Kentish Football 
Cray Wanderers 2-3 Tooting & Mitcham - Conceding headed goals are a concern to me, says Ian Jenkins
Friday 27th August 2010
CRAY WANDERERS 2-3 TOOTING & MITCHAM UNITED
Ryman Premier League
Friday 27th August 2010
Stephen McCartney reports from Hayes Lane
CRAY WANDERERS boss Ian Jenkins remained upbeat following an unlucky opening week to the new Ryman Premier League season.
The Wands were defeated by an early Martin Tuohy header away at AFC Hornchurch last Saturday, before they were leading Carshalton Athletic 2-0 a couple of nights ago before their match was abandoned after 53 minutes due to a waterlogged pitch, before Tooting & Mitcham United headed in three goals to snatch the points at Hayes Lane tonight.
Jenkins, who was speaking to www.kentishfootball.co.uk afterwards, was disappointed that he couldn’t mark the 43rd birthday of his chairman Gary Hillman with their first win of the season.
“I thought we deserved a lot more out of the game,” he said. “It was similar to last Saturday, I thought we weren’t the worse side out of the two teams. I think we shaded it tonight. We were the better side out there, sloppy defending (cost us) at the end of the day.
“Defensively, in open play, I thought we were totally outstanding. Wills (Mark Willy) and Rhys (Coleman) and the two-full backs (Alex Bentley and after 22 minutes Tyrone Sterling and Adam Cottrell) done really well, but balls into the box and set plays, you’ve got to be more dominant and that’s what I said to them in there. Overall, I thought we played really well.”
Three headed goals from Rob Haworth (who was a fans’ favourite at Dartford where his wholehearted displays helped Tony Burman’s side clinch the Ryman Premier League title last season), central defender James Nicholls and substitute Barry Stevens proved to be the Kent side’s downfall.
“Of course it’s a concern,” added Jenkins. I said in there, if we defend like that to anybody in the box the other team are going to do us. Teams in this league are big and strong, we’ve got to be more dominant defensively.
“We’re good on the ball going forward in open play, different class, but we’ve got to work on a few things defensively, from set-plays into the box.”
Watched by a crowd of 254, including the likes of Tony Dolby (Hastings United’s manager), Tommy Warrilow (Tonbridge Angels) and Darren Hare (Gillingham youth team manager), the first half was a cagey affair.
Cray Wanderers should have broken the stalemate after ten minutes when Danny Phillips’ swung in a corner from the right towards the far post where central defender Rhys Coleman - who made his debut as John Guest was nursing a groin strain - nodded down and across goal from an acute angle, but Tooting winger Karl Beckford headed off the line beside the far post.
The first half was frustrating for both sides as Tooting & Mitcham struck the side netting through Phil Williams - and the home side suffered similar fate twice through Laurent Hamici - and the half was littered by too many offside flags.
Haworth issued the Wands a warning just past the half-hour mark when he leapt to head Beckford’s corner wide of the far post, when he was left unmarked inside the penalty box from around 12 yards out.
But he grabbed Tooting & Mitcham United the lead seven minutes before the break.
Beckford was released down the left and he rode a rash sliding tackle from Steve Lozano before cutting in towards the by-line. Cray missed the chance to clear their lines but the ball looped up for big target-man Haworth to nod the ball in off keeper King and the near post from two yards out, the ball bouncing over the line.
This was a blow for the home side, especially as they were playing all the football, but the Wands fought back and were level five minutes after the break.
Hamici released Lozano down the inside left-channel and once he reached the by-line, the former Charlton Athletic midfielder cut the ball back for on-loan striker Lewis Perkins to sweep the ball towards the far corner with his left-foot.
Tooting & Mitcham defender Hasim Dean should have been red-carded for his handball on the goal-line - which was spotted by an assistant’s flag - but Basingstoke referee Mr Colin Lymer failed to produce any card for the dreadlocked defender.
Reflecting on the incident, Jenkins surprisingly said: “I thought it would’ve been harsh (to send Dean off). My views on it was the fella slipped. He stopped it really well to be honest with you with his feet and it got stuck underneath his body and as he fell over it’s hit his arm. Now to me, it (would’ve been) harsh to get sent off for that but letter of the law says he stops a goal, he’s got to go. He didn’t get a booking, but at the end of the day I thought it was harsh that he fell on the ball.
“I’m not too fussed about that, that’s not an issue. I don’t think that made any difference to the game. We were playing well at the time. I’d expected us to go on and get a result.”
Thankfully, justice (at the time) was done as Hamici emphatically sent goalkeeper Jamie Butler, (who was making his debut for Tooting & Mitcham, although Bromley will retain his Football Conference registration), the wrong way with a right-footed penalty, which he smashed high to the keepers right.
Eighteen-year-old Butler made the save of the game in the 57th minute when he tipped over Hamici’s left-footed curling effort from the right after the striker latched onto Willy’s diagonal ball out of defence.
But Cray Wanderers were hit by another sucker punch in the 66th minute, following the visitors’ third and final corner of the game.
Beckford’s out-swinging corner, taken by his right-foot, on the right-hand side, was met by a bullet header from Nicholls, which rocketed over Cray substitute midfielder Kieran McCann, who was standing beside the far post.
Butler made comfortable routine saves from looping headers from Lozano and Hamici, before they levelled for the second time with eleven minutes left.
Phillips’ delivered a cross towards a crowded penalty area from the right and Butler dropped the ball at the far post and Cottrell punished the blunder by stabbing the ball inside the bottom near corner from a couple of yards out.
But Tooting & Mitcham grabbed the three points by scoring the winner just five minutes later.
Dean made amends for his earlier mistake to whip in an excellent cross from the right towards the far post and substitute Barry Stevens powered a header into an unguarded far corner.
Jenkins admitted afterwards that his side deserved to get something out of the game.
“Sometimes that happens,” he said. “If you speak to their manager they’d probably agree they’ve not nicked a win tonight, but they didn’t deserve one you know what I mean.
“It’s one of them, I’m not too concerned about the form because we’re playing well with a lot of players missing from the side.
“The new players that have come in, the youngsters, have been absolutely outstanding. I’m trying to keep the squad together and once we get players fit we’ll be alright.”
Despite his side pointless after a couple of games, there is no need to panic.
“That’s just what the chairman’s just said to me,” said Jenkins. “We’re playing well, we could quite easily had six points from those two games, 9 out of three had that (Carshalton) game carried on, but that’s football for you at the end of the day.
“We’ve got to put our chances away and we’ve got to defend better. We all know that it happens at every level, you can play really bad and score and you can play really well and lose. That’s football!”
Cray Wanderers: Dave King, Adam Cottrell, Alex Bentley (Kieran McCann 22), Aaron Day, Mark Willy, Rhys Coleman, Steve Lozano (Frankie Sawyer 86), Lewis Perkins, (Richard Whyte 86), Laurent Hamici, Danny Phillips, Tyrone Sterling.
Subs: Mark Hammond, Fraser Cronin.
Goals: Laurent Hamici 50 (pen), Adam Cottrell 79
Booked: Rhys Coleman 62
Tooting & Mitcham United: Jamie Butler, Mark Waters, Aaron Goode, Hassan Nyang, Hasim Dean, James Nicholls (Nigel Brake 90), Kiernan Hughes-Mason (Barry Stevens 66), James Evans, Phil Williams (Jason Henry 87), Rob Haworth, Karl Beckford.
Subs: Tony Nwachukwu, Luke Garrard.
Goals: Rob Haworth 38, James Nicholls 66, Barry Stevens 84
Booked: James Nicholls 53, Kiernan Hughes-Mason 56
Attendance: 254
Referee: Mr Colin Lymer (Basingstoke, Hampshire)
Assistants: Mr John Balcombe (Basingstoke, Hampshire) & Mr Jon Hollier (Basingstoke, Hampshire)
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