Over the two games we were the better side against Grays, says Herne Bay boss Sam Denly

HERNE BAY manager Sam Denly admits it’s been hard to take their FA Carlsberg Trophy defeat to Grays Athletic on Tuesday night.



The Bay came away from Essex with a 1-1 draw on Saturday, but suffered an agonising 2-1 defeat in the replay when Grays scored in the 90^th minute to force extra-time and won the game in the last minute of extra-time.

Despite bitterly disappointed, Denly said he was very proud of his players.

He said: “They’re both good performances from ourselves. The away one, again going up there away from home against a decent proven team at that level, we was excellent and really unlucky not to come away with the win, so it was a really good performance.

“If it wasn’t for the man in the middle I think we would have come away with a win!

“A really harsh penalty given against us, but I was pleased with the way the lads played.”

Reflecting on the replay, Denly added: “Again, on Tuesday night, another good performance from them. We’ve matched a Ryman Prem team on two occasions now so it wasn’t a fluke. Over the two games we were the better side.

“If not for a bit more luck we definitely got into the next round.

“We go into the (Sittingbourne) game full of confidence on recent performances.”

Grays Athletic can now look forward to playing their league rivals Enfield Town in The FA Trophy Second Qualifying Round, whilst Herne Bay concentrate on the league.

Denly admitted the last-gasp defeat to Grays Athletic was very hard to take.

“Very hard. Very hard,” he said.   “To be fair this is my first full season as Herne Bay’s manager and that’s probably the hardest one that I’ve had to take so far.

“I was proud of the lads’ performance on Tuesday night. We got ourselves in front and rightly so.

“In stoppage time they get an equaliser and then they do the same in the last seconds of extra-time.

“It was a hard one to take but you don’t have time to dwell on things at this level.

“We’ve got to dust ourselves down and get on with it. We’re training tonight and we’ll be working towards Saturday.”

Herne Bay travel to Sittingbourne on Saturday.

The Brickies are presently in the bottom four in the Ryman League Division One South table, with three wins and a draw from 12 league outings.

Herne Bay, meanwhile, lie in sixteenth-place, with three wins and six draws from 12 league games.

Denly said: “It will be a hard game. We played a pre-season friendly at Woodstock. It’s not an easy place to go and play football that’s for sure. It’s a small pitch and I’m expecting it to be a difficult encounter.

“There’s no easy games at this level. They’ve had a few better results recently.

“It’s a derby so obviously we go there expecting it to be a difficult game but the way we’re playing I expect us to go there and put a decent performance in and come away with a result.

 Reflecting on their league campaign so far, the Herne Bay manager said: “I would have liked to have a run in The FA Trophy but it quite clearly wasn’t to be, especially with the way it happened in the end.

“Now we look to the league stuff on Saturday. We’re doing well enough in the league. We’re sitting mid-table. A few teams have got games on us now but a few wins and we’ll be right up there again.

“I’ve been pleased with our league form. We’re hard to beat and we’ve shown that at the beginning of the season and on Saturday we’re back to the league stuff and I’ll be looking for that good form to continue.”

When asked whether he’s learning in his first first-team manager’s role, Denly replied: “I’ve learnt a lot and I’m still learning.

“I’m working with a lot of injuries (in the squad) and you learn how to adapt to that – different games and different formations. That’s a massive part of it. We’re trying to go to watch games to see strategies. You have to do that at this level.

“It’s about getting the best out of your players that we’ve got and I’ve learnt to do that. I’ve got good people around me in Neil Brown and Gavin – they know the game - and as a management team we’re working well together.

“The squad’s building. We’re a strong squad now and it’s gelled quickly and it’s had to if we wanted to do well this season.

“I’m always learning. I’m still young in management. I’m enjoying it and it’s something that I want to continue to do and all the time I’m learning I’m sure we’ll improve. 

“Every other week is bringing me new challenges and I’m enjoying them so far.”

Visit Herne Bay’s website: www.pitchero.com/clubs/hernebay

Sittingbourne  v  Herne Bay
Ryman League Division One South
Saturday 26^th October 2013
Kick Off 3:00pm
at Woodstock Park, Broadoak Road, Sittingbourne, Kent ME9 8AG