Glebe 2-4 Hanwell Town - I've got a good team around me that gave absolutely everything and they're all pulling in the right direction, says Glebe manager Fred Dillon

Glebe 2 – 4 Hanwell Town
Location	Foxbury Avenue, off Perry Street, Chislehurst, Kent BR7 6SD
Kickoff	09/10/2024 19:45

GLEBE  2-4 HANWELL TOWN
London Senior Cup (Sponsored by Veo) Second Round
Wednesday 9 October 2024
Stephen McCartney reports from Foxbury Avenue

GLEBE manager Fred Dillon says his players’ gave absolutely everything after giving Hanwell Town a late scare after exiting the London Senior Cup at the first hurdle.

Hanwell Town arrived in Chislehurst for this Second Round tie sitting in 12^th place in the Southern League Premier Division South table having picked up 12 points (three wins and three draws) from their opening nine league outings in the seventh-tier.

Chris Moore’s side went into this tie on a run of six games without any win, since beating Ernie Batten’s Sheppey United 6-0 in a FA Cup First Qualifying Round Replay at home on 3 September.

Hanwell Town put in a dominant, professional performance during the first 27 minutes, racing into a 3-0 lead through striker Ezekiel Coker-Sonukan, 22, winger Nathaniel Boakye, before Coker-Sonukan converted a penalty.

Glebe talisman striker Jamie Philpot scored twice in 12 minutes in the second half to bring the home side back into the game, the second coming from the penalty spot, as the 28-year-old took his goalscoring tally for the season to 10 goals.

However, Coker-Sonukan notched his hat-trick to ensure Hanwell Town have home advantage over Spartan South Midlands League Premier Division leaders Cockfosters or Colney Heath in the last sixteen of the competition, with potential home ties all the way through to the Final.

“Listen, we got caught out first half. We’ve got a few injuries and we made a couple of changes and ultimately we just got punished through them being a little bit sharper and a bit brighter,” said Dillon.

Moore made NINE changes to his side that beat Beaconsfield 3-1 on penalties after a 1-1 home draw in The FA Trophy Third Qualifying Round on Saturday.

Glebe faced a central defensive crisis with James Fitchett (groin), Daniel Okah (tendons in hand), Robert Gillman and Jerry Nnanami is taking part on a Referee’s course that is being screened by the BBC.  Midfielder Alex Arif, meanwhile, was on holiday.

The threatening Coker-Sonukan easily cut inside stand-in centre-half Femi Ogunbiyi before he drew a foul from centre-half Sam Wood and referee Morgan Conn awarded Hanwell a free-kick close to the by-line within the right-channel.

Ryan Case (who was later withdrawn with an ankle injury) cut the ball back for Elliot Benyon, whose shot was blocked from within a crowd of players before Coker-Sonukan swept home his first goal of the season after only three minutes and 24 seconds on the clock.

“Just reactions, just reactions. Set-piece which was frustrating but ultimately it’s just a quicker reaction from them which caught us out,” admitted Dillon.

Hanwell Town were clinical in front of goal and showed that there was a 39 team difference between the two sides as they doubled their lead with their next attempt with 22 minutes and 46 seconds on the clock.

Central midfielder Case took a knock to his ankle after being caught by Philpot some 35-yards from goal before Christopher Regis floated the resulting free-kick into the box. The ball came out to Boakye, who clinically hit his right-footed shot on the turn into the left-hand corner from 20-yards.

“We’ve won the first ball and it’s dropped and they’ve literally punished us.  Again, it’s the same scenarios, just the reaction on the second ball,” said Dillon.

“I thought they were really direct, keeper sends it a mile but they had some lively players and they grabbed their couple of early chances.”

Glebe were facing a mountain to climb when Hanwell Town notched their third goal of the night with 26 minutes and 3 seconds on the clock.

Hanwell Town counter-attacked with Case’s last contribution to the game saw him release second striker Benyon down the right and he was tripped just inside the box by the slender Ogunbiyi, who proved that he is not a centre-half.

Coker-Sonukan swept his left-footed free-kick just left of centre, as goalkeeper Justin Lee dived to his left.

“Femi’s been absolutely outstanding for us in the middle of the park.  I asked him tonight to go and be one of the centre-halves. He has that side of him when he’ll try to nick everything at all times and he breaks up games a lot in the middle. He just caught him, poking a toe in, on the edge of the box,” said Dillon.

Dillon acted to move Ogunbiyi from centre-half to right-back, with right-back Paul Lee moving beside Daniel Vaughan in the middle with Wood on the left, with Reggie Rye sat in front of the back four.

“We were just getting over-run,” admitted the Glebe manager, as Coker-Sonukan often shrugged past Ogunbiyi on several occasions but the tactical change worked as it brought more resilience to Glebe’s defensive line – although the switch should have been made at 1-0, rather than three.

“Femi doesn’t normally play there so I just thought let’s put him on his better side and then we just changed and thought we’d match them up just to try to get a grip on the game.”

Glebe responded and created their only attempt of the first half in the 36^th minute.

Ogunbiyi threw the ball short to right-winger Fred Obasa, who sprinted down the wing before cutting the ball back to an unmarked Philpot, who swept his first-time right-footed shot just past the foot of the near post.

“A good bit of play. We had a couple of chances to get in but we got flagged for offside etc, so a little bit frustrating,” added Dillon.

“But listen, we didn’t throw the towel in. The boys continued to go and they’re in a good place, so I saw that a little bit about towards the end of that half and we went in and my thought was to continue that in the second half.”

Glebe goalkeeper Justin Lee pulled off a brilliant save to keep his side in this one-sided first half.

Hanwell Town centre-half Rudi Pache hit a long ball in behind Wood into the right-channel for winger Regis to cut the ball onto his right-foot before whipping in a cross towards an unmarked Benyon at the far post and his header was excellently clawed out by Justin Lee, diving to his left and using a strong left hand to make a big save.

Dillon agreed, adding, “A great save, yes it was.  In those moments it was a crucial time to not concede again, so I’m really pleased with him there.

“We came in and there was a lot of belief in the group. We’ve been in a good place so we’re scoring goals and we felt just towards the end of that half that we just turned the corner slightly and I said can we come out and score first?”

Regis put in a low cross from within the right channel, which was comfortably gathered by Justin Lee at his near-post before the Glebe goalkeeper launched a big kick up field and Hanwell’s 36-year-old goalkeeper Sam Beasant came rushing out to smother at Obasa’s feet on the edge of his penalty area as Glebe signalled their intent after only 28 seconds.

“We started very brightly, very brightly and on another day if we nick one of them early, it might’ve been a better chance but he (Beasant) does his job really well,” added Dillon.

Moore switched his two full-backs over at the break and now right-back Kyron Richards played the ball down the line to Boakye, who put in a low cross for Benyon, who poked his shot straight at Justin Lee who made a comfortable save at his near post.

Glebe’s attacking midfielder Kiye Martin wasted a glorious chance to pull a goal back inside the opening nine minutes.

Dayo Santanna poked the ball to Obasa, who skipped past centre-half Harry Seabrook just over the half-way line before he released Santanna down the right and he put in a cross towards the back post but the unmarked Martin failed to keep his shot down from inside the six-yard box.

“I think if Dayo slides it along the deck, Kiye maybe taps it in. I don’t think it caught a deflection or what. It looked like it scooped up and obviously it was a bit out of reach for Kiye,” added the Glebe manager.

Dillon made a tactical masterstroke just before the hour-mark with a change in formation with wing-backs Zak Loveridge (left) and Kelvin Bakare (right) coming off the bench to give Hanwell Town’s defence something to think about.

Dillon said: “Listen, I’m a firm believer in the whole group and I just felt I make a couple of substitutions to give us a little bit of fresh legs and we just kept the belief.

“I told them at half-time that I believe in this group and I believe you score first you’ve got every chance of getting something out of the game, so making those changes and ultimately the group just not giving up.”

The impact was instant as Glebe pulled a goal back with 16 minutes and 43 seconds on the clock, following their third of six corners.

Loveridge delivered a deep corner from the right towards the back post, the ball was knocked down from within a crowd of players and the ball fell to Philpot at the back post who swept his shot into the near corner, despite Beasant getting down low to his left and getting his hand to the ball but couldn’t prevent the ball bouncing into the corner.

“Listen, getting to work with Jamie has been an absolute pleasure for me. He has bought into what we are doing and he has grown every week and you can see that now,” said Dillon.

“If you look at recent games, he’s scoring, he’s on the scoresheet most weeks. I know his renowned for it but he’s definitely getting to where we want him to be.”

Hanwell Town had a couple of chances to kill the game off, when substitute Leo Donellan feed Benyon, who cracked a left-footed rasping drive towards the roof of the net from 20-yards, which was comfortably caught at head height by the Glebe goalkeeper.

Now left-back Emmerson Sutton cut in and bent his right-footed shot across Justin Lee and just past the foot of the far post when he found space some 25-yards from goal.

“We got lucky. They’re always going to have opportunities and it was one where we escaped from. Obviously it kept us, it gave us the opportunity to stay in the game,” admitted Dillon.

Loveridge cut in from the left and was fouled inside a crowded penalty area by Richards and referee Morgan Conn awarded his second penalty of the night.

Philpot drilled his right-footed penalty straight down the middle, although Beasant got a hand to it as he moved to his right, as Glebe scored their second goal with 28 minutes and 59 seconds on the clock.

“Zak is very clever in and around the box but he’s got a lot of ability and he tends to grab quite a few fouls and free-kicks, pens, whatever it might be,” revealed Dillon.

“When it fell to him it was one where I thought maybe he’ll get something and he did and rightly so Philpot took the ball and done what he’s good at.

“There’s good belief in the group, we’re in a good place, so we gave it everything that we’ve got.”

Glebe had the belief that they could force a penalty shoot-out, which wasn’t realistic in the first half-an-hour, being 3-0 down at the time.

However, the Foxes were hit by an counter-attacking goal, as Hanwell Town sealed the deal by scoring their fourth goal with 37 minutes and 56 seconds on the clock, with physically strong Coker-Sonukan’s hat-trick.

A long ball out of defence released substitute striker Alfie Pandlebury down the left and he cut inside before playing the ball infield for substitute Jordan Edwards, who played the ball across to the unmarked Coker-Sonukan, who stroked his left-footed shot across the keeper to find the bottom far corner with a clinical finish.

“Pendlebury came on, I remember him holding it up in that position,” recalled the former Chipstead (Kent) and Sporting Club Thamesmead manager, who is on a two-year contract at Foxbury Avenue.

“We’ve gone all out the opposite way and I always knew there would be an opportunity for them and ultimately they got one when you’re pushing everyone on and you’re trying everything to get back into a game, you’re always going to have that situation.”

Glebe can be satisfied with their night’s work against a club that play two league’s higher. If you look at our Isthmian League Premier Division table, Andy Drury’s Folkestone Invicta are in that 12^th position, a side that humiliated Ascot United 8-1 in The FA Trophy at Cheriton Road at the weekend.

“For me, it’s a massive positive, especially if you can take things from the game. We went 3-0 down, we were in it. What did the group have to offer?  They stuck together, showed great character and even scored a couple of goals, so for me it’s only a positive.

“We had nothing to lose tonight. Second half we’ve displayed ourselves well.”

With Hanwell Town substitutes Kameron English (16 instead of 15), Jordan Edwards(15 instead of 16) and Pendlebury (20 instead of 17) wearing the wrong numbered shirts as per the team-sheet handed to the match referee and this website, Edwards tried his luck with a right-footed drive from 35-yards, which just sailed over the crossbar.

Since losing 2-0 at Tunbridge Wells in The FA Vase Second Qualifying Round on 21 September, Glebe have bounced back with league wins over Sutton Athletic (6-3), Bearsted (3-0) and Lordswood (3-1) to climb into the top eight in the Southern Counties East Football League Premier Division table with 16 points (five wins, one draw) from their 11 league outings.

VCD Athletic remain at the summit with 32 points from 12 games, while the four play-off places hold Faversham Town (27 points from 11 games), Punjab United (25 points from 11 games), Holmesdale (21 points from 15 games) and Larkfield & New Hythe (17 points from 10 games).

Corinthian (17 points from nine games), Fisher (16 points from 12 games) and Glebe, Erith & Belvedere (16 points from 12 games) and Stansfeld (16 points from 13 games) make up the top 10.

“I believe in this group of players. I’ve got a good team around me that give absolutely everything and they’re all pulling in the right direction,” said Dillon, who is in his first season in charge of the club, but working within a reduced budget that the ninth-tier club spent last season.

“It’s about finding a group that all believe in what we’re doing, what we’re preaching and ultimately, delivering on the pitch.  I have the belief that we knew was in the group.”

When asked whether Glebe maintain play-off aspirations after finishing in third-place last season under two management teams and losing in the Play-Off Semi-Finals to Erith Town.

“Just shows you if you’re at it and you’re delivering, I feel like a lot of teams are beating a lot of teams so three wins it’s pushed us right up the table and just put belief into the group, so we will maintain that, we’ll keep doing it and we’ll keep trying to push ourselves up the table.”

Glebe welcome Lewisham Borough to Foxbury Avenue on Saturday to contest a Kent Senior Trophy First Round tie.

The tenth-tier side are in the bottom five in the table with seven points from as many games, with Sporting Club Thamesmead (six points from nine games), Welling Town (five points from 10 games), Sheppey Sports (four points from seven) and pointless Meridian VP (from eight games) beneath them.

“They’ll want to come here and roll us over and we’ve just got to stay focused,” said Dillon.

“If we can put all of the last few week’s performances into one and get it right Saturday, which we’ve done in the previous last games – we won’t take them lightly- and we’ll just be looking to keep momentum and deliver.”

Glebe: Justin Lee, Paul Lee, Sam Wood, Reggie Rye (Zak Loveridge 58), Daniel Vaughan, Femi Ogunbiyi, Dayo Santanna (Kelvin Bakare 59), Red Jenkins, Jamie Philpot, Kiye Martin (Max Juniper 88), Fred Obasa (David Ajao 69).
Sub: Jack Highwood

Goals: Jamie Philpot 62, 74 (penalty)

Booked: Reggie Rye 30

Hanwell Town: Sam Beasant, Emmerson Sutton (Cameron Rohart-Brown 82), Kyron Richards, Harry Seabrook (Alfie Pendlebury 68), Dwayne Duncan, Rudi Pache, Christopher Regis (Jordan Edwards 75), Ryan Case (Leo Donellan 24), Ezekile Coker-Sonukan, Elliot Benyon, Nathaniel Boakye (Kameron English 60).

Goals: Ezekiel Coker-Sonukan 4, 27 (penalty), 83, Nathaniel Boakye 23

Booked: Christopher Regis 44

Attendance: 77
Referee: Mr Morgan Conn
Assistants: Mr Oliver Storey & Mr Robert Maris