Kentish Football 
Erith Town 2-0 Lordswood - No team has been better than us, says Dockers' boss Tony Russell
Monday 12th September 2011
ERITH TOWN 2-0 LORDSWOODKent Hurlimann Football League
Monday 12th September 2011
Stephen McCartney reports from Erith Sports Stadium
ERITH TOWN maintained their unbeaten home record with a comfortable victory over Lordswood.
Erith Town’s impressive passing game was rewarded as goals from striker Lewis Wood and the best player on the pitch, Michael Phillips, sent the Dockers into eighth place in the Kent Hurlimann Football League table with 8 points from five games, leaving Lordswood in the bottom four with five points from five outings.
“It was comfortable,” said Erith Town manager Tony Russell after his side’s five match unbeaten run on home soil.
“I thought we played alright. I don’t think we was great tonight but they’re a tricky side to play against especially with the wind was like this. We spoke about it before the game, they get the ball in the box early, the boy’s got a long throw. You have to defend and defend well. I don’t think they’re going to open you up in open play, but you’ve got to be careful. We had a lot of chances and if you don’t kill teams off you open yourself up.”
With Lordswood manager Jason Lillis missing through illness, assistant manager Barry Morgan took the reins for their fourth defeat in eight league and cup games.
“I think we gave away two pretty easy goals, gifts,” said Morgan afterwards.
“It took us too long to get to grips of them in the first half, but we managed to with about twenty minutes to go and we turned the game over.
“We got in at half-time and the second half started how we expected it too. We had the majority of the possession, we got them backing off and then we conceded a stupid goal and when you do that and you’re 2-0 down away from home it becomes very, very difficult.
“We tried to get back into the game, we created a few chances, but we just ain’t taking them and it’s been the same all year to be honest with you!”
Erith Town, who travel to Kent League leaders Herne Bay in the FA Cup First Qualifying Round next Saturday, will have Liam Burgess and Alex Tiesse available for selection again against Simon Halsey’s side and on tonight’s performance that game will surely be entertaining, between two sides who enjoy getting the ball down and play.
The Dockers must have sprayed the ball around their final third at least 20 times before they lost possession in midfield and Lordswood striker Tom Box picked the ball up and raced forward before striking a speculative effort from 30-yards which wasn’t going to trouble Kevin Fewell in the Erith Town goal.
But Erith Town turned defence into attack and took a deserved lead in the fifteenth minute, through a goal worked on the training ground.
Fewell leapt high to catch Lee Maskell’s in-swinging corner from the left and the home side broke away with speed and purpose, with Phillips sprinting forward before spreading the ball out to James Hawkins down the left flank and his excellent low cross found Wood at the far post, who steered his shot into the bottom near corner.
Russell said: “We do things in training, when you’ve got a certain amount of time to score a goal. We’ve got thirty seconds to score a goal, just moving the ball, no opponents and we work on moving the ball and making the right decisions and movements and it’s always nice when it comes off.
“I thought it was a great goal to be fair. I thought the movement and the decision making on the passes was excellent and that’s the type of football we’re trying to play.”
Morgan, however, was disappointed that his side were hit on the counter attack.
He said: “We should’ve scored, shouldn’t we? And that’s been the story of our season really!”
Phillips, who was playing Ryman Premier League football for Maidstone United last season, was pulling all of the strings in the Erith midfield and following yet another slick move, Phillips teed up Wood, whose right-footed shot on the turn sailed over the Lordswood crossbar from 15-yards.
Phillips then curled a shot around the far post after the ball was played up to him by left-back Lee Craig, before outplayed Lordswood squandered an excellent chance to level on the half-hour mark.
The Medway side attacked down the left and Maskell whipped in a precise cross towards the near post, but Box clipped his left-footed shot on the turn over.
Lordswood keeper, Matthew Boyett, made a smart low save to his left to deny Hawkins from scoring with a low left-footed drive, after Billy Shinners’ centre from the right.
Lordswood created their second chance within the opening four minutes of the second half when Maskell played the ball into Robert Norman’s feet, who sent a left-footed shot on the turn over from 25-yards.
Erith Town went close when Chris Walker cut a left-wing corner back to magician Phillips and his near post cross was nodded over by Nick Davis, just two yards from goal.
Boyett was then called into action when Phillips released Wood through on goal and the diminutive striker was denied by the Lordswood keeper who palmed away the right-footed dink, high to his right.
But that delayed the inevitable as Erith Town second goal arrived in the 64th minute.
Yet another slick passing move inside the Lordswood half resulted in Walker floating a right-footed cross into the Lordswood penalty area and the brave Phillips went in where it hurts and headed the ball into an empty net from eight-yards, taking a clattering from the advancing Lordswood keeper.
“I thought he was superb today,” Russell said of Phillips, who has now scored three goals this season.
“He’s been in and out form wise. He’s had a couple of decent games and he’s been off it a little bit and he was poor on Saturday (at Holmesdale) by his own admission. He wasn’t great, he was alright but for his own standards he was a little bit off but today I thought he ran the show, without Liam (Burgess) in there as well, his partner in crime and again, the second goal was a great goal!
“We passed the ball around and then played a little one-two and he was brave enough to get his head on it because you know you’re going to get clattered. You can hear the goalie coming out but he took one for the team.”
Two-nil down, Lordswood squandered an excellent chance to make the game interesting with fifteen minutes left.
A slick move of their own resulted in Richard Styles unleashing a right-footed drive from 30-yards, which was pushed away by Erith Town keeper Fewell, who reacted well on the ground to sweep the ball out for a corner with his leg to deny the onrushing, substitute Alex McKay.
Morgan felt that chance could have been a turning point for his side.
“I thought the best chance we had in the second half was when we was 2-0 down. It was an open goal, wasn’t it? That goes in you’re back in the game and you’ve got a real good chance but listen, it’s been the story of our season up to now – not taking chances.”
A mix-up involving Boyett and Adam Hooper almost gifted Erith Town a third when Hoopers’ back-header rolled just wide of the post and Shinners glanced his header over following Phillips’ resulting corner.
Erith Town ended the game with two new strikers on the pitch, Lamar Hubbard headed the ball on for Kirt King, whose left-footed shot bounced into Boyett’s gloves.
Russell added: “We’re unbeaten down here and every game we’ve played down here we’ve pretty much dominated and that’s Herne Bay included.
“It’s a nice surface and a big pitch and you’ve got to use it. You play half your games on this pitch, you have to pass the ball and if you pass the ball you ask questions of other people, other teams. They get frustrated and when they get the ball they get drawn into our game and that’s what we try to do.”
Russell admitted he isn’t happy with his side’s league position, going into FA Cup and FA Vase fortnight.
“We haven’t played a game yet where I honestly thought the other team were better than us,” said Russell.
“The two defeats we’ve had have both been away from home. One of them was Deal away where we’ve had two sent-off and we just exploded and the other one was Cray Valley where some players took the mick and went out drinking before the game. Apart from that all the FA Cup and FA Vase games we’ve won.
“I’m not looking at league tables at this stage but it is nice to get points on the board early.”
Morgan added: “We had a few decent chances in the first half from set-pieces mainly but where the opposition is taking their chances we’re just not and it’s been like it in all of the games.
“It’s a shame because we’re getting to the point where we’re not a bad side. To come up and compete with Erith like that and come away with nothing is disappointing but to be fair to them, I thought they were a useful football side.”
Reflecting on Lordswood’s start to the campaign, Morgan said: “We have been a little bit inconsistent. We’re missing a few players, that’s no excuses, but we are. For a team like Lordswood, with a small squad and no resources, you want to get the best out week in week out really.”
Morgan says it’s back to the training ground to work on their shooting, ahead of the visit of Fisher, who have lost four-goal striker, Peter Afolayan, who has signed for Ryman League Division One South side Croydon Athletic.
“We’ll work hard straight on the training ground, that’s all we can do,” said Morgan.
“The way we’re playing is different from last year, we’re looking to play a lot more football. We’ve done that through working hard on the training ground so we’ll have to get the finishing right on that.
“We’re expecting a reaction as we would after a defeat. Fisher are half decent, there’s a lot of good sides in the league.”
Erith Town: Kevin Fewell, Peter Smith, Lee Craig, Nick Davis, Ben Payne, Dean Morris, Michael Phillips, Chris Walker (Calum Comerford 76), Billy Shinners (Lamar Hubbard 85), Lewis Wood (Kirt King 80), James Hawkins.
Subs: Ricky Freeman, Grant Brown
Goals: Lewis Wood 15, Michael Phillips 64
Lordswood: Matthew Boyett, Wesley Hammond, Christopher Eather, Richard Styles, Peter Huggins, Adam Hooper, Imran Englefield, Lee Maskell, Tom Box (Alex McKay 70), Robert Norman, Marc Morrison (Alex Shell 62).
Subs: Craig Milgate, Sam Hallett, Andrew Forster
Attendance: 65
Referee: Mr David Smart (Maidstone)
Assistants: Mr Agapito Nsang (Blackheath, London) & Mr Adam Back (Sidcup)
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