Lewisham Borough 3-0 Coney Hall - Our avenues lead to the Ryman League, says ambitious Queely

Wednesday 28th April 2010

LEWISHAM BOROUGH 3-0 CONEY HALL
Vandanel Kent County League Premier Division
Wednesday 28th April 2010
Stephen McCartney reports from Ladywell Arena

LEWISHAM BOROUGH assistant manager Darrell Queely says the club are exploring “various avenues” to start their climb up the football pyramid.

The Ladywell based side aren’t setting the world on fire but tonight’s comfortable 3-0 win over an awful Coney Hall side saw them leapfrog over Bly Spartans into tenth place in the Vandanel Kent County League table with two home games remaining.

Lewisham Borough missed a hat-full of chances against the basement side but had to settle for just three - a brace from striker Michael Brown and Suliman Charm chipping in at the end.

They also had Ali Mohammed sent off for picking up two yellow cards early in the second half - but the winning margin should have been greater as Queely admitted afterwards.

The former Sevenoaks Town assistant manager told www.kentishfootball.co.uk: “It’s nothing new to us really, against all the teams in the league we’re creating seven or eight chances a week and we’re just not putting them away.

“Strikers are low on confidence or whatever but we’ve got a very strong defence, the midfield’s brilliant an we get the ball in the final third (and don’t punish sides).

“It does drive you mad,” he added. “We’re trying to build a team that can possibly push on into the Kent League but it’s just finding that Kent League standard striker to win this league. You need a Kent League side so we’re just trying to build and work on scoring. We miss a lot, we miss a lot.”

The Ladywell Arena - with an eight-lane athletics track surrounding a bumpy football pitch - is clearly not up to Kent League standards at present. Although Lewisham Borough are the only club in the division with floodlighting, the brightness of the lights need enhancing and the club has no seating or covered accommodation for supporters and a lack of space to develop facilities as it stands at present.

“There’s a lot of things that needs to be sorted behind closed doors,” added Queely. “I’m not going to get into that too much - but there’s a lot of things that’s being worked on behind closed doors and we are looking at various avenues of how we can get into the Kent League, hopefully.”

When asked whether that included staying at their current base, Queely replied: “This is one of the avenues that we’re looking at. Hopefully it goes well, it may not, but like I said we’re looking at different avenues to getting in there and this is one of the avenues that hopefully goes well for us.”

He added: “We haven’t been given a time-line at all. We’re obviously safe from relegation last week so we’re going to take time.

“There’s going to be meetings at the very top of the club about the ways we can move forward, any changes that need to be made, where it needs to be made and then I think it’s going to be discussed then, what’s expected.”

He ambitiously added: “The club is open to pushing players on. The board are very into that sort of thing so it’s a good starting base.

“But it will be a lot better for this club if we were in the Kent League and hopefully push on into the Ryman League one day.

“I think this club would be happy sitting in the Ryman. I think it has the potential, it has the catchment area and it’s just getting everybody involved.”

Lewisham Borough were by far the better side against a poor Coney Hall team, who will be playing their football at an even lower level of football next season.

The home side dominated for vast periods of the first half and deservedly broke the deadlock as early as the tenth minute when strong target man Brown smashed a low angled drive across Dean Rose to find the bottom far corner.

Battered Coney Hall almost grabbed an equaliser - totally against the run of play - after 24 minutes.

Awarded an indirect free-kick just 25 yards from goal, Peter Allen touched the ball to Jamie Baker, who curled a right-footed free-kick over the wall and Steve Mattis - Lewisham’s manager who was forced to don the gloves due to a goalkeeper injury crisis - knelt down to make a smart low save.

But referee Trevor Windget - who along with assistant Trevor B Bailey made some unbelievable decisions throughout the game - ordered a re-take - and the pair combined again and Mattis stuck out his right hand to palm the ball around his right post.

Coney Hall keeper Rose made a fine save as he tipped over Phillip McBean’s shot on the turn after Aaron Barrett intercepted Jason Lincoln’s intended pass to Harrison Perry out on the wing.

Somehow, Coney Hall made it to the interval just a goal-down, as was the home side’s dominance, and the squad held their half-time team talk out on the pitch, with skipper Peter Allen demanding more commitment from his team-mates.

The inspirational talk lifted the players as they put in a more spirited and determined second half display.

They were given a helping hand when Mohammed - who was earlier booked for slotting the ball into the net despite being flagged for offside - was shown his second yellow card for a sliding challenge over by the far side of the pitch.

Queely wasn’t happy that their striker went for an early shower.

Describing his actions as “immature,” he added, “A lack of experience. He’s a very good player, a great finisher, great movement. He can be a bit hasty. He’s nineteen now, he’s Badar Mohammed’s little brother. He’s got that full potential so we know what we can get from him. It’s just getting him running behind and do those things that he’s brother’s doing in the Kent League. He wants to learn, he’s eager to learn.”

But sloppy defending led to Coney Hall’s downfall as Lewisham Borough doubled their lead on the hour-mark as Charm picked up the ball and cut in from the right before centering for Brown to smash a low shot past the exposed Rose.

Mattis was flagged by Mr Bailey just after the hour-mark for handling the ball outside his penalty area and after the two officials discussed the situation, no card was produced.

Baker stepped up and bent the ball around the three-man wall but the ball skimmed the near post and caressed the top of the side netting.

Coney Hall skipper Allen missed a couple of good chances to pull a goal back for the visitors before Rose made another fine save to tip over Dominic Weston’s effort following McBean’s cross.

The home side eventually made it three in the final four minutes when Barrett played Weston in behind the Coney Hall defence but Rose beat out the shot but Charm followed up to fire the ball across the keeper and into the bottom far corner.

Any hopes that Coney Hall would score a consolation vanished inside injury time as Baker’s right-wing corner was met by a bullet header at the far post by defender Jason Lincoln, but the ball flew straight into the keeper’s arms.

It has been a season to forget for Coney Hall - the club hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons when manager Ryan Musgrave, 36, was shot dead at least six times by a masked gunman at Sparrows Den Playing Fields, West Wickham before a pre-season training session last July.

The Tiepigs Lane outfit haven’t really recovered from that shocking incident and Andrew Tucker - the club’s second manager this season - and no relation to Chris Tucker, who claimed the club would be playing Ryman League football during his tenure - admitted it’s been a tough year for the club.

“It’s (the shooting) obviously effected the club,” he told www.kentishfootball.co.uk afterwards. “We don’t want to talk about it too much, we’ve moved on some what.

“I’ve been doing the job now for six or seven weeks now and it’s been a bit of a baptism of fire.

“I think we certainly stabilised from our previous results but it’s been a difficult season all round really.

“It’s proving to be quite tough but as I said we’ve stabilised some what and we’ve come together as a unit over the last few weeks and it’s really starting to focus on next season now.

“I think what’s happened is we’re simply not been good enough, that’s what it comes down to. We just haven’t been good enough this year!”

Reflecting on the game, St Mary Cray resident Tucker added: “Certainly first half they dominated us and we really didn’t come out and second half I thought we worked much harder. We looked a lot better but it just weren’t going for us today.

“I mean, it was unfortunate the second goal. We made two or three simple errors and you’re always going to get punished for that, but I thought the second goal changed us at that point. We were very dominant in the second half but could’ve possible got something out of it.”

Tucker revealed that he is not too sure where his future lies after the final game of the season.

“I’ve been given the job until the end of the season, at the moment,” he said. “No doubt the club will make a decision at some point, who they want to take over.

“I think the key will be much more consistency. The turnover of players this year has been monumental. It’s only just been the last few weeks we’ve put a consistent side out.”

Lewisham Borough: Steve Mattis, Anthony John, Aaron Barrett, Billy Simpson, Adrian Griffiths, Sean Parker, Suliman Charm, Phillip McBean (Ryan Thomas 76), Michael Brown (Dominic Weston 73), Ali Mohammed, Dwayne Morris (Ben Hussein 78).

Goals: Michael Brown 10, 60, Suliman Charm 86

Booked: Ali Mohammed 38, Sean Parker 46, Phillip McBean 66

Sent Off: Ali Mohammed 53

Coney Hall: Dean Rose, Dwayne Patrice (Billy Perry 46), Anton Johnson, Jason Coates, Jason Lincoln, Ricky Francis, Richard English, Jamie Baker, Joe Imber, Peter Allen (Brian Allen 86), Harrison Perry (Pete Nolan 82).

Booked: Joe Imber 27

Attendance: 40

Referee: Mr Trevor Windget (Swanley)

Assistants: Mr Trevor B Bailey (Orpington) & Mr Ahmet Denizalti (Eltham)