Kentish Football 
Greenwich Borough 3-2 Tunbridge Wells - We need to take our chances when we're on top, says Larkin
Tuesday 19th April 2011
GREENWICH BOROUGH 3-2 TUNBRIDGE WELLS
Safety Net Associates Kent League
Tuesday 19th April 2011
Stephen McCartney reports from Oakley Road
GREENWICH BOROUGH signed off their home Kent League campaign by winning a five-goal thriller against a Tunbridge Wells side smarting from their Kent Senior Trophy Final defeat to Erith Town on Sunday.
Despite taking around 250 fans to Welling for Sunday’s Final, Tunbridge Wells’ glory-hunting fans opted to stay at home for the bread-and-butter of a Kent League clash in Bromley, but the 35 fans that came through the Oakley Road gates were treated to an end-to-end enthralling contest.
The first half was played at a frenetic pace, but dominant Tunbridge Wells broke the deadlock inside nine minutes when Tom Davey sent a powerful header into the net from a corner to threaten Greenwich Borough’s five-match unbeaten run.
But Greenwich Borough levelled fortuitously through Andy Boyle’s own goal, before the hosts took the lead through Jamie Turner’s well executed free-kick.
Tunbridge Wells went into the break on level terms, as midfield play-maker Andy McMath netted his fourteenth goal of the season, but their run of games without a win stretched to five as Greenwich Borough won the game eight minutes into the second half, courtesy of a long-range effort from right-back Micah Banton.
Greenwich Borough boss, Steve Firkins, was pleased that his side closed the gap to three points on third-placed side VCD Athletic, with only a couple of league games left to play.
“Good win! As I said to you yesterday, we knew it was going to be a hard game. Obviously with Tunbridge Wells losing their Cup Final on Sunday, we expected them to be strong and robust and full of energy and I think they was.
“I thought it was a good game to watch. I don’t think it was very good for us managers, but I think it was an entertaining game. It was quite open, chances for both sides but I felt in the second half we stepped it up a little bit. We looked a bit more solid, defensively we looked more sure.”
Tunbridge Wells manager Martin Larkin added, “It’s frustrating! All three goals were preventable. A little bit of luck we’re not getting at the moment with the own goal. A decent free-kick but it wasn’t a free-kick and the third goal, I’m not really going to go into that to be honest.
“We dominated the game for long periods of time. In the first half I thought we were sensational going forward, we really were. We need to score more goals when we’re on top. We scored two, we could’ve had three or four in the first half.
“Macca’s (McMath) missed one from a cut back in the second half that he really should’ve buried to make it three-all.
“Granted, they missed some chances at the end but our legs had gone by then to be honest, but going forward I thought we were very good at times. It’s just frustrating we’re not getting the luck at the moment.”
McMath set the tone when his right-footed attempted lob from 30-yards drifted wide of the Greenwich Borough goal with only 62 seconds on the clock.
Keelan Mooney - who scored Tunbridge Wells’ only goal during their 3-1 defeat to Erith Town as their wait for a major trophy now extends to 24 years - came within inches to breaking the deadlock.
McMath set the ball rolling, sliding the ball to Carl Cornell, who poked the ball through to Mooney, who cracked a right-footed shot on the run, which curled around Danny Firkins and agonisingly bounced off the crossbar.
But they didn’t have to wait long for the opener, as Tunbridge Wells scored from a ninth-minute set-piece.
McMath whipped in a corner from the right and Davey came up from the back to plant a deflected powerful header into the roof of the net from eight-yards.
Firkins was clearly disappointed that Billy Walton’s (senior) scouting report went through one ear and out the other.
“We actually spoke about it before we came out,” he said. “Bill had watched the final on Sunday and saw a couple of their movements that they made and we did sort of pick them out and they done exactly what Bill said and nobody seemed to take a blind bit of notice!
“It was brought up at half-time and not too many distinguished words from myself. I weren’t too happy about it but as I say second half we defended more stoutly and moved the ball about a little bit better. I felt we had quite a few chances but I felt they was always a threat.”
Outplayed Greenwich Borough, meanwhile, almost bounced back immediately, as strikers Peter Afolayan and Danny Hunt combined for Hunt to strike a low right-footed drive across Michal Czanner, who dived low to his right to make a comfortable save.
Greenwich Borough grabbed a lucky equaliser after eighteen minutes of high-tempo football. In fact no-body had time to put their foot on the ball at all during the first half.
Hunt was released down the inside left-channel and his cross glanced Scott Whibley on it’s way through to bouncing off Boyle’s head - straight into his own goal leaving Czanner rooted to the spot.
“I don’t think we deserved anything up to that point,” admitted Firkins, who revealed his side haven’t trained for nine days due to losing their training facilities.
“That was a little bit of luck we needed, I felt, to get us going.”
Tunbridge Wells reacted well from that set-back and Czanner’s kick up field was headed on by Davey into Rob Wells’ path down the left wing and he cut the ball back from the by-line and McMath tried to curl his right-footed shot into the far corner, but Danny Firkins made a comfortable save beside his post.
But Greenwich Borough snatched the lead in the 27th minute, courtesy of Turner’s third goal of the season.
The right-sided midfielder stepped up and bent a low right-footed free-kick around the wall and left the big Slovakian goalkeeper rooted to the spot as the 25-yard effort beat him at his near post.
Firkins said: “He’s got a very good shot on him Jamie. Since he’s been with us he’s banged a couple in for us and he can strike the ball. I actually said he was due one. He’s had a few efforts. He hit the bar against VCD from about 35-yards. I said to a couple of fellas on the sideline that he was “due one” and he did pop one in.”
Greenwich Borough played a long ball out of defence and leading goalscorer Afolayan teed up a decent chance for Hunt, who drilled a fierce drive, which was beaten out by the visiting goalkeeper.
Tunbridge Wells’ winger, Jon Pilbeam, burst forward on the break at the half-hour stage and released 22-goal Cornell, who cut in from the right and his low right-footed drive was too comfortable for Firkins.
Firkins made a fine save when he stuck out an outstretched arm to turn over McMath’s right-footed drive from 35-yards, before Tunbridge Wells levelled with another deflected effort, after 37 minutes.
A penetrating run from Cornell set up the chance for McMath, who cracked a right-footed drive, which took a deflection and looped over Firkins and dropped into the centre of an open goal.
Reflecting on the goals his side conceded, Larkin said, “We played well, we played very well. I thought we dominated the first half to be honest. They scored from a cross from the left that hit one centre half onto another centre half into the back of the net. Very, very frustrating.
“That second goal, they’ve scored direct from a free-kick. It’s just not a free-kick in a million years. It really isn’t! Apart from that I thought we attacked very, very well and dominated long periods of the half and we should’ve scored more goals than the two we scored.”
And reflecting on his side’s two goals, Larkin added, “We wanted a quick start and we’re good at set-pieces. Tom Davey’s an exceptional header of a football and it was a good delivery again, so it was a good start.
Reflecting on the second goal, Larkin added, “Keelan, who was playing very well at the time, held the ball up really well and Macca makes good runs into the box. It took a slight deflection but we deserved that. Pilbeam was having fantastic results on the right hand side getting in behind them and our pace was hurting them.
“They were a very dangerous side and we had to be aware of that all the time.”
Surely both side’s couldn’t keep that pace going for the second half?
The pace of the game didn’t reach the same heights as the first half, but Greenwich Borough grew in stature the longer the game went on.
They were denied within the first four minutes when Czanner stuck out a strong right arm to beat out Jason Mabbs’ right-footed drive, but Turner (who was following up), skied the rebound over the bar.
Greenwich Borough won the game in the 53rd minute, courtesy of another fine strike.
Skipper Mabbs sprayed the ball from the middle of the park to right-back Banton, who was in acres of space, and the former Corinthian-Casuals player drilled an angled right-footed 30-yard low drive across Czanner and the ball nestled inside the bottom far corner.
Firkins said: “I’ve known Micah for three seasons now. He was with me at Corinthian-Casuals. He keeps badgering on at me that he’s a midfield player or forward player but I think he is a very, very good right-back.
“He’s just come back from a foot injury, he hasn’t played a lot for the last couple of weeks. He looked a little bit shaky, I thought, in the first half, but when he drilled that ball home I thought it’s done his confidence a world of good and he was one of our solid players in the back line.”
Tunbridge Wells’ only second half chance arrived in the 58th minute, but McMath fluffed his lines.
Cornell capitalised on poor defending from Billy Walton to win the ball and release Pilbeam, whose pace got him to the by-line, but his cut back should have been converted by McMath, who, despite being under pressure, blasted his shot over from six-yards.
Greenwich Borough powerhouse Turner drove forward from the middle of the park and despite taking the ball wide his driven shot was spilt by Czanner, who was relieved to see substitute Charlie Swann flick the ball up in the air, instead of into the back of the Tunbridge Wells net.
Czanner made an excellent double save with ten minutes left when he initially spilt Thomas Rolt’s driven shot from outside the box, but recovered well to block Hunt’s follow up and Swann (who has scored nine goals for the reserve side this season and two for the first team) failed to convert at the third attempt.
Czanner made a comfortable save at the death, as Turner tried to beat the visiting goalkeeper at the near post from another free-kick.
Larkin is concerned that his side’s poor run of form has seen them slide down to eighth place and he wants to bounce back for their final three league games.
“We don’t enjoy the fact we’re not winning,” he said. “We’re not a reserve side, we’re not a youth team, we’re not here to develop, we’re here to win. We want to improve and that’s important and when we do that we learn there’s certain ways of winning games of football and one of them is to score goals when you’re on top.
“We didn’t score enough goals in the first half on Sunday and that cost us the Cup Final and we done it again tonight and it’s cost us three points.
“We need to be more clinical when we’re on top. That’s what all the best sides do.”
Larkin explained that central defender Perry Spackman was unavailable tonight after contracting mumps - and played in Sunday’s final with the infection.
“He has contracted the mumps so he is very ill. It turns out he’s had it for about a week or so and he played in the Cup Final with them, which isn’t ideal for him. Again it shows what a good player he is.
“We didn’t know he had it over the weekend. We were all sharing water bottles so hopefully we haven’t contracted it off him because it’s not very nice apparently when you contract it as an adult so fingers crossed.”
VCD Athletic are likely to finish in third-place, with Greenwich Borough favourites to finish in fourth, although Erith & Belvedere climbed into fifth place (five points adrift) following their 4-0 home win over Norton Sports tonight, as Micky Collins’ side make a late dash up the table.
“All we can do really is try to win our last two games,” said Firkins. “This was one of the three, we’ve done that. It would’ve been nice to have a more comfortable win but teams want to finish the season well and Tunbridge Wells came here and I thought they played well and they’re a good side.
“They’ve had a little bit of back luck, a bit of a bad run, and we sort of went through the same phase and it’s just come too late for us, I felt.
“I would’ve liked to be challenging and be a little bit close to Hythe and Herne Bay but it’s not to be but we’re still targeting VCD and it’s in the lap of the Gods.”
Greenwich Borough: Danny Firkins, Micah Banton, Danny Tipple, Jason Mabbs, Billy Walton, Bobby Hanley, Jamie Turner, Frankie Warren (Thomas Rolt 75), Peter Afolayan (Charlie Swann 72), Danny Hunt, Nathaniel Bell (Michael Jones 57).
Sub: Tyler Norbert
Goals: Andy Boyle 18 (own goal), Jamie Turner 27, Micah Banton 53
Booked: Micah Banton 40
Tunbridge Wells: Michal Czanner, Jason Bourne (Steve Ashmore 64), Alex Rich, Tom Davey, Andy Boyle, Scott Whibley, Jon Pilbeam, Andy McMath, Keelan Mooney, Carl Cornell (Jack Harris 75), Rob Wells.
Subs: Drew Crush, Callum Hampson
Goals: Tom Davey 9, Andy McMath 37
Booked: Keelan Mooney 90
Attendance: 35
Referee: Mr Craig Wood (Gravesend)
Assistants: Mr Martin Cook (Sidcup), Mr Killian Troy (Lee, London SE12)
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