Gooding gets the blues - EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

Monday 15th January 2007

Sittingbourne manager Steve Lovell has tonight unveiled that central midfielder Clint Gooding is free to leave Bourne Park in a bid to find regular first team football, writes Stephen McCartney.

“I can’t guarantee him a regular first team start and he wants to play regular football, which I understand,” Lovell said EXCLUSIVELY to www.kentishfootball.co.uk.

“He’s been a good servant to the club, been there many years but it’s time to move on.

“He’s asked to go to play regular football and I can’t stand in his way.

“I can’t guarantee him or anybody else a start, they all have to fight for their place. If he wants to play regular football, I have to accept that.”

Lovell’s second choice goalkeeper, Josh Willis, 17, meanwhile, missed Sittingbourne’s 2-2 Ryman League Division One South draw at Godalming Town on Saturday.

He was selected as an unused substitute for Premiership champions Chelsea for their FA Youth Cup fourth round tie against Liverpool at Anfield.

Lovell explained how the goalkeeper, whose understudy to Steve Williams, warmed the bench during a game that Liverpool won 2-0.

He said: “He was asked because of his age, he’s only seventeen and he’s a big lad and (has) got good potential.

“Chelsea asked if he could go training with them for a week. Obviously we said yes, and off he went.

“Mark Beeney, who was the old Sittingbourne manager, is the academy goalkeeper coach at Chelsea.

“Obviously he’s still got ties with the football club and he heard about Josh that way.

“I know Mark very well from my playing days so it’s not a problem Josh going up there for the experience.

“He’s going back there Wednesday and Thursday this week for training so I don’t know what the outcome is going to be.

“He will be training with us on Tuesday night and will be with us on Saturday.”

Reflecting on their draw at Godalming Town on Saturday, Lovell felt his side deserved more than a point.

“We didn’t play particularly well in the first half,” he said. “Saying that, we still had the majority of the game.

“Second half was a lot better and deserved to win the game but they scored a late equaliser, which was very disappointing.”

But Lovell felt Anthony Hogg was “unlucky” after getting sent off.

The experienced midfielder is on a month’s loan from league rivals Dartford, as Lovell is short of cover in that position.

“I thought he played very well on Saturday and he was unlucky to get sent-off,” said Lovell, who has also signed striker, Joe Neilson, on loan from Ryman Premier League club Folkestone Invicta.

“I’ve got Steve Searle and Kieran Marsh out, I just needed another midfield player and Anthony was available.

“I know him, he’s a good player, very experienced and did very well Saturday.”

Hogg will serve a one-match ban for his red card and will therefore miss the home game against Cray Wanderers on 27^th January.

Dulwich Hamlet, one of the better sides in the division, crashed to an embarrassing defeat at basement boys, Corinthian Casuals at the weekend.

Casuals picked up their seventh point from their last three games by beating Hamlet 2-1.

Lovell takes his side to Champion Hill next Saturday looking to build on their goalless draw at Bourne Park on 12^th December.

“We played Dulwich at home and deserved to beat them,” he recalled.

“We’ll approach the game the same way and attack them and hopefully get the three points.

“I watched Corinthian Casuals play Chatham the other week and they were very good so I can understand them beating Dulwich.

Sixth placed Sittingbourne are just two points adrift of the final play-off berth, but Lovell feels his side will be one of the sides that compete in the end of season lottery.

“We’ve had a run of drawn games,” he said. “We’ve had a very tough Christmas, the last six weeks have been against the tougher teams and a few of the games we should have won.

“We’re still in there, we’ve had a lot of injuries and if we can get through the next couple of games and pick up a few more points, when we have a full strength squad, we can then push on.”

Kieran Marsh, meanwhile, is expected to have recovered from his ankle injury to play at Champion Hill on Saturday.

But Lovell is expected to be without James Campbell (calf), Jon Neal (groin and Charlie Belcher (ankle ligament).

Steve Searle will serve his last game of his suspension but former Lordswood striker, Andy Doerr is a long-term casualty with a broken leg.

Visit Sittingbourne’s website: www.sittingbournefc.co.uk