Hayes & Yeading United 4-2 Ebbsfleet United - My players have cheated me, says Daish

Monday 28th December 2009

HAYES & YEADING UNITED 4-2 EBBSFLEET UNITED
Blue Square Premier
Bank Holiday Monday 28th December 2009
Stephen McCartney reports from Church Road

EBBSFLEET UNITED boss Liam Daish says he feels “cheated” as his poor side suffered yet another depressing defeat as they were humbled by part-timers Hayes & Yeading in front of a woeful crowd of just 369 at a bitterly cold Church Road today.

Just as when we thought that Ebbsfleet United’s average gates at Stonebridge Road were low, this was the SEVENTH crowd of less than 400 to watch a Blue Square Premier game at Church Road this season, but it was the home side that were clearly up-for-it against a passionless Ebbsfleet United side.

The Fleet went into the game on the back of a morale-boosting 2-1 home win over fellow strugglers Grays Athletic on Boxing Day, whilst Garry Haylock’s side were thumped 5-0 at AFC Wimbledon.

The Fleet remain rooted inside the Blue Square Premier drop zone in 22nd place with only 18 points and now have only 20 league games to save their bacon.

However, on this miserable performance, then the club will be playing Blue Square South football in August.

Expecting the full-time Ebbsfleet United side to put the hosts on the back foot, it was Hayes & Yeading that created the better openings during a poor first half.

Striker Craig Watkins issued an early warning as to what was to come, latching onto Marc Canham’s defence splitting pass, but he dragged his shot across Lance Cronin and past the far post.

The Fleet keeper then made a comfortable low save from Toby Little’s angled drive as the home side tested a shaky Fleet defence.

Hayes & Yeading should have broken the deadlock as early as the sixth minute when Steve Basham slipped the ball through the central defensive pairing of Leon Crooks and Dean Pooley and the unmarked Ram Marwa stroked a low shot into Cronin’s legs.

Watkins, who was forced off through injury at the interval, wasted yet another good chance in the 17th minute, when a pass from Basham from the edge of the penalty area found its way into Watkins’ path, but his weak angled shot trickled past the diving Cronin and past the foot of the far post.

Ebbsfleet United’s first chance finally arrived eleven minutes later when skipper Peter Holmes released right-sided midfielder Ricky Shakes, who was thwarted by the advancing Simon Overland.

It was no surprise when Hayes & Yeading took a deserved lead in the 36th minutes, through another example of woeful Fleet defending.

A mix-up involving Crooks and Cronin on the right-hand side of the penalty area enabled James Mulley to slide the ball across goal for Watkins to slide in at the far post to poke the ball over the line from less than a yard.

The Fleet came agonisingly close to levelling on the stroke of half time.

Ishmael Welsh was released through the static home defence but instead of striking the ball cleanly, he made the angle tighter for himself and in the end stroked a weak left-footed shot across Overland, which trickled towards the foot of the far post and Hayes & Yeading skipper Tom Cadmore was on hand to tidy up.

Things got worse for Ebbsfleet, as Hayes & Yeading went on to score three more goals in the final 25 minutes of a game that cannot be classed as entertaining.

The west Londoners doubled their lead in the 65th minute, the first notable action of the second half.

Mulley released substitute Esmond James down the right and his cross was met by a header from Basham, which was initially blocked by Cronin, but the striker reacted to fire the ball into the back of the net from six-yards.

Five minutes later it was 3-0, which stunned the travelling Fleet supporters, whose passionate support from undercover deserved a much better performance from the men in yellow shirts.

This time Mulley crossed from the left and he found Basham completely unmarked at the far post, who smashed the ball past the exposed Cronin.

Ebbsfleet did call Overland into making a comfortable save in the 80th minute when Magno Vieira sprinted through the heart of the home side’s defence but his scuffed shot was never going to beat the 6’ 4’’ goalkeeper.

The Kent side finally got on the score sheet six minutes later when substitute Clint Easton delivered a low centre from the left and leading goalscorer Vieira side-footed a right-footed shot into the bottom far corner to net his seventh goal of the season.

Any thoughts of the Fleet staging a remarkable comeback were dented as Hayes & Yeading made it four just two minutes later.

A fine move saw Basham lay the ball off for James to drill an angled right-footed drive across Cronin to find the bottom far corner.

They almost added a fifth when Canham drilled a shot from just five-yards inside the Fleet half, but the back-peddling Cronin got back in time to tip the ball over his crossbar.

The Fleet grabbed a flattering second, inside time added on when substitute Scott Ginty brought a long ball under control and smashed the ball past Overland to find the far corner, but by then it was too little, too late.

Fleet boss Liam Daish, speaking to www.kentishfootball.co.uk afterwards, admitted his side weren’t good enough throughout what was a must-win game, despite keeping faith with the same eleven players that defeated Grays Athletic just two days ago.

“Disappointed. Poor display,” he said. “First half weren’t good enough and conceded THAT goal. Another individual error but this time we haven’t been ahead when we made it, so we’re behind.

“You come out second half thinking it’s going to be a change and then we go 2-0 (down) and then it’s different from there.

“But we didn’t defend well today as a unit and as individuals all over the park really, instead of a real team, hardworking team being difficult to beat away from home.

“I’ve said it before, but we didn’t give ourselves that platform. You’ve got to give yourself a platform to go ahead and maybe let our players go and exploit their weaknesses and get in front yourself.”

It seemed that Ebbsfleet United felt all they had to do was to turn up at Church Road and pick up another three points.

But Haylock’s men had other ideas and Daish has plenty of thinking to do ahead of their trip to Grays Athletic on New Years Day.

“I don’t think it’s over-confidence,” said Daish. “I think it’s other qualities that was missing today.

“I feel really disappointed because as well as we worked hard on Boxing Day we worked hard individually but collectively working hard, it wasn’t there (today) for some reason.

“I’ve got to make sure it don’t happen again because I can’t understand how you can have two levels of performances in such a quick succession.”

Defeat at Grays on the first day of 2010 will make survival difficult and Daish demands the same ethic against Julian Dicks’ side that they showed on Boxing Day.

“It just makes that game even bigger,” admitted Daish. “I’ll be looking for a bit of payback really from the players on New Years Day.

“I felt a little bit, what’s the word? A little bit cheated really by the players and feel they owe me a little bit more than that.”

But despite their poor support, Hayes & Yeading's seventh league win of the season takes them into 15th place in the table - a position that the Fleet would love to be in at this stage of the season.

Hayes & Yeading United: Simon Overland, Danny Allen-Page, Adam Green, Tom Cadmore, Matt Ruby (Sami El-Abd 81), Ram Marwa, James Mulley, Marc Canham, Toby Little (Dale Binns 65), Craig Watkins (Esmond James 46), Steve Basham.
Subs: Scott Fitzerald, Chris Baker.

Goals: Craig Watkins 36, Steve Basham 65, 70, Esmond James 86

Ebbsfleet United: Lance Cronin, Will Salmon (Kane Wills 77), Darius Charles, Leon Crooks, Dean Pooley, Alex Stavrinao, Stefan Bailey (Clint Easton 56), Peter Holmes, Ishmael Welsh (Scott Ginty 57), Ricky Shakes, Magno Vieira.

Goals: Magno Vieira 84, Scott Ginty 90

Attendance: 369
Referee: Mr Matthew Bristow (Manchester)
Assistants: Mr Mark Walton (Hook, Hampshire) & Mr Simon Maynard (Reading, Berkshire)
Fourth Official: Mr Chris Wicks (Reading, Berkshire)