Lewisham Borough 3-4 Fleet Leisure - We've proved a few people wrong, says Fleet boss Lee Richmond

LEWISHAM BOROUGH  3-4  FLEET LEISURE
Pain & Glory Sports Kent Invicta League Challenge Trophy Semi-Final First Leg
Wednesday 9^th April 2014
Stephen McCartney reports from Ladywell Arena

LEWISHAM BOROUGH acting manager Ray Simpson says he must get it right tactically if his side are to reach the Pain & Glory Sports Kent Invicta League Challenge Trophy Final before standing down as manager.

Fleet Leisure host the second leg at Rede Court Road next Wednesday with a slender lead after winning a seven goal thriller at a darkened Ladywell Arena.

Former Ryman League footballer, Colin Richmond, 23, capped a dominant performance in the middle of the park by opening the scoring for Fleet Leisure, who doubled their lead through George Goodwin.

But Lewisham Borough, who were watched by the Mayor of Lewisham Sir Steve Bullock, pulled a goal back through Mohammed Ghandour’s first goal for the club.

Fleet Leisure, who were the better side on the night, went into the half-time break with a deserved 3-1 lead when Joe Degnin walked the ball into the net.

Lewisham Borough, however, fought back when striker Tristan Toney scored his thirteenth-goal of the season after only 25 seconds of the second half, before Goodwin scored his second goal of the night to give Fleet Leisure another two goal lead.

But the turning point in the tie arrived at the end of the first leg when Lewisham Borough accepted a lifeline with skipper Bradley Coombs drilling a shot into the bottom corner.

“We’ve given sloppy goals away again, it’s been our problem all season,” admitted Fleet Leisure boss Lee Richmond afterwards.

“Not being funny, nothing against the other team, the game should have been out of sight but we just let them back in and back in all the time and we’re not learning from our mistakes, but one day we will hopefully.

“It will be nice to get to a final in our first season in the Invicta League.  Let’s see how the second-leg goes.”

Simpson, who wears the hats of chairman, secretary and now acting manager, has now lost ten of his thirteen games in charge of the club, since taking over from Willie O’Sullivan.

“This might sound slightly surprising but I’m pleased that we got a 4-3, which still keeps us in the tie effectively,” said Simpson.

“I have to say I was impressed with Fleet tonight. I was disappointed with our performance tonight because we can play a lot better but somehow we’re still in this tie.

“It is only one goal.  Obviously we’ll have to go there and score two to win. The question is can we keep a clean sheet?  Based on tonight’s evidence I’ve got a lot of work to do within the next week.”

Eighth-placed Fleet Leisure, who have collected 10 wins, 1 draw and 9 defeats in their first season in the Kent Invicta League, dominated a Lewisham Borough side that are struggling in the bottom four with a record of 5 wins, 2 draws and 17 defeats.

Fleet Leisure should have taken the lead with their first opening inside the opening five minutes.

Left-winger Joe Loft linked up well with midfielder Degnin, who played in right-winger George Goodwin, who stroked his first time shot with his right-boot just past the foot of the near post.

But Fleet Leisure opened the scoring inside nine minutes through former Sittingbourne and Maidstone United midfielder Colin Richmond.

The home side failed to clear their lines following Karlton Blake’s throw and the ball fell to Richmond 20-yards from goal, who drilled a first time right-footed drive into the bottom left-hand corner.

The midfielder should be playing at a much higher level than the Kent Invicta League.

His father said: “He’s scored a few good goals when he’s decided to play at this standard of football. He’s starting enjoying football again. He could have been, I suppose, ‘I’ve been there and been here, but he hasn’t.  He’s gone in the team and done really well. He’s getting back to loving football again and that’s the main thing.

“He started mucking about like playing, not playing, he was 21 when that happened. He just wants to play football, which is fair enough.  He pays now to play whereas before he got paid.”

Simpson added: “There were so many goals going in at the time, I’m struggling to sort of remember all of them!

“I’m disappointed with our defending tonight, not just our defence. I’m disappointed with our team defending because similar balls which seemed to open us up as a defence and open us up as a team and clearly I’m going to have to address that, but Fleet took their goals well.

“They’re a good side. They got to the Kent Senior Trophy Semi-Final and I think they’re in another semi-final, maybe final.  They’re in a decent league position and they’re a good side.” 

Fleet Leisure hit Lewisham on the break when Loft and striker Marcus Heddon (who was soon forced off the pitch with a reoccurring ankle injury) released Goodwin through on goal, but Lewisham keeper Byron Levin made a smart save low to his left to hold onto the ball.

Lewisham Borough took 31 minutes to register their first shot on target.

Coombs swung in a corner from the left which was cleared out to Emmanuel Kadiki, who looped a speculative left-footed drive from outside the box into Michael Elder’s hands for a comfortable catch.

But any signs of a recovery were put on hold when Fleet Leisure deservedly doubled their lead in the 32^nd minute through Goodwin’s seventh goal of the season.

Degnin released Goodwin through on goal and the winger maintained his composure to slot his right-footed shot rolling across Levin for the ball to caress the foot of the far post before nestling into the back of the net.

Richmond was pleased with his side’s dominant start.

He said: “We wanted to build on that but we’re letting in sloppy goals again. We got to 2-0 and then we let them back in and then we were 3-1 and you think we’ll go again but we just kept letting them back in all the time.  It’s slackness from set-pieces where we switch off.”

Richmond has high hopes for Goodwin, 17.

“He was at Ebbsfleet’s Academy and he’s really good on the ball. It’s just the experience that he needs now. He’ll get that if he stays. The talent he’s got he’s probably got other clubs looking at him.”

Simpson added: “Yes, they were excellent. They finished their goals very well. They had pace and movement and they opened us up.  We didn’t really wake up to be honest for the first 20-25 (minutes) but I felt once we did get back in the game I thought maybe we could try to contain them.  I would have been happy with a draw tonight.”

Lewisham Borough were now facing a mountain to climb and Fleet Leisure squandered an excellent chance to put the game beyond reach of their opponents.

Substitute Jason Swole burst down the right hand side before cutting the ball back to Richmond, who swept his left-footed shot across the keeper only for the ball to bounce off the foot of the far post.

Lewisham Borough right-back Ghandour advanced to the edge of the penalty area where he hooked an angled drive into Elder’s gloves, although the ball appeared to be bouncing wide.

But the home side showed character and pulled a vital goal back in the 38^th minute.

Coombs swung in another corner from the left, which Elder flapped at and managed to get the ball away.  However, Ghandour steered the ball into the bottom left-hand corner from within a goal-mouth scramble.

“What I try to do,” said Simpson. “Mohammed is a centre back. I did want our full-backs to get forward more often and he for me was our best player tonight, playing at right-back. He was excellent.  I’m pleased that he’s got his first goal for the club.”

Richmond was disappointed to concede from a set-piece.

He said: “The keeper’s called it, everyone’s stopped. It’s bobbled around and they just put a toe on it. It should have been cleared straight away. 

“We’ve been working and working but at this level it’s hard. You try to put it in but players at this standard, you’ve got to talk to them in a different way. You’ve got to see what ability they’ve got and coach that.”
2-1

However, all Lewisham Borough’s hard work to get back into the game was undone by some poor defending in the 41^st minute.

Richmond’s pass released Degnin charging through the heart of Lewisham’s defence and the midfielder saw the goalkeeper rush off his line before rolling a left-footed shot across him for the ball to trickle into the bottom left-hand corner.

Richmond said: “They’ve done what we did, they switched off, didn’t they and let us back in!

“We said to them at half-time we can build on this and kill the game now, tonight, but we let them back in again.”

Simpson didn’t know whether to laugh or cry at his side’s shocking defending!

“I’m speechless with their third goal,” he said.

“To pull it back to 2-1, the third goal that we conceded it was incredibly awful defending! I can’t even explain it. It was just a catalogue of errors beyond belief and I’ve addressed that at half-time and that will need to be addressed further on.”

A match-saving tackle from central defender Steve Truman saved the day for Lewisham after Swole looked destined to score after latching onto George Snelling’s through ball and sprinting through a dodgy looking Lewisham defence.

Simpson was asked what he said inside the home dressing room because his words had the desired effect through Toney’s early strike.

“I’m acting first team manager and I’m not one of these managers that F and blind but I am vocal,” said Simpson.

“You probably heard that on the touchline.  There was a few home truths that had to be said.  What I said is I just got into people’s heads ‘how much do you really want it?  How much heart and desire have we got?’

“This is what it comes down to effectively. Fleet came here and made a statement so I had to ask my players ‘do you want to stand up and be counted?’

“I said give me 10 minutes to show otherwise I’ll start making changes and we managed to get a goal back within that ten minutes.”

The Lewisham Borough striker cut inside Christoper McDermott before sweeping his right-footed shot across Elder for the ball to nestle into the bottom far corner of the net – with only 25 seconds on the clock.

Simpson said: “Was it? I’ll take credit for that then!”

“I’m pleased I had Tristan available tonight because he hasn’t played for us of late. He’s got quite a new, young family and he’s had to extend a lot of time to them.

“He’s a crucial player for us. He is Mr Lewisham Borough. He’s been loyal and faithful to us and we needed him tonight.  I almost didn’t have him tonight but we did need him. He’s still not fully match fit. It was a good finish as only Tristan could.”

Richmond added: “He just finished it off. That’s the gutting thing is we said at half-time, just keep it tight.  They’re going to come at us.  Twenty-five seconds into the second half they’ve pulled a goal back straight away and you’re thinking, you’re banging your head against the wall.”




But Fleet Leisure responded well by regaining their two-goal lead in the 53^rd minute.

Loft had originally swung in a corner from the left which was cleared but the ball was recycled back into the penalty area and Degnin was denied by a fine block from keeper Levin and the ball ran loose where Goodwin had the simplest task to walk the ball into the empty net.

Richmond refused to describe it like that, saying, “It was a good finish.  He did take it well. He walked around a few of them and slotted it in.  It looked like he rolled it in and took it on didn’t he. He done well.”

Simpson lambasted his defenders for going missing after a spot of pin-ball inside their penalty area.

He said: “You have to excuse me for laughing, some of our defending was shambolic beyond belief tonight!

“As you’ve said Fleet literally walked the ball in to the goal.

“It’s hard to explain. I know I’ve got one of my coaches who’s made some exact notes so I haven’t got them to hand so we’ll have to review the notes and review the mistakes we’ve made tonight and make sure we’ve got the right personnel in the right positions to make sure we don’t make those mistakes.”

Fleet keeper Elder made a fine save high to his left to thwart Coombs from scoring with a left-footed shot on the turn from 35-yards as Lewisham Borough quickly tried to find a way back into the game.

Fleet Leisure right-back Dan Nash clipped a free-kick into the Lewisham penalty area where skipper Andy Pierce came up from the back to send his towering header looping into Levin’s hands for a comfortable catch.

An impressive Fleet Leisure side, who were lively down the flanks, squandered an excellent chance in the 62^nd minute.

Goodwin saw midfielder Degnin had made a run down the left flank and found him with a defensive splitting pass.  Degnin cut inside but dragged his right-footed shot across the keeper and past the far post.

Lewisham Borough produced a three-man move within 67 seconds when Ghandour played the ball inside to substitute Junior Adewakun, who teed up a chance for Coombs, who turned his man before dragging his left-footed shot just past the post.

Lewisham Borough’s best chance soon followed when Mikele Maytill clipped the ball up field from left-back into substitute John Ndubka, who hooked his left-footed half-volley from 25-yards, which forced Elder to dive to his right to tip around the post.

Simpson said: “John’s brother Eduardo was playing centre back. John came on and I just wanted John to get on their centre back, who was winning just about everything in the air and just ruffled his feathers a little bit.

“I thought he did well when he came on. He’s not the most mobile in the world but he’s a trier. He’s a young player as well but I was very pleased with the shot on the turn and he made a slight difference which was what we needed.”

Richmond added: “He’s done a couple (of saves) at the end where he pushed it away one side of the post and one the other. He’s kept us in it again and you think switch on then because they’ve had a couple of near misses.”

Simpson was clearly unhappy with his side for not listening to his instructions and letting their opponents dominate the middle of the park.

Steve Truman came up from the back to blast a left-footed free-kick high over the Fleet Leisure crossbar from nineteen-yards, as the home side’s hopes started to fade.

Fleet Leisure’s final chance saw Loft clipped the ball over the top of defence where Swole shrugged off the attentions of Truman but Levin caught the ball before it curled into the far corner.

But Simpson was delighted when his out-played side grabbed a lifeline, three minutes and 27 seconds into stoppage time.

Callum Rice, who came on as substitute for a late cameo, threw the ball to the edge of the box and Coombs drilled a left-footed shot into the bottom right-hand corner from 20-yards.

Simpson said: “Bradley Coombs wears his heart on his sleeve. He’s our skipper. He didn’t have his best game tonight. I was his biggest critic tonight because I know what a good player he is.

“He’s not fully fit and I expected more.  He’s goal has really thrown us a lifeline. We were 4-2 down in the quarter-final of against Meridian and I absolutely felt that we had a good chance of pulling that round.

“I think 4-2 down against Fleet it would have been a tall order. I think 4-3 has thrown us a bit of a lifeline. 

“The Fleet management will be a bit disappointed that there’s not more distance between us. I’m pleased. Although it was a defeat I’m pleased that we’re still in this tie and we can get something from this season, what’s not been a very good season.”

Richmond added: “What was it? A couple of minutes to go and they’ve slotted one and it makes it 4-3 where we couldn’t believe it when that one went in at the end.

“We’ve gone 4-3 up and thought the game was over.  I don’t know.  You wonder what goes on in their head.  You tell them to build on it and finish the game tonight and you just let them back in. Whether it’s a mental block or what?

“I’m not being funny where Colin’s had the experience he’s surrounded by twenty-year-olds and they’re not really there yet but they’re all learning.

“We’ve won so I shouldn’t be moaning really.”

The other tie is also evenly poised after Sutton Athletic came away from Dartford’s 3G pitch with a 2-1 win over hosts Bridon Ropes on Tuesday night.

Lewisham Borough travel to Crayford to play Kent Football United, while Fleet Leisure travel to whipping boys Crockenhill on Saturday.

Both clubs can look forward to locking horns on a further three occasions in a ten day period.

“We’ll know them inside out,” admitted Simpson.  “Three days after the second leg, we’ve got them down here at Ladywell and then a week later (26 April) we’ve got them in our final game of the season so we will know each other very well.

“I know what they’re capable of. I know how capable and competent they are.  I know what they bring to the table. They’re a tough, difficult resilient side who have a lot of excellent technical ability.

“We’ll have to make sure we’ve got all the appropriate personnel available to us. We will need our strongest team to turn this around to overcome Fleet and we’ll have to give 150% because I felt we only gave 50% today.”

Richmond wants to guide the club to the Final.

“Yes, it will be nice,” he said.  “Like I said to the boys, for our first year in the Invicta we’ve opened a few eyes.  We were favourites to be relegated at the start, we were favourites to go down so we’ve proved a few people wrong and we’ve played good football so it’s just the lack of consistency which hopefully the players will get playing at this standard of football.

Simpson revealed that he will stand down as manager at the end of the season and will bring in a new management team.

“I’ll be honest with you, I’m not the nice Mr Chairman when I’m in the technical area as many people have told me.  They see me in a completely different light,” he admitted.

“It’s very demanding, very stressful. I certainly don’t want to be going into a brand new season as manager. I will be bringing in new management at some point but we decided to maintain the status quo but it’s too stressful for me.

“It’s too tough along with everything else, my secretarial duties, managerial duties. It’s really too tough.”

The match was played in near darkness due to the poor quality of the floodlighting system at The Ladywell Arena.

“That’s probably one you should actually ask the mayor, I think,” said Simpson.

“We clearly need to do something with the lights.  They’re not the adequate lux and we’ve had some complaints about it and I have addressed it. Hopefully the next time you come back, they’ll be a big improvement.”

Lewisham Borough: Byron Levin, Mohammed Ghandour, Mickele Maytil, Eduardo Ndubka, Steve Truman, Bradley Coombs, Emmanuel Kadiki (Junior Adewakun 52), Marvin Foo Hong, Tristan Toney, Kieran McMahon, Colby Seymour (John Ndubka 64).
Subs: Harry Terrett, James Truman

Goals: Mohammed Ghandour 38, Tristan Toney 46, Bradley Coombs 90

Booked: Marvin Foo Hong 35

Fleet Leisure: Michael Elder, Dan Nash, Karlton Blake, George Snelling (Jack Walter 52), Andy Pierce, Christopher McDermott, George Goodwin, Joe Degnin (Jorden Wright 81), Marcus Heddon (Jason Sowle 18), Colin Richmond, Joe Loft.
Subs: Jim Truman, Dan Bignall

Goals: Colin Richmond 9, George Goodwin 32, 53, Joe Degnin 41

Attendance: 39
Referee: Mr Mark Jenkins (Welling)
Assistants: Mr Adam Back (Sidcup) & Mr Chima Okechukwu (Orpington)