Kentish Football 
Erith & Belvedere 0-2 Lancing - We've let ourselves down today, says disappointed Micky Collins
Sunday 14th November 2010
ERITH & BELVEDERE 0-2 LANCING
FA Carlsberg Vase Second Round
Sunday 14th November 2010
Stephen McCartney reports from Park View Road
ERITH & BELVEDERE manager Micky Collins blamed poor finishing in front of goal for his side’s embarrassing FA Carlsberg Vase exit at home to lower league opposition at a wet and chilly Park View Road today.
Despite playing EIGHT players (out of the 12 that featured) who have played at a higher level of football (including Simon Osborn who has cost clubs over a million pounds in transfer fees) they were humbled by an in-form Lancing side.
Lancing play in the second tier of the Sussex County League and stretched their unbeaten run to nine games as goals from Lee Garnham (his 12th of the season) and Richard Hudson sent the perennial Kent League underachievers crashing out.
To put this defeat into context, Lancing went into the game sitting in sixth place in the second division of the Sussex County League. It was like losing at home to Rusthall (who are in the same position in the Kent County League).
“Disappointed, very disappointed,” Collins told www.kentishfootball.co.uk following the game.
“On the balance of play, if you was watching the game and I think if you were honest, we probably had seven one-on-ones to win the game, we’ve not taken our chances.
“Unlucky for Stroudy, he’s called for one he’s never going to get. They’ve caught us with that one and then obviously we’re pushing late on and they’ve caught us with a sucker punch with the second.
“I’m disappointed for the club that we’re out of the Vase. I feel sorry for the lads to a point because I think they’ve given us 100% today. We just ain’t converted chances and if you don’t convert chances in football it always comes back and bite you on your backside and today it bit us.”
Osborn was the most gifted player on the pitch, pulling the strings from the middle of the park, but Erith & Belvedere’s big-named players failed to deliver when it mattered - in front of goal.
The 38-year-old magician missed the home side’s first chance within seven minutes.
He released Luke Coleman down the right and the striker’s cross found Kirk Watts at the far post and his weak header was cleared out to Osborn, who ballooned a right-footed shot over from 25-yards.
Lancing’s formation was unusual for this level of football - adopting 3-1-4-2 - and Hudson combined with Jack Hayward down the right flank before his cross picked out Garnham at the far post, who leapt above Osborn to head wide from inside the six-yard box.
Osborn played delicious long balls forward but Watts and Cassius - who have Blue Square Bet South experience with Bromley behind them - failed to capitalise on his excellent vision.
Erith & Belvedere goalkeeper Richard Stroud made his first save in the 22nd minute, diving to his left to catch Hudson’s right-footed pile-driver from 30-yards.
The Kent side’s only real first half chance saw a ball out of defence release Coleman racing down the left and after cutting in his fierce drive bounced off James Lyons head and looped over the crossbar.
Three minutes into the second half a left-wing cross from Dan Turner was met by a stooping header from Lancing’s holding midfielder Dan McLoughlin, which deflected over the bar.
Erith & Belvedere then squandered three excellent chances to join rivals Beckenham Town, Herne Bay, Hythe Town and Tunbridge Wells in tomorrow’s third round (LAST 64) draw.
Lyons released Watts down the left in the 55th minute and his cross was flicked by Coleman into Cassius’s path at the far post and he teed up Lyons and his low drive deflected into Coleman’s feet some eight-yards from goal, but the striker lashed a shot towards goal, but Matt Evans swiftly stuck out a left arm to flick the ball against the underside of the crossbar.
Five minutes later Coleman’s flicked the ball into Watts’ path inside the penalty area but the former Tonbridge Angels winger was thwarted by the advancing Evans, who got the decisive touch to send the ball behind his near post.
Then 50 seconds after that chance Osborn floated in a precise cross from midfield but all Coleman could do was to glance a header straight at Evans from ten-yards.
Collins said: “We’ve just said in there (the home changing room), if you do take your chances every single week and you are scoring four or five goals as a striker then you won’t play in this League, you won’t be in the Kent League, you’ll be higher.
“However, if you looked at our forward line today and you saw Kirk Watts, Luke Coleman and Marcus Cassius and you know they would all have at least two chances each, you’d expect us to get on the score sheet. However, we haven’t!”
The Deres were made to pay for those misses as a goalkeeping blunder from Stroud gifted Lancing a 64th minute lead.
The goalkeeper shouted out “keepers” as McLoughlin floated in a free-kick, but he failed miserably to collect the ball, allowing an unmarked towering Garnham to glance his header into an empty net.
Collins refused to point the finger of blame the former Chatham Town goalkeeper for the defeat.
He said: “We created enough chances to win that game today, twice. However, we never took them.
“Let’s be honest, did they look like scoring prior to our goalkeeper missing a cross? No!
“I told him to get his chin up. He’s been immense for us this year. He’s a great lad. Listen, at this level that we play at and we all know the level some of us have been at, you’re going to make mistakes, that happens, it’s how you bounce back from that mistake.”
Dominant Erith & Belvedere then missed yet another two chances - and players like Coleman and Cassius should have scored.
Evans’ poor clearance bounced off Osborn’s chest from inside Lancing’s half and this released Coleman but his right-footed drive was parried away by the diving Lancing keeper.
But Cassius was guilty of the biggest miss when he was released through on goal and with only Evans to beat he smashed a right-footed shot agonisingly past the foot of the near post.
Substitute Adrian Deane cracked a 35-yard right-footed drive, which was tipped over the bar by Evans - before Lancing hit the home side with a sucker punch with four minutes remaining.
There were two players on each team on the half-way line when Watts’ corner was cleared up field and Lancing substitute Shameen Sadough released Hudson on the half-way line and he sprinted forward and swept the ball across Stroud into the bottom far corner to rub salt into the wound.
Stroud made a low save to prevent Sadough scoring deep into stoppage time, but the defeat ended Erith & Belvedere’s four-match unbeaten run and their interest in the FA Carlsberg Vase, which clearly disappointed Collins.
“I can’t fault the effort today, I can’t fault that, from all of them,” he added.
“They gave 100%, I can’t fault the fact that we created so many chances but it’s just the way our season’s going at the moment.”
But when you have eight players who have played at a higher level, losing to a lower league side at home is hard to take.
“You can start with Simon Osborn,” said Collins, “He’s played in the Premier League, but Ozzie’s had a good game today, he’s played well. You go through all of them, you can’t say they’ve played badly.
“It’s just some of these games go against you and today it’s gone against us. That’s football!
“The quality when you look at that team sheet is unbelievable. I look around in that changing room and knowing the minimum budget that we’ve got to put that team together is phenomenal.”
Collins added: “I think if you look at it and you’re really honest about it, you look at chances crated against goals scored on chances created we should’ve won.
“However, they’ve taken two chances so yes they deserved it.
“I wish them all the luck in the next round, they came here, a good spirited side. They’re doing well in their league and I hope they get promoted.
“They’re a good side and they’ve given us a really, really good game. Unfortunately we have let ourselves down today.”
Like Hythe, the Deres have played only seven Kent League games, collecting two wins and a draw, and have only Sporting Bengal below them in the table, but they have games-in-hand and Collins demands that his side start climbing up to where a club of their stature should be - challenging for league honours.
“Yes, we’re so disappointed that we’re out the Vase for the club and we wanted a good run in it and that’s not happened,” said Collins.
“However, we have to concentrate on getting up the league and getting some points and getting this new side and new squad settled as quickly as we possibly can.”
Erith & Belvedere: Richard Stroud, John Wilfort Sam Noller, Allan Matthews (Adrian Deane 83), Danny Twin, Paul Gross, James Lyons, Simon Osborn, Luke Coleman, Marcus Cassius, Kirk Watts.
Subs: Josh Biddlecombe, Sean Brown, Tom Malyon, Chris Kinnear.
Booked: John Wilfort 69
Lancing: Matt Evans, Tom Pickford, John Elliott, Dave Sharman, Dan McLoughlin, Michael Sims, Richard Hudson, Lee Garnham, Darren Annis (Shameen Sadough 62) Jack Hayward (Darren Boswell 62), Dan Turner (Wayne Joseph 73).
Subs: Dan Griffin, Michael Hemsley.
Goals: Lee Garnham 64, Richard Hudson 86
Booked: Darren Annis 24, Dan Turner 69
Attendance: 96
Referee: Mr Nick Iddiols (Aldershot, Hampshire)
Assistants: Mr G Kehoe (West Molesey, Surrey) & Mr T Dowdeswell (Epsom, Surrey)
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