Jenkins said: “I don’t think their keeper had a shot to save until the second half, really disappointing,  but then again we’ve got Lee Perkins back, it’s his first game since he last played for us (coming on as a substitute against Tonbridge Angels on 23 November) and all he’s done is train with Charlton.  He hasn’t had a game, he’s been ill the kid, so he looked a bit sluggish.

“Laurent wasn’t at his best, we missed Leigh Bremner’s work-rate and commitment, which is what you’re going to miss in a game like that because they (Hornchurch) were physically up for it and we wasn’t.  Chances, I’m not too concerned because we created enough in the last ten minutes at the end and maybe could’ve nicked something out of the game.”

Off-colour Cray upped their game during the early parts of the second half and the quiet Hamici centred low from the by-line for Sterling to nip in between defender and keeper to stab the ball just past the foot of the near post.

The Kent’s best chance finally arrived in the 53rd minute when Danny Phillips cut the ball back to right-back Cotterell, who slipped the ball to Steve Lozano, who cut inside a couple of defenders before bending a low left-footed shot towards the far corner, but the diving Behcet dived to his right to deny Cray fighting back.

Jenkins added: “If you had two chances in a game, if you take them it’s different - we’d get a draw!

“Steve’s shot, it took an age to get to the goalkeeper and our centre forwards stayed out.  I can’t understand that!  You’d be following up.  His parried it into a place where centre forwards should be to tap it in.

But a mistake from flapping King gifted Hornchurch the match-winning second goal just four minutes later.

Hunt’s in-swinging corner was punched poorly away by King and the ball went back to Hunt out on the right-channel and the Hornchurch number seven whipped in a cross through a crowd of players but the ball bounced once past the stranded keeper and nestled into the bottom far corner.

“Kingy opted to punch when he could’ve caught the ball, that’s goalkeeper’s for you sometimes,” reflected Jenkins.

“But from then on we huffed and puffed, made a few chances, knocked on the door last 10 (minutes) I suppose but I take it on the chin to be honest.  We didn’t play well and got what we deserved!”

Jenkins hauled off the disappointing Cottrell, Perkins and Lozano after 67 minutes to bring on Allan McLeod, Chris Saunders and Tony Dolby.

Dolby slotted into the heart of defence alongside Guest, McLeod slotted in at right-back, Sterling switched to the left flank and Saunders partnered Lover in the middle of the park.

Cray rallied after that move and they scored what turned out to be a scant consolation with thirteen minutes remaining.

McLeod had time and space to whip in a right-footed cross from the right and Sterling rose to glance a header across Behcet to find the bottom far corner.

The home side pressed to snatch an equaliser, but on this performance they definitely didn’t deserve to claim a point and Hornchurch ran out deserved winners to enhance their push towards the play-off’s.

Jenkins added: “You hold your hands up, well done to them!  I’m not going to make excuses, it’s one of those days!  

“This league, you’ve got to be up for it every week.  If you’re not then you get punished.  They’ve been on a good run, we just have to bounce back.  

“We’ve got a game against Dover on Tuesday night - whether we play their first team or their reserves or youth I don’t know - but we just have to go out there, bit and strong, and treat it like a proper game and get a result and move on to next Saturday.”

Jenkins says he is taking Tuesday night’s much-delayed Kent Senior Cup tie against Martin Hayes’s Dover Athletic seriously.

“I think they’ll bring their kids up but I’ll be looking at players that ain’t be playing in recent games.  They’ll will get a run out but we’ll treat it seriously.  We want to go and win as winning breeds confidence doesn’t it? If we can get a win in the Cup and get to a Cup final it’s brilliant for the club so I’ll be treating it very seriously.”

Jenkins left Jack Clark on the bench today, having lent him out to Tony Burman for Dartford’s 1-0 win over Ashford Town (Middlesex) as the Darts booked their place in the last 16 of the FA Carlsberg Trophy yesterday.

“Tony rang us up in the week, he was looking for a left-back.  He said his side were depleted so we gave him Jack as he hasn’t played for us yet,” explained the Cray boss.

“His going to be our player, we just done him a favour and by all accounts he done really well so Tony rang me up said ‘fantastic, well done Jenks,’

“He owes us one so I hope he repays that!”

Speaking about his background, Jenkins added, “Clarky was a Charlton man, he was with Steve Lozano and all the boys at Charlton under Joe (Francis). He’s been at Braintree this year, Rob Stringer liked him there but he’s a little bit lightweight for his side.  He’s got a good left foot and he’s a good player.”

Despite today’s set-back, Jenkins insists his side will be in the play-off’s at the end of the season, adding, “I think we’re good enough!”

Cray Wanderers: Dave King, Adam Cottrell (Allan McLeod 67), Alex Bentley, Lewis Perkins (Chris Saunders 67), Tyrone Sterling, John Guest, Ross Lover, Aaron Day, Laurent Hamici, Danny Phillips, Steve Lozano (Tony Dolby 67).

Subs: Liam Bellamy, Jack Clark.

Goal: Tyrone Sterling 77

Booked: Aaron Day 15, Steve Lozano 33, Laurent Hamici 63

AFC Hornchurch: Darren Behcet, Billy Coyne, Sam Holloway, Elliot Styles, Rickie Hayles, Frankie Curley, Jonathan Hunt (Joe Benjamin 89), Dave Collis, Martin Tuohy (Dave McSweeney 81), Lewis Smith (Ronnie Fletcher 90), Michael Spencer.

Subs: Tambeson Eyong, Michael Ramkin.

Goals: Jonathan Hunt 10 (pen), 57

Attendance:  227

Referee: Mr Constantine Hatzidakis (Eltham, London SE9)

Assistants: Mr Russell Howes (Wood Green, London N22) & Mr Christopher Reid (Harlesden, London NW10)