Kentish Football 
Herne Bay 2-3 Erith Town - When we pass the ball, I just know we're a handful, says Tony Russell
Saturday 17th September 2011
HERNE BAY 2-3 ERITH TOWN
The FA Cup with Budweiser First Qualifying Round
Saturday 17th September 2011
Stephen McCartney reports from Winch’s Field
ERITH TOWN proved that they are the pass masters of the Kent League after they ended Herne Bay’s impressive 28 match unbeaten run to progress into the Second Qualifying Round of The FA Cup for the second successive season.
The last time Herne Bay were defeated was when Erith Town beat them 4-1 in a Kent League encounter at Erith Sports Stadium on 29 January 2011, and if you take seven pre-season games into consideration, Herne Bay went into this game 35 games undefeated and were at the top of the table and even their reserve and under 18 sides went into this weekend without a loss to their name.
“It had to end one day, didn’t it, so I’d rather it ended today rather than next week when there’s three points at stake, which is what we’re all going for,” said a stunned Herne Bay manager Simon Halsey afterwards.
“I didn’t want it to end, but it has. We’ll roll our sleeves up and we’ll go again.”
When asked whether he was more disappointed about losing his 28-match unbeaten run or being knocked out of the FA Cup, Halsey hesitated before replying, “I don’t know actually! I suppose being out of the FA Cup because I knew the run was going to come to an end one day. Being out of the FA Cup, the Conference (South) sides come in next round so me as a manager and for the players to put themselves against a Conference side, if we’re luckily enough, is the most disappointing fact about it all.”
Erith Town manager, Tony Russell, who at only 33 years of age has a very bright coaching future in front of him, was a proud man afterwards.
He said: “To be fair, if you take someone’s record, it’s a great record. I said to them (my players) in there, there’s ways to win games of football and if you win it with a little bit of style – and I thought we done that today.
“If any team was going to take their record, I thought we done it in a decent style. If people have come to watch the game both teams like to play to be fair. Like you said in the week, it had the makings of a good game and I thought it certainly was.”
Herne Bay started well, central midfielder turned striker, Darren Marsden opened the scoring with an exquisite lob to score his eighth goal of the season after fifteen minutes, but they then lost their way and Erith Town squandered several good openings, without getting a shot on target.
But debutant Goma Lambu, 26, who was released by then Millwall manager Mark McGhee at the age of eighteen, and has played for several clubs since then and last turned out for Ryman Premier League side Billericay Town, cut the ball back for Chris Walker to level after 61 minutes.
Having lost midfield playmaker Michael Phillips to a calf injury, his replacement, former Motherwell youngster Grant Brown, who was playing his first FA Cup tie, played a precise through ball for Walker to give the Dockers the lead sixteen minutes later, before Brown got the last touch to the ball as stunned Herne Bay restored parity just four minutes later.
And when Congolese born striker Lambo was tripped inside the penalty area, Liam Burgess stepped up and kept his composure to send Erith Town into the Second Qualifying Round of the FA Cup for the second successive year, taking their prize money £5,250, joining their Kent League rivals Beckenham Town and VCD Athletic in the next round.
Erith Town’s finishing in front of goal during the first half was poor. Herne Bay keeper Dan Eason didn’t have a save to make before the interval.
The first real chance came Herne Bay’s way, when Erith Town went to sleep following a throw and Rhys Lawson cut the ball back to Dan Lawrence, who spun his marker and Fewell beat out his right-footed shot from eight-yards.
A strike of sheer quality, however, put Herne Bay in the driving seat in the fifteenth minute.
Byron Walker, who had one of his quieter games, shrugged right-back Peter Smith off the ball, raced down the flank and cut the ball back to Marsden, who produced a piece of class, chipping the ball with his right-foot over Fewell to find the top far corner from just inside the angle of the penalty box.
Halsey said: “We were dictating the game really. As soon as we scored the goal we lost our way a bit.
“Chris Walker and Michael Phillips were drifting into good areas and we didn’t pick them up and we didn’t work hard enough and that’s it.
“The hardest working teams win games of football and that’s what happened today and to be fair they played some good football, but I think it’s because we lost the pace and we let them get into some good spaces to play football but fair play there, they’ve come here and beat us so good luck in the next round to them.”
Russell felt his right-back (Smith) could have done better in the build-up.
He said: “Poor on our account because the ball was just running out of play and Smudger’s shepherding it out and he’s got to deal with it and Byron, as good strikers do, he’s made something out of nothing. From our point of view it was poor but it was a good finish.”
Marsden then teed up another chance for Lawrence, but his right-footed shot deflected off the advancing Nick Davis and Fewell made a comfortable catch.
Erith Town’s first real chance came at the halfway stage of the first half when Smith’s cross from the right was knocked down by target man Kirt King and Hawkins stabbed the ball into King’s path, who swept a right-footed shot wide of the far post.
Marsden sent a right-footed free-kick over the Erith Town crossbar with a right-footed free-kick from 22-yards, which left Fewell rooted to the spot.
Erith Town’s best chance of the first half, however, arrived in the 28th minute when a well-worked free-kick straight from the training ground saw Hawkins touch the ball to Phillips, who in turn returned the ball to Hawkins, whose left-footed shot screamed past the left-hand post.
Erith Town finished the first half by peppering efforts towards Eason’s goal.
Burgess drilled a right-footed shot wide of the left post from 30-yards after Phillips’ centre and another free-kick from Phillips was headed down by Craig and Davis’ right-footed chip lopped over from the edge of the box.
Playmaker Phillips, whose performances of late will guarantee him a move to a higher league club, set up Burgess, who had time and space to send a right-footed drive sailing over the crossbar from 35-yards.
Herne Bay squandered an excellent chance to double their lead inside the opening four minutes of the second half when Lawson played a precise diagonal pass from left to right to Lawrence who burst forward and his cross was met by Lawson at the far post, his first time shot curled wide of the near post.
Erith Town’s first shot on target arrived in the 50th minute when Hawkins’ delivered a free-kick with his left foot from the right towards the near post where skipper Ben Payne looped a header into Eason’s gloves.
Erith Town were dominating, although Herne Bay went close again on the break when Lawrence was given time and space down the right to whip in a cross, which was headed away by Davis at the near post, but Marsden sent a right-footed shot over the crossbar from 25-yards.
Erith Town took advantage of their dominant spell, by deservedly levelling in the 61st minute.
Phillips released Lambu down the left and the diminutive winger cut in and his driven shot was parried by Eason at the near post and Chris Walker slammed a left-footed shot into the corner from six-yards.
Russell said: “To be fair, I just thought once we got over that initial fifteen minutes I thought we grabbed control of the game and just started passing the ball around and half-time came a little bit too soon for us because we were just starting to asset a bit of pressure without opening them up.
“They kept giving the ball back and we started putting on a little bit of pressure. We worked our little angles and second half we came out, again, we started causing them problems and I thought the goal was coming to be fair. It was nowhere near against the run of play.”
Erith should have done better with a free-kick from the edge of the box, which Hawkins’ left-footed shot bounced wide of the right post, before, at the other end, Neil Perkins exchanged passes with Marsden, but his shot lacked power and rolled into Fewell’s gloves.
Fewell made a fine save to deny Herne Bay a 70th minute lead.
Lambo lost possession in the middle of the park to Lawrence who broke forward and skipped past Davis’ sliding challenge and continued his run towards the edge of the box before he played the ball across to Marsden, who cut inside Smith, and his right-footed curler was heading towards the near corner, but a diving Fewell pushed the ball away for a corner.
That proved to be the defining moment in the game as Erith Town took the lead with thirteen minutes remaining when substitute Brown proved why he has played for a Scottish Premier League youth team by playing a delightful through ball straight down the middle to release Chris Walker through on goal who applied a clinical right-footed finish to Eason’s right for a deserved lead.
Russell marvelled at the quality of Brown’s pass.
“He (Brown) couldn’t play in the last round because he didn’t have international clearance. Motherwell contacted us and just said if he goes back to bring pro they want compensation for him so we’ve agreed all that now.
“He’s only a kid but he’s superb. I’ve held him back. The way we play, I just wanted him to watch us for a few weeks.
“The weight of the pass was superb, class finish. If the weight of the pass is right, it almost takes your touch out of it so all you have to do is really concentrate on the ball. I like, I appreciate a good pass.”
Halsey fumed: “They worked harder than us. You can’t let players like Chris Walker and Michael Phillips drift into spaces in midfield and in front of our centre halves and not expect to get punished and that’s exactly what’s happened.
“As for the second goal, they got away, my two centre halves have left quite a big gap for him to run into but again where’s my two central midfielders tracking Walker, who has run through and finished?”
Herne Bay were now up against it and central defender Jamie Maxted picked the ball up and cracked an ambitious left-footed shot from 40-yards, which forced Fewell into making a diving save to his right to turn the ball around the post.
A slick passing move – one of many by two quality sides who both have the quality to play Ryman Premier League football – then saw Marsden’s right-footed shot taking a deflection over the bar, before Herne Bay grabbed an equaliser with only nine minutes left.
A free-kick from the right was met by a towering James Campbell on the left hand side of the penalty area and the Herne Bay skipper headed the ball across the face of goal and this produced a goal-mouth scramble and Perkins’ effort clipped off Brown’s foot and nestled into the back of the net.
Halsey felt his side would had done enough to earn a Monday night replay.
“We done well,” he said. “Even when we was down, I thought we had a chance of nicking a draw and going to Monday night and we got back into the game.
“Camps has done well put a ball which was a great (thinking) from him, instead of trying to score from the angle, he’s just smashed it across the six-yard box and it’s come off someone’s shoe and gone in so fair play to him and we’re back in the game then then have put ourselves in the position again of letting a bloke run at us and getting into the box and once you’re in the box with quick feet anything can happen and so be it – it did!”
Halsey added: “Take nothing away from them. I said yesterday it will be a good team that comes down here and beat us – or a lack of preparation. It weren’t a lack of preparation because they were a good side and we let them work harder than us.”
Russell added: “Having controlled the game for a long period of time and you’re nice and calm and the moment you score and all of a sudden that finishing line pops up in your head, you panic!
“We just got a little bit deep and they started coming on. It was scrappy wasn’t it? The ball came over and we didn’t deal with it. It dropped and the guys’ fired it across and he’s put it in. I was gutted with the way we reacted.”
Herne Bay almost stole victory exactly two minutes later when Marsden’s right-footed free-kick curled agonisingly wide of the near post, past the diving Fewell, before Erith Town deservedly won the game with a composed penalty with only four minutes of this enthralling game left.
Tom Parker was guilty of tripping Lambu, after the winger’s trickery and skill on the ball saw him cut across into the penalty area.
The only thing that a flat-footed Eason could do was turn his head to his right to watch Burgess’ right-footed penalty nestle into the back of his net.
Describing his match-winner, Russell said of Burgess, “Cool as a cucumber, that boy! Nothing fazes him. He’s so relaxed, he’s so laid back. He’s the most laid back person that I’ve ever met in my life! That could’ve been training the way he stepped up. Nothing bothers that boy. He’s so relaxed. That’s why I said go on penalties. He wasn’t even putting himself forward.
“To be a penalty taker you have to have nerve. Sometimes if things don’t bother you that much you’re not thinking, that’s when the trouble starts. When you think about stuff and you clam up when you’re a penalty taker but he just walks up and just side footed it in.”
Halsey admitted his side “committed suicide” at the death.
“I was hoping (for a replay) because we were not playing that well and if we got through to a replay that will do me for Monday night then we pull the old chain again and commit suicide,” bemoaned Halsey.
“There you go, that’s football. We’ve done well. You can’t moan at them too much. We’ve got to praise them up. There you go. We’ve got to roll our sleeves up and go again.”
During the build-up to the game, Russell paid homage to Halsey and that was still the case after their shock but well deserved win today.
“To be fair, to the greatest respect, we should’ve beaten them the other week (instead of drawing them 2-2 at home),” said Russell.
“Listen, I was talking to someone before, they’ve got some fantastic players. They’re just a good team. There’s teams in this league that are good individuals but they’re just a good team. They’ll take some beating in this league and we could be one of them.”
Russell added: “I said in the dressing room before the game, we’ve played two away games in the league and lost them against Deal and Cray Valley and we all said after the pitch ain’t good enough – it was narrow.
“I said to them before the game there ain’t no excuses. It’s a big pitch like ours, it’s a flat pitch and there’s no excuses not to come here and pass the ball. When we pass the ball, I just know we’re more than a handful.
“I go and watch a lot of teams, not just in the Kent League, I think we’re one of the better I’ve seen pass the ball.”
When asked who he wants to play in the next round, Russell would like to come up against one of his former sides Cray Wanderers, who came away from their Ryman Premier League rivals Hastings United with a 3-0 win today.
“I saw Ian Jenkins yesterday, he’s my old manager. He came down to watch our game against VCD and he was saying how impressed he was and I said if we got you at home I fancy us and he just laughed!”
But Conference South clubs, including Bromley, Dartford, Dover Athletic, Tonbridge Angels and Welling United entering the competition at the next stage, Russell fancies his chances against anyone at Erith Sports Stadium.
He said: “Maybe I’m completely stupid but I don’t fear anyone if we get them at home – and I know the pitch.
“I have so much belied in these boys, I wouldn’t have brought them in otherwise. I’ve got so much belief in the players that we’ve got and I think we’ve got such good players for the system we play.
“My problem is when we play away on poo pitches, we ain’t very good.”
Halsey admitted it was a pleasing game to watch on the eye for the fans in the crowd.
“Even though we weren’t at the races, we still produced some good stuff,” he said. “Patchy again but we’ll roll our sleeves up. Disappointing, but not the end of the world.
“Erith Town are one of the sides who will be up and amongst it and if you let them play they’ll work hard and they can play football so good luck to them in the next round.”
Herne Bay: Dan Eason, Joe Nelder, Tom Bryant, Jamie Maxted, James Campbell, Jim Sherman (Tom Parker 67), Dan Lawrence (Michael Turner 83), Darren Marsden, Byron Walker, Neil Perkins, Rhys Lawson.
Subs: James Turner, Steven Hanson, Brad Ashmore, Toby Ashmore, Peter Williams
Goals: Darren Marsden 15, Grant Brown 81 (own goal)
Booked: Jamie Maxted 64
Erith Town: Kevin Fewell, Peter Smith, Lee Craig, Nick Davis, Ben Payne, Michael Phillips (Grant Brown 73), Liam Burgess, Chris Walker, Kirt King, Goma Lambu (Martin Chirimuuta 87), James Hawkins.
Subs: Lamar Hubbard, Victor Lojede, Joe Foster, Alex Hyde
Goals: Chris Walker 61, 77, Liam Burgess 86 (pen)
Booked: Peter Smith 83
Attendance: 222
Referee: Mr Patrick Shanagan (Romford, Essex)
Assistants: Mr Nigel Davies (Benfleet, Essex) & Mr Mark Graves (Margate)
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