Kingstonian 5-2 Cray Wanderers - They were much, much stronger than us on the day, says Ian Jenkins

Jenkins made seven changes to the side that won 3-1 at Margate on Easter Monday, with only Andy Walker, Danny Young, Mark Willy, Alex Stavronou and James Darvill starting tonight’s low-key semi-final against their league rivals Kingstonian.

Kingstonian reached their first London Senior Cup Final for 25 years after they found themselves 5-0 up after 57 minutes, before Cray Wanderers pulled two late goals back, through right-back Dan Parkinson and Danny Young, who was playing in the centre of midfield.

Jenkins, 44 who runs the London Marathon for charity later this month, said: “Obviously a little bit disappointed, but not too much!

“I said to you yesterday, obviously we wanted to win it, but Saturday’s game is more important and the three games after that.  I rested a load, I think it was eight players, who will play Saturday weren’t even playing tonight.  They didn’t even get on the pitch so I’m well happy about that.”

But it was the emergence of two sixteen-year-old’s Parkinson – the younger brother of Welling United skipper and Cray Wanderers youth coach Jack – and Callum Ball, who slotted in at left-back after Alex Bentley was forced off just before half-time with a turned ankle – who impressed Jenkins the most.

Praising Parkinson the manager said: “Not just his goal, his all-round performance.  He’s a confident young lad and long may it continue.  He can play in the first team next year, hopefully, and become a proper squad member. He’s done well there. 

“I’m pleased for him. I’ll invite him in for pre-season. I want to get him in for pre-season, definitely.  Even for the rest of this season, he’ll be part of my plans. He’s been on the bench quite a few times this year. He’s one for the future, definitely.”

Jenkins added: “Callum Ball came on. It was good experience for him. It’s fantastic they’ve done well for us. He was a little scared at first, but he got into the game and done alright.

“It’s good to try kids’ out in games like this because it’s a big old team Kingstonian as well.  They’ve played at a much higher level than us as well so to come and make you’re proper debuts in games like this, fair play to the kids’.”

In truth, Cray Wanderers could have done without this game, especially considering they have a fifth-versus-sixth must-win showdown against Lewes at Hayes Lane on Saturday.

While tenth-placed Kingstonian made only a couple of changes from their last game, Jenkins signalled his intent with numerous changes, which resulted in the side putting in a lacklustre performance, but all will be forgotten if they pick up three crucial points at the weekend.

The Kent side created half an opening inside the opening six minutes after Bentley was brought down by Kingstonian central defender Ian Gayle. 

Lewis Perkins whipped in a left-footed curling free-kick, which home goalkeeper Rob Tolfrey was happy to see land on top of his net.

Kingstonian opened the scoring inside the opening thirteen minutes, their first two goals coming from corners.

Central midfielder Matthew Pattison – who took all of the K’s corners – swung in an inch-perfect corner from the left and Gary MacDonald planted a bullet header into the roof of the net from one yard out.

Jenkins blamed the first goal on his goalkeeper Andy Walker, who will need to up his game on Saturday.

He said: “Yes, disappointed with Walks.  Walks held his hands up and should’ve done better.  Another corner we’ve conceded a goal from so it’s something we have to look out for the remaining games of the season.   We have to be a lot tighter from corners and stop conceding goals.”

Kingstonian, who played some lovely football on an excellent playing surface which benefited from a downpour while the players were warming up before the game, doubled their lead on the half-hour mark.

Pattison cut a corner back to the edge of the box where striker Allan Tait swept the ball across to the far post and central defender Tom Hutchinson steered a right-footed shot through a crowd of players into the corner of the net.

Jenkins admitted a central defender shouldn’t be scoring with his feet from a set-piece.

He said: “Disappointed, again.   A centre half unmarked in the box gets a touch on it and it goes in. It weren’t even a header from him. It was a tap in.

“Second half we’ve done alright. We’re going 4-0, 5-0 down. We done well to bounce back really well.”

Cray Wanderers’ first shot on target, however, was poor.  Perkins’ weak right-footed shot from outside of the penalty area rolled into Tolfrey’s gloves in the 31^st minute.

Walker made amends for his earlier mistake when he punched Pattison’s curling corner from the left over his crossbar in the last action of the first half.

Cray Wanderers started the second half on the front foot, albeit temporarily.

James Darvill cracked a speculative right-footed drive looping into Tolfrey’s hands from 35-yards inside the opening 30 seconds and then Michael Power cracked a low left-footed drive from 30-yards, which zipped off the soaked surface, forcing Tolfrey into making a low save to his left.

But Kingstonian immediately went up the other end and increased their lead in the 48^th minute of the game.

Walker made a smart block to deny Kingstonian striker Louis-Rae Beadle, but the ball went back to the striker, who chipped the ball back into the penalty area and an unmarked Aaron Goode lashed a right-footed shot, high to Walker’s left, into the roof of the net.

Jenkins said: “We was up the other end, wasn’t we?  We’ve done well, they’ve broken away, two passes and the ball’s in the back of our net.  Disappointed, but it’s one of those games!”

Kingstonian made it 4-0 just 144 seconds later when former Dartford striker Tait scored a quality goal to notch his sixth of the season.

A crossfield pass from Gayle was played in behind Parkinson and Tait cut inside Tony Dolby and cracked a right-footed shot from 25-yards, which curled around Walker and crashed into the top far corner.

Jenkins added: “The last two goals were the best two goals. We knew Taity could do that.  He couldn’t get near that Walks!  Great finish!  It was well over by that!”

Kingstonian scored their fifth goal just seven minutes later, with yet another quality finish.

Pattison opted to deliver an out-swinging corner from the right and Hutchinson played a dummy to let the ball bounce behind him to MacDonald, who sent an excellent left-footed lob from 22-yards looping over a stranded Walker, dropping into the bottom far corner.

Jenkins added: “Well done!  Fair play to the centre half!  I said to him “best goal of the game and he said don’t tell anyone!   It was a good finish!”

Substitute Malaki Lumsden – who has scored sixteen goals for Kingstonian in the Ryman Youth League this season – had a chance to open his account for the first team in the 65^th minute.

A cross from the right from fellow substitute Matthew Warren found the leggy striker unmarked in the middle, but he glanced his header across Walker and past the far post.

Tait cracked a right-footed shot on the turn from 25-yards, which curled just wide of the far post, beyond the diving visiting keeper.

But stunned Cray Wanderers regrouped and made rallied during the final twenty minutes to restore some pride and respectability.

Dolby blasted a powerful left-footed free-kick from 22-yards, which screamed over the top of the right hand post and crashing into the back of the stand behind the goal.

Shots from outside of the Kingstonian penalty area by Young and Power sailed high over the crossbar, before Walker made a low save to his left to deny Tait from scoring with a low, right-footed drive from 25-yards.

Cray Wanderers pulled a goal back in the 77^th minutes and Parkinson will always remember his first goal for the first team.

He picked the ball up and ran forward before cutting inside and cracking a low left-footed curler past the diving Tolfrey into the far corner from 25-yards.

The Kent side equalled their worst result of the season when Young got on the score sheet in the final five minutes.

The returning Steve Lozano cut back their only corner of the game to Stavronou, who found Dolby on the by-line and the defender hooked the ball across the face of goal and Young supplied the finish, a low right-footed shot into the bottom right-hand corner.

Jenkins added: “It could’ve ended up 5-3, maybe 5-4 late on.  They had a few chances, but we finished the game really, really strongly.  I thought we played some nice little football on the edge of the box and on another day we could’ve scored a couple.

“Overall they were much, much stronger than us on the day. They deserve to go through, so good luck to them.”

Kingstonian will face London Senior Cup specialists Hendon at Metropolitan Police’s Imber Court ground in the Final next Wednesday.

But Jenkins now turns his attention to Saturday’s make-or-break clash against Lewes, who lost their Conference South status last season.

Jenkins said:  “As I’ve said in there (our dressing room), we finished really strong today, the last twenty minutes. We’ve got to take that into Saturday’s game.

“It’s about all being together, everyone doing the right things, not being too nervy on the day, playing how we play, getting it down and play if we can, being strong and hard to beat and see what we get.

“If we get three points then we move on to the next game.”

Cray Wanderers have lost to Lewes twice at The Dripping Pan this season, once in the league and the FA Carlsberg Trophy.

Jenkins says his side owe them one.

“Joe (Francis, my coach), just said that in there, about owing teams one. It’s just one of those things. I just think if we play well enough on the day we’ll beat them.  We played well on those two games but didn’t get anything out of them.

“It will be a test because they’ve been around the league’s a long time, been much higher than us and it will be a test because we’re more capable of beating them.”

Looking ahead to the crunch games against Lewes, Bury Town (away, 21 April), Lowestoft Town (home, 24 April) and Horsham on the final day of the season, Jenkins said: “They’re big games. We’re better off in those games because against the lower sides we have struggled recently. We’ve drawn at Aveley, lost at home to Leatherhead and Harrow Borough.  They’re tough games to get yourself up for, especially with a young squad.”

Kingstonian: Rob Tolfrey, Aaron Goode, Chris Page, Gary MacDonald, Tom Hutchinson, Ian Gayle (Alan Bray 59), Sam Clayton (Matthew Warren 62), Matthew Pattison, Allan Tait, Louis-Rae Beadle (Malaki Lumsden 55), Ryan Woods.
Subs: Tom Bird, Jake Whincup

Goals: Gary MacDonald 13, 57, Tom Hutchinson 30, Aaron Goode 48, Allan Tait 50

Cray Wanderers: Andy Walker, Dan Parkinson, Alex Bentley (Callum Ball 43), Danny Young, Mark Willy, Tony Dolby, Lewis Perkins, Alex Stavronou, Michael Power, James Darvill, Steve Lozano.
Subs: Jack Clark, Tommy Whitnell, Tyrone Sterling, Sam Long

Goals: Dan Parkinson 77, Danny Young 85

Booked: Danny Young 39

Attendance: 242
Referee: Mr Oleksandr Saliy (Enfield, Middlesex)
Assistants: Mr Andreas Anastasiou (Hendon, London NW4) & Mr Alasdair King (Deptford, London SE8)