Faversham Town 2-1 Greenwich Borough - We want to go out with a bang, says Shearer

Sunday 18th April 2010

FAVERSHAM TOWN 2-1 GREENWICH BOROUGH
Kent Senior Trophy Final
Sunday 18th April 2010
Stephen McCartney reports from Park View Road

RYMAN LEAGUE bound Faversham Town are on course of winning the double this week - as they bagged the Kent Senior Trophy by beating a skilful Greenwich Borough side that finished the game with ten-men for the third game running.

The Lilywhites fell behind inside the opening six minutes through Michael Jones’ looping header, before Faversham claimed their first piece of silverware courtesy of fine strikes from Dave Botterill and Michael Smissen.

Jones turned hero to villain as he collected two yellow cards for two challenges on Shane Hamshare at the end of the game.

Faversham Town will also claim the Bulmers Cider Kent League title by picking up at least a point from their last two games - at home to Corinthian on Wednesday night - or away to Norton Sports at Winch’s Field on Saturday.

Greenwich Borough were the more skilful of the two sides, but they lacked any fire-power up front with 19-goal striker Danny Hunt struggling with a groin strain.

Hunt should have broken the deadlock when he was left unmarked inside the Faversham penalty area after Kevin Sefaah floated in a cross from the right, but Rob French made a comfortable save.

But Greenwich Borough stunned the double chasers, by taking a sixth minute lead.

Dave Soutan was penalised for bringing Jones down on the edge of the penalty area and Kennickson Jarrett-Elliott (who scored the winning goal in the exciting 3-2 home win over Herne Bay in the semi-finals) fancied his chances.

The central defender stepped up and his left-footed free-kick from 20-yards looped off the wall and the ball was met by a looping header from Jones and his effort from a tight angle dropped just inside the far post.

Faversham responded by this early-set back and started to bombard the Greenwich Borough goal.

Smissen threaded the ball through to Soutan but his low shot from inside the penalty area was saved at the near post by Borough keeper Danny Firkins.

A powerful headed clearance from central defender Lee Shearer was flicked on by Smissen for Damian Abel, whose right-footed effort from the edge of the box curled agonisingly past the far post.

The unmarked Shearer then met Dale Skelton’s right-wing corner with a bullet header from penalty spot distance, which cleared the crossbar.

Faversham inevitable equalised from a trademark goal - a set-piece.

Dale Skelton delivered their second corner from the right, which wasn’t cleared properly by the Greenwich defence and the ball fell nicely for Botterill to strike a sweet left-footed volley, which flew through a crowd of players to find the far corner of the net to score his third goal of the season.

Faversham Town assistant manager, Clive Walker, was pleased that many hours working on the training ground has come to fruition this season.

“You play to what your strengths are,” he told www.kentishfootball.co.uk afterwards. “We’ve scored a lot this season from set-pieces. We’ve got a lot of height, a good delivery of ball, we’ve got long throws and all that sort of stuff.

“We’re a threat at any set-piece, no doubt about that. We have been all season, most of the goals have come from set-plays.”

A move down the left involving Smissen and Botterill resulted in an unmarked Soutan meeting the cross with a header, which bounced agonisingly wide of the far post.

But despite this pressure, Greenwich Borough squandered an excellent chance to regain the lead early in the second half.

Micah Banton’s ball forward was met by a cushion header across the penalty area by Hunt but French reacted quickly to beat out Richard Monan’s attempted chip.

But a moment of class from Smissen won the game for Faversham ten minutes after the break.

The striker had an awful lot to do when he picked the ball up down the left hand side of the pitch by the corner flag, but his energy took him past Frankie Warren and cut along past two other defenders and instead of cutting the ball back the striker smashed a low drive from an acute angle, which gave Firkins no chance as the ball bounced into the net via the far post.

Walker praised the match-winner, adding, “He’s done brilliant by the touch-line down the bottom there. I’m glad for Buster. He’s scored a few goals this year. He looked sharp today.”

The Borough boss felt his side should have been awarded a 62nd minute penalty when Monan was brought down inside the box by Faversham left-back Dan Larkin.

But instead of referee Mr Paul Harris pointing to the spot, the Maidstone official brandished Monan a yellow card.

“From where I was, I thought it was a penalty,” Steve Firkins told www.kentishfootball.co.uk afterwards.

“People have told me different things. They said that he’s gone down but if he’s gone down why would he gone down? He’s on goal, why go down? I can’t understand that!”

Faversham’s bench officials had already done the paperwork to bring Richard Sinden off the bench and was ready to come on before Smissen (the man he was going to replace) scored the winning goal.

Sinden missed a hat-trick of chances, flashing shots across Firkins and past the far post, after being released down the inside right-channel by Abel, Skelton and fellow substitute Dane Luchford.

But Greenwich Borough almost snatched an equaliser - but goalkeeper French excelled to twice deny substitute Joe Jackson - with a couple of excellent saves.

Sam Friskey cut back a corner from the right to Jackson, who cracked a left-footed curling shot from 25-yards, which was destined to find the top corner of the net, but the young keeper did superbly to fingertip the ball over the bar.

The former Ebbsfleet United third-choice keeper did exactly the same when Jackson tried his luck from similar distance moments later.

Faversham full-back Shane Hamshare appeared to kick out at a grounded Jones as the pair challenged for the ball - and the pair were both booked when maybe a red card should have been brandished at the Faversham defender.

But Jones went in strong on Hamshare inside stoppage time and collected his second yellow card (and then a red) to mar what was a good display of slick passing football from Greenwich Borough.

“I thought it was a good game actually at this level,” added Walker. “Good stuff; end-to-end stuff; hard for both sides. I think it was a good game of football.

“I just think we’ve got good lads, good players at this level. There’s not many old lads in the squad, (Lee) Shearer, and his fitter this year then he’s been for a few years. It’s been a big bonus to us.

“They’ve worked hard, they’ve worked really hard this season, all through the season, just not now, we’ve done it all through the season.”

Walker expects Corinthian will make life difficult for Faversham on title-deciding night.

Looking ahead to Wednesday’s Salters Lane clash, Walker added: “We need a point, but it’s not going to be easy is it? No-one gives anything at this level so we’ll just see how we go Wednesday.

“We just need to win Wednesday or get the point and it clinches that and the season’s right for us then. It’s been a long nine months you know!

“We’re keeping our fingers crossed. In football, you never know but we need a point out of two games left. It’s in our hands now!”

Shearer has seen it and done it during a glittering career and with 22 goals he is Faversham’s leading goalscorer this season.

The 33-year-old central defender spoke to www.kentishfootball.co.uk saying that the players efforts during the course of the season is being rewarded with silverware.

“I thought first half we took a while to get going,” he said. “First ten minutes we looked a bit edgy. I think they scored a bit too early and we came into our own.

“We’ve worked really hard in training over the course of the year and it’s paying off. It just goes to show the hard work you do put in does come off at the end of the season.”

Looking ahead to the title-clinching game against Corinthian, Shearer said: “It could be a great week for the club. We haven’t done it before and that’s what working hard is all about. Justin’s done really well, got a good bunch of lads in.

“We want to go out with a bang. We want to go and win and that will just crown it all off.”

Shearer defended the direct tactics that manager Justin Luchford and Walker adopt.

“I think the secret behind the team’s success is “our game, our way,” which is one of Justin’s slogans, as he walks past me there I had to get that in, but we stick to a game plan and it works, it pays off.

“There’s a lot of teams in the league, you’ve got the Herne Bay’s, who play really good football, but the end product is never there.

“We get a lot of criticism with the way we play, the long-ball game, but you don’t score over 100 goals in a season doing things the wrong way, do you?

“It’s a battling league, you’ve got to work hard, do things the right way. When we do get in that attacking third of the pitch we produce results.”

Greenwich Borough manager Steve Firkins was “really down” that his side’s slick passing game wasn’t rewarded with silverware.

“We try to play football and that’s our philosophy, we won‘t change that” a proud Firkins said.

“It may cost us games like this, I don’t know, but you can’t preach one thing and then change if midway.

“Faversham just thump the ball forward, but we don’t play like that. Fair play to Faversham, they’ve played us, they got amongst us, they worked hard. They shut us down when it should’ve been the other way round really, but they showed they had that little bit more hunger.”

Firkins added: “Like I said to you before, we try and play football. We try to educate the fells in playing the right way. I think everybody out there can appreciate that we do try and play football.

“Faversham knew what we try and do, play out from the back, and try shut us down but I thought we played some good little triangles out from the back and used the ball well when we had it.”

Firkins was upset that the decision was made to send Jones off for his challenge on Hamshare.

“Evrybody’s come up to me and said, including Justin, it’s a good tackle, he’s gone in low, he‘s won the ball! ” he fumed.

“Nowadays you can’t do that sort of thing, but how do you teach boys how to tackle nowadays, their taking the art of out of the game.

“I thought it was a really good tackle. The fella’s gone up in the air, yes, because of the impact with him and the ball. They’ve both won the ball cleanly. If you’re going in for that sort of tackle and you hurt somebody’s leg then obviously there’s a bad injury there, but I just thought it was a good tackle. I feel a bit sorry for the lad.”

Faversham Town: Rob French, Shane Hamshare (Michael Dodsworth 90), Dan Larkin, Tom Hickman, Ashley Brown, Lee Shearer, Dale Skelton, Damian Abel (Dane Luchford 80), Michael Smissen (Richard Sinden 68), Dave Soutan, Dave Botteril.
Subs: Steve O’Brien, Nick Shaw.

Goals: Dave Botterill 26, Michael Smissen 55

Booked: Shane Hamshare 86

Greenwich Borough: Danny Firkins, Micah Banton, Kyle Demetrius, Jason Mabbs, Kennickson Jarrett-Elliott, Frankie Warren, Kevin Sefaah (Danny Taylor 79, Michael Jones, Richard Monan (Akeem Hanon 82), Danny Hunt (Joe Jackson 79), Sam Friskey.
Subs: Mark Sisson, Billy Walton.

Goals: Michael Jones 6

Booked: Richard Monan 63, Michael Jones 86, Frankie Warren 90

Sent off: Richard Jones 90

Attendance: 380
Referee: Mr Paul Harris (Maidstone)
Assistants: Mr Rob Baker (Maidstone) & Mr James Macey (Bexley)
Fourth Official: Mr Martin Peck (West Malling)