Cray Wanderers 5-0 Erith Town - We are good enough for the Conference South, says Ian Jenkins

CRAY WANDERERS  5-0  ERITH TOWN
The FA Cup with Budweiser Second Qualifying Round
Sunday 2^nd October 2011
Stephen McCartney reports from Hayes Lane

CRAY WANDERERS boss Ian Jenkins says his side are good enough to compete against the best teams in Conference South after they outclassed Erith Town to secure a place in tomorrow’s FA Cup Third Qualifying Round draw.

The Wands have never reached the first round of The FA Cup before, but they are now only two wins away and whoever they face in the next round will be up against it.

Labelled by one supporter as the “Barcelona of the Ryman Premier League,” Cray Wanderers’ passing game was excellent.

But had Kent Hurlimann Football League side Erith Town taken their early chances during a good opening 20 minutes spell then it may have been different, but they found themselves 3-0 down at the break as Cray Wanderers were ruthless in front of goal.

Striker Tommy Whitnell took his tally to eight for the season with a 25^th minute opener.  Returning striker, Lewis Perkins, 20, scored a hat-trick and central defender Tyrone Sterling opened his account for the season with a stunning volley.

“I think it was a good game,” said Jenkins after taking nearly an hour to emerge from the home dressing room.

“Both teams played their part today.  I know it was a 5-0 win but on paper I think it was a good game, a really good game.  Both teams played the right way, I think.  I enjoyed it.  I’m glad we went through to the next round.”

When asked who he wants in the draw – landlords Bromley progressed following their win over Welling United, as did Dartford and Dover Athletic of Blue Square Bet South – Jenkins said: “Listen mate, it’s one of them.  It’s nice to be in there.  It’s something to look forward to tomorrow. 

“Obviously we’ll be looking if we can get a lower league side again, it would be brilliant.  If not we have to deal with what we’ve got.  We are good enough for the Conference South so whoever we got if they’re higher than us we will be able to complete with the best of them.

“I don’t care who we get or where we get them!”

Erith Town manager, Tony Russell, 33, admitted missed chances at crucial moments cost his side dear.

He said:  “I’ve watched them and I thought we could have a go at them down the sides and for twenty minutes we did exactly that. 

“That’s the difference between the two levels.  We’ve had three great chances and one of them was right in front of goal, he’s just got to put it in.  Shins has gone through, Goma’s gone through and you’ve got to score if you’ve got any chance of winning here today!  We had to take those chances and if you don’t, then they started putting a fold in the game and they score. We were naive and we showed our age because we’re 1-0 down and playing well, we’re in the game.

“We lost the ball down in their final third and as I look their breaking.  We’ve got no right-back, no midfield whatsoever and it was like five on three and they go and score again!

“I said to them we didn’t need to chase the game.  We could’ve come in at 1-0 down, we could regroup, talk about a few things and go again.

“I said to them at half-time at the end of the day that’s the difference at this level and they had chances and we had chances and that was an equal amount of chances in the first half.  They took theirs, we didn’t.”

Erith Town were always going to be up against it against a quality team, and being without midfield play-maker Michael Phillips (who failed a fitness test on his calf strain at training yesterday), goalkeeper Kevin Fewell, defender Dean Morris and pacy attacker Alex Tiesse through injury didn’t help their cause of producing a giant-killing.

Russell said: “I fancied us against Herne Bay (in the last round), today was slightly different because you’re up against it straight away when you’ve got no Michael Phillips, no goalkeeper, no Alex Tiesse and no Dean Morris.  They’re big players for us and to come here anyway is an uphill struggle.  Of course you miss them but I don’t really want to use that as an excuse, that’s doing Cray a disservice.”

Erith Town started well and they created two early openings when lone target man Kirt King cut the ball back to Chris Walker, who released Billy Shinners (who was playing on the right flank) whose shot was blocked by the sliding Cray left-back Allan McLeod.

Liam Burgess (who was playing in front of the back four) whipped in the resulting corner from the right, but Lee Craig directed his towering header over from four yards.

Erith Town keeper, Alex Hyde, who was playing his third game of the season, made a comfortable low save to his left to deny Chris Saunders from scoring with a side-footed shot from 30-yards, which the central midfielder directed towards the bottom corner.

And the visiting keeper watched Sterling pick the ball up and burst forward before scuffing a right-footed shot from similar distance past the post.

But when lower league sides create a chance against their higher league opponents in The FA Cup then they must take them – and Erith Town squandered an excellent chance to put Cray Wanderers on edge in the fourteenth minute.

Shinners was released down the right and his low centre found King unmarked just eight-yards from goal but he hooked a low right-footed shot straight at goalkeeper Andy Walker.

Cray Wanderers then peppered three efforts at Hyde’s goal within a minute.

Danny Phillips played the ball inside to Jack Clark, who gave Dockers’ right-back Peter Smith a torrid throughout, and the left-winger smacked a left-footed drive from 25-yards against the crossbar.

Hyde swiftly made a fine block to prevent Whitnell scoring with an angled drive and then Clark played in right-back Sam Long, who rolled a right-footed shot just past the foot of the near post.

Smith was beaten again by Clark’s trickery in the 21^st minute, but Hyde made a comfortable save to his right.

But Cray Wanderers finally opened the scoring in the 25^th minute with the first of four quality goals.

Clark, who was enjoying plenty of possession down the left, raced down the flank and played in a low centre and Whitnell took a touch before placing a left-footed shot from 15-yards, curling inside the left-hand post, leaving Hyde rooted to the spot.

Jenkins said: “Good goal, very good goal!  Great finish and that’s the difference.  That’s his first chance that he’s had in the game.  He didn’t work hard enough for my liking, him and Perkins, but what can you say?  They’ve both got four goals between them in the game!”

Erith Town squandered a chance to level when former Motherwell youngster Grant Brown released diminutive left-winger Goma Lambu through on goal, but he lacked confidence to strike first time and decided to cut inside Long and then wasted the chance.

They were made to pay for that as Cray Wanderers doubled their lead in the 34^th minute, with another piece of quality.

Perkins ran 30-yards unchallenged through the heart of the pitch before looping a right-footed curler into the top left hand corner from 25-yards.

And it was 3-0 just 125 seconds later, as Cray Wanderers hit Erith Town on the counter attack.

Shinners lost possession in a good position in the final third of the pitch down the right hand side to McLeod, who released Whitnell down the left and after running half the length of the pitch he played the ball inside to Perkins, who drilled a right-footed shot across Hyde and the ball nestled into the bottom right-hand corner of the net.

Shinners sent a right-footed lob over from the corner of the Wands penalty area, before Clark was twice denied by Hyde before the break.

Clark was played in by Phillips before taking a touch and unleashing a fierce left-footed drive, which was blocked by the keeper and then a low, left-footed drive from 25-yards was tipped around the post by the diving Hyde.

Russell revealed what he said to his players’ at the break.

“If you want to go on that’s what you need to do.  Can we stick together? Because at the end of the day you won’t play against this opposition every week.  If we keep doing what we do, try and get something out of it, whether that will be some of the younger boys’ watching some of the Cray boys, their movements, their decision making, then get something out of it.

“To be fair, I’m more than proud of them, more than proud of them.  The only thing that bothered me, we were a little bit naïve that’s all.  With better finishing we would’ve found ourselves 2-0 up.   It would’ve been a completely different game because they’re anxious.  We could sit in and picked them off because that is what we worked on training yesterday.  We worked on that, sucking them in and doing them wide.  I suppose class shows in the end!”

Jenkins showed plenty of respect towards Russell and his team.

He said: “They play similar to us but the chances, you have got to take them, ain’t you?

“We’ve got finishers at the club, Tommy (Whitnell) and Lewis Perkins, unbelievable finishes today but yes, he was right, they had two great chances.  I thought the first one, I thought he could have done better the kid, but Ally done well to get back to defend it.

“We let them in a few times early on.  We were a bit sloppy in possession up at the other end of the pitch.  We gave it away and they broke away on us pretty quick so I think they done their homework.  It nearly worked for them early on.”

Erith Town made a double substitution at the interval bringing on Lewis Wood and James Hawkins, but the damage had already been done.

A cross by Wood down the left was overhit and was retrieved by Hawkins, who cut the ball back to Burgess, whose right-footed chip went over Walker’s crossbar.

Cray Wanderers should have increased their lead when Whitnell swivelled and sent his left-footed shot straight at Hyde from 12-yards after Clark and McLeod combined.

Andy Walker was called into action when Chris Walker’s pass (via Sterling’s outstretched leg) was picked up by Wood and his right-footed drive from 22-yards was saved by the former Maidstone United keeper, low to his left.

Cray Wanderers scored their fourth goal in the 58^th minute from Sterling’s volley.

Long touched a corner to Clark, who was standing beside him, and Long delivered a precise cross from the left towards the near post where Sterling ghosted in an smashed a right-footed volley emphatically into the near corner from five-yards.

Just past the hour-mark, however, Clark’s swept a right-footed shot from 22-yards, which was saved by Hyde.

Then came an unusual event when FOUR Cray Wanderers players wore the captains’ armband in an EIGHT minute period.

Boss Jenkins substituted club captain Mark Willy in the 56^th minute to bring on Tony Dolby and Willy passed the armband to vice-captain Aaron Day, whose pride in wearing the bright yellow armband lasted only three minutes as he was substituted for right-back Rhema Obed.  The armband was then passed on to McLeod, who suffered the curse as he was replaced by striker Jamie Humphris just four minutes later.  Dolby grabbed the armband, but gave it to Saunders instead to wear.

Jenkins said: “That’s a funny one because I was going to drag Wills (off) early anyway and Aaron, I was talking about dragging him (off) as well, but it’s funny who they pass it to.  I don’t tell them who to pass it to.  It didn’t really bother me at all. A skipper’s a skipper.  Wills is my club captain and skipper so he passed it down to someone.  He’s got respect from me so he’s respects that player so it don’t matter where it goes.

“I think England did it once?  Didn’t England do it?  They passed it (the armband) around the team once didn’t they? I remembered that!”

Perkins, meanwhile, sealed the victory with his hat-trick in the 69^th minute.

Clark slipped the ball through to the unmarked Perkins, who from 22-yards, drove a low right-footed drive into the bottom left-hand corner.

Jenkins is pleased to welcome back Perkins and said: “He’s been released by Charlton at the end of last season so he’s a free agent.  He’s been training with a couple of clubs pre-season.  He hasn’t really got in so he rang Joe (Francis, my assistant manager) up and said ‘can he come down again?’

“We needed a forward.  Brems (Leigh Bremner) is out, not long term but three weeks from his injury, young Jamie Humphris has done well up front but he needs a little bit more experience.

“When you’ve got an opportunity to sign a player like Lewis with his credentials, you get him in and he’s repaid us now.”

Reflecting on his side’s four goals, Jenkins added: “Fantastic and all good finishes as well!  Great finishes weren’t they?  I don’t think we scored a poor goal today, they were all worldy’s really.”

Hyde denied Perkins a fourth after the former Charlton Athletic striker latched onto Sterling’s pass – the defender bursting forward with the ball.

Erith Town didn’t look like scoring after their decent first half chances, Chris Walker tried his luck with an angled drive which lacked power and his namesake in the Cray Wanderers’ goal made a routine catch.

Russell, who spent three-and-a-half years playing at the heart of Jenkins’ defence following their promotion out of the Kent League, still has feelings for the Hayes Lane based outfit.

He said: “They’re not just a Ryman Premier League side, they’re a Ryman Premier team that have got a great shout of winning it!

“I felt for 20 minutes, to me, that was the game there where for twenty minutes where we had them and you’ve got to kill them off because they’ve got so much class.  Two of their goals weren’t even half chances.  We created great chances without scoring.

“Listen, at the end of the day, as I said to Jenks, if I can lose to any club it will be this club because they mean a lot to me.  I really, really, really hope, I know sometimes you say this just to be polite, I generally do hope they go on and get a first round (tie) and do well out of it.”

Jenkins returned the respect, saying, “When we are in this league we should be beating them but that result don’t flatter us but I don’t like to beat teams that much who you know.  They’re a good side Erith, I hope they get promoted because they play football and that’s what we’re all here to do, play football.

“Tony was my centre half and he knows what we’re all about.  I’m so pleased he gets his team’s playing and that’s the way to do it and you get all the accolades don’t you? It doesn’t always get you success but the majority of teams that do win leagues, especially nowadays, I think are playing the better football.  All the days have gone when you whack it forward.”

Cray Wanderers: Andy Walker, Sam Long, Allan McLeod (Jamie Humphris 64), Aaron Day (Rhema Obed 59), Mark Willy (Tony Dolby 56), Tyrone Sterling, Tommy Whitnell, Chris Saunders, Lewis Perkins, Danny Phillips, Jack Clark.
Subs: Chris Barnett, Luke Coleman, Leigh Bremner, Grant Hall

Goals: Tommy Whitnell 25, Lewis Perkins 34, 36, 69, Tyrone Sterling 58

Erith Town: Alex Hyde, Peter Smith, Lee Craig, Nick Davis, Ben Payne, Grant Brown (James Hawkins 46), Liam Burgess, Chris Walker, Billy Shinners (Lewis Wood 46), Kirt King, Goma Lambu (Calum Comerford 62).
Subs: Ricky Freeman, Sam I’Anson, Alex Tiesse

Attendance: 183
Referee: Mr Daniel Robathan (Dorking, Surrey)
Assistants: Mr Colin Mallows (Burgess Hill, West Sussex) & Mr Nicholas Brown (Redhill, Surrey)