Lordswood is a nice place to be at the moment, says boss Jason Lillis

LORDSWOOD manager Jason Lillis says he is pleased with his side’s commitment during the first month of the new season.



The Medway side are in eighth-place in the Kent Hurlimann Football League table with two wins from their opening three games – but they suffered heartbreak in their FA Cup Preliminary Round replay at Pagham on Tuesday night.

Lordswood went down to an agonising 4-2 defeat on penalties after the game finished 1-1 after extra time – Saturday’s home game ended goalless.

Former Gillingham and Maidstone United striker Lillis said: “Over the two games we should have won it! The Tuesday night game when we went down there it was end-to-end stuff really. It was like a FA Cup tie that you’d like to watch as a spectator but as a manager you want to keep it a little bit more duller.

“I mean we missed a penalty in the first ten minutes of the first half and should have scored a couple more.

“The boys have played ever so well. All they’ve done is given me everything I’ve asked.

“To go out like that wasn’t great but they deserved a lot more.

“The boys were excellent and they have been all year, up to now.”

Reflecting on their campaign so far, Lillis, 42, said: “I think we’ve been doing alright. We’ve had a great pre-season, sort of kept ourselves to ourselves, just got on with our business as usual and we’re just plodding away and taking it game by game.

“It’s a nice place to be at the moment.  There’s some exciting things going on behind the scenes, which is good.”

Lillis has been employed by a local school to run a youth Academy, which will blood first team players for the amateur Kent League outfit.

He said: “It starts for real when the school gets back next week. It’s fantastic news and good for the club. It’s great for the club and Robert Napier – they’re happy to be with us. It can only look good for the future.

“They’ve got me back in there to come in as Academy manager to run it all and set it all up and they’ve taken me on to do all that.

“The school Academy will be playing in the Wednesday afternoon Academy League and our normal youth teams will be playing in the Kent Premier every Sunday.

“It’s good that we’ve got a lot of local boys coming through and that’s what we have to rely on.

Lillis says he has done his homework on Combined Counties League outfit Warlingham for Saturday’s FA Carlsberg Vase First Qualifying Round clash.

Warlingham – who are one level below Lordswood - play their home games at Whyteleafe’s Church Road ground and Lillis and his assistant have already seen them play ahead of Saturday’s game.

Lillis said: “I went to watch them last night, went with Steve Arnold to go and watch them and they won so we’re going to give them the respect that they deserve and hopefully if we can play our game we’ll come back with  result.

“Like I said the boys deserve a little run with the effort they put in and the amount of work I ask them to do and they’re obviously non-paid players.  A lot of paid players wouldn’t put the commitment my boys put in so it’s testimony to them and their commitment with what they give me week in week out.”

Visit Lordswood’s website: www.lordswoodfc.co.uk

Warlingham  v  Lordswood
The FA Carlsberg Vase First Qualifying Round
Saturday 1^st September 2012
Kick Off 3:00pm
at 15 Church Road, Whyteleafe, Surrey CR3 5LA