Kentish Football 
Holmesdale 2-0 Cray Wanderers - We can't get too carried away, says Holmesdale coach Ross Mitchell
Monday 01st August 2011
HOLMESDALE 2-0 CRAY WANDERERS
Pre-Season Friendly
Monday 1st August 2011
Stephen McCartney reports from Oakley Road
HOLMESDALE claimed the local bragging rights as they ended neighbours Cray Wanderers’ unbeaten pre-season campaign with two strikes just before half-time.
The Kent League hosts had goalkeeper Chris Arnold to thank as a string of excellent saves thwarted their more illustrious Ryman Premier League visitors from down the road.
Cray Wanderers went into the game with wins over landlords Bromley, followed by VCD Athletic and Fisher, but they were held to a 1-1 draw by Lordswood on Saturday.
Holmesdale began their pre-season campaign with a defeat at Warlingham, but have carried the momentum forward with wins over Bly Spartans and Dulwich Hamlet, before a 4-4 draw with Lingfield at the weekend, and strikes from the pacy front pairing of Tunde Aderonmu and Bankole Koroma lifted spirits further ahead of their Kent League opener at home to Sevenoaks Town on 13 August.
Considering the Dalers finished third-from-bottom in the Kent League last season, tonight’s success can go down as a shock result, but coach Ross Mitchell was pleased with the victory over a club that play two league’s above them.
He said: “Good game tonight. I thought the lads’ done well first half. We matched them again in the second half. Our forwards were excellent in the first half but the whole team played well.”
With manager Ian Jenkins and coach Paul Blade away on holiday, assistant manager Joe Francis took charge of team affairs and played down the importance of tonight’s game.
“Well, it’s another 90 minutes for players’ that haven’t had any game time,” said Francis.
“We mixed up the side tonight so there’s lots of individuals that haven’t had the opportunity to get game time. We’ve had three players returning from holiday (Callum O’Shea, Danny Young and Sam Long), so it was a bit of a scratch side. We left seven or eight established players out tonight, which indicates the sort of side we had out, but it was a good run-out.”
Francis added: “Compliments to Gary (Davies) and his Holmesdale side – they made it a sharp game for us.”
Cray Wanderers had plenty of possession during the first half and spirited Holmesdale competed well on a decent playing surface on a sultry Bromley evening.
Arnold, a summer signing from Corinthian, made his first save of the evening inside the opening eight minutes to prevent Tony Dolby stroking home a left-footed free-kick from 30-yards.
Holmesdale wasted their first opportunity when Greg Wickenden rolled a free-kick inside for George Savage, but the winger (who played for Fisher on a dual-registration with Bromley’s reserve side last season) ballooned his shot high over the crossbar from thirty-yards.
Cray created and squandered some decent chances. Arnold’s clearance was chested down by Callum O’Shea and he combined passes with Jamie Humphries and whipped in a cross in from the right channel, but unmarked striker Luke Coleman nodded wide.
Sam Long then combined well with O’Shea, but striker Jamie Humphries hooked a right-footed volley over the bar at the near post.
Tony Dolby then had another crack towards goal, a left-footed free-kick from similar distance as previously, which went straight down Arnold’s throat - and Humphries peeled away from his marker to make space at the near post to meet O’Shea’s in-swinging corner with a glancing header which sailed agonisingly wide of the far post.
Arnold made his best save of the first half in the 36th minute, getting a strong left hand to meet Steve Lozano’s left-footed daisy-cutter, which was heading towards the bottom corner.
But Holmesdale grabbed the lead, against the run of play, with their first shot on target, in the 41st minute.
Koroma shrugged off Tony Dolby’s attentions before he cut in and his low centre was clinically despatched by the unmarked Aderonmu, who steered a left-footed shot past an exposed Andy Walker from 12-yards.
And Holmesdale stunned their opponents as they doubled their lead just 109 seconds later as the lively front two combined again.
Cray’s right-back, Harry Dolby, was slow to react to a fine diagonal pass that picked out Aderonmu, who easily cut into the box and rolled the ball across the face of goal to find Koroma at the far post and the nineteen-year-old fired the ball into the bottom right-hand corner from six-yards.
Speaking about their gelled new strike pairing, Mitchell said, “We haven’t physically gone out to get them. They approached us and they were interested and we had a good look at them as a partnership and they looked good together.
“We can’t get too carried away, it’s only one game and we’ll look at them for a few other games.”
When asked about the second half front pairing of Robinson and Taylor, Mitchell said: “I would say the front two second half done just as well. They worked hard. Wayne done well. Wayne was with us last year and I think they didn’t get the gaols second half but they worked just as hard and were just as good.”
Francis, meanwhile, was disappointed with the way his defence went asleep at a crucial time in the game.
“First one, I thought we got sucked in, caught ahead of the ball and they just couldn’t recover and they got a man over and they were quick up top and they made use of it,” he bemoaned.
“The second one was a little poor defensively,” he added. “We got too tight, we got turned and again though a lack of communication, people not tucking in at the right time, they scored again.”
Holmesdale boss Gary Davies replaced his goalscoring strike force at the interval for Wayne Robinson and Nathan Taylor, whilst Cray made one change, Jack Clark replacing Tyrone Sterling at left-back.
Holmesdale rejigged their back-line by the time they squandered a great chance to put the game out of reach just before the hour mark.
Jess Richards, who struggled with cramp in the later stages of the game, did well to cut the ball back from the left by-line, but substitute Ossie Byram skied his right-footed effort over the bar when his run into the penalty box wasn’t picked up by the Cray back four.
Francis was calling for energy from his players, Steve Lozano showed plenty and was one player who stood out for the visitors, who came within inches of pulling a goal back in the 63rd minute, Clark’s left-footed dipping free-kick from 30-yards, only just missing the target.
Lozano’s energetic run saw him play the ball inside to Humphries, who tried to execute a right-footed curler when put through on goal, but his effort curled around the far corner with only Arnold to beat.
With Holmesdale tiring, Cray’s substitute right-back, Billy Parkinson received a cut-back from O’Shea and his precise cross found the head of unmarked striker Tommy Whitnell, but the substitute directed his header over.
Holmesdale almost grabbed a third when Richards picked out advancing full-back Curtis Williams down the flank and he whipped in a cross and Richards, who made up ground to burst into the area, spun and cracked a left-footed volley, which was beaten out by Walker.
With Cray Wanderers pressing in the last ten minutes, Arnold stuck out a strong left arm to turn Whitnell’s shot onto the top of his near post and earned some luck at the death as the ball glanced off defender Lee Scott and clipped the foot of his left post and bounced out for a corner, which Arnold caught via an outstretched Holmesdale leg.
Goalkeeper coach Mitchell, heaped praise on man-of-the-match Arnold, by saying, “Chris done well tonight. He’s not had much to do in pre-season so far and the test was for him tonight. We knew he was going to be tested quite a bit and he came up to the challenge.”
Holmesdale welcome newly-promoted Ryman Premier League side Leatherhead to Oakley Road on Saturday, before travelling to East Grinstead on Tuesday 16th August. Former Holmesdale boss, Tony Beckingham, now manager of the Sussex side was in attendance at Oakley Road, as was Sevenoaks boss Darren Anslow.
And with his side now four games unbeaten, Mitchell wants to carry that momentum into their league campaign.
He said: “People say results don’t matter, but they do matter as they build confidence and it helps build morale within the squad. Getting spanked six-nil and eight-nil every week doesn’t help.”
Cray Wanderers’ meanwhile, continue their pre-season preparations with a trip to in-form Kent League outfit Erith & Belvedere on Wednesday, before ending their pre-season campaign with games against GB Deaf, Chipstead and Crockenhill before kicking off their Ryman Premier League campaign against AFC Hornchurch at Hayes Lane on Sunday, 21 August.
“I don’t give a s*** about being unbeaten in pre-season, it don’t mean anything,” said Francis.
“When I say it don’t mean anything , it’s just about players’ getting game time and match sharpness and that’s the purpose of these pre-season games.
“I say this to you every year, for the past ten years, I f*****g hate pre-season! It’s like putting petrol in your car. It’s a tedious task. We have to get through it. We have to make it as purposeful as we can but I can’t wait for the start of the season.”
Holmesdale: Chris Arnold, Curtis Williams, Greg Wickenden, Lyndsay Prescott-Kerr (Rob Curtis 79), Ricky Hardie, Adam Pharo (Lee Scott 55), Jess Richards, Covey Thete, Bankole Koroma (Wayne Robinson 46), Tunde Aderonmu (Nathan Taylor 46), George Savage (Ossie Byram 55).
Goals: Tunde Aderonmu 41, Bankole Koroma 43
Cray Wanderers: Andy Walker, Harry Dolby (Billy Parkinson 69), Tyrone Sterling (Jack Clark 46), Enoch Akosah, Tony Dolby, Danny Young, Callum O’Shea, Sam Long, Jamie Humphries, Luke Coleman (Tommy Whitnell 69), Steve Lozano.
Attendance: 70
Referee: Mr Saul Kay (Sittingbourne)
Assistants: Mr Elad Amir (Maidstone) & Mr Mark Heads (Bearsted)
Red Dragon I.T. Ltd