Phoenix Sports 1-2 Tilbury - We've missed too many chances and it comes back and bites us on the bum, says Phoenix Sports boss Steve O'Boyle

Phoenix Sports 1 – 2 Tilbury
Location	Mayplace Ground, Mayplace Road East, Barnehurst, Kent DA7 6JT
Kickoff	09/01/2016 15:00

PHOENIX SPORTS  1-2  TILBURY
Ryman League Division One North
Saturday 9^th January 2016
Stephen McCartney reports from Mayplace Road East

PHOENIX SPORTS boss Steve O’Boyle says his side’s midtable position in the Ryman League Division One North table is not good enough for him.

The Barnehurst based club are one of two clubs that have played the most games (30) and their 13^th league defeat leaves them slap bang in the middle of the table with 41 points in their debut season.

Jason Goodchild’s powerful drive gave Phoenix Sports a first half lead but fifth-placed Tilbury turned the game upside down by scoring two second half goals in the space of 191 seconds.

Left-back Danny Glozier clinically put away a penalty to score his seventh goal of the season, before right winger Emiel Aiken planted home a bullet header to score his 12^th of the campaign to keep the Dockers in the play-off places.

“Not happy! That just sums up our season so far I’m afraid,” said O’Boyle after Tilbury chalked up their 15^th league win of the season.

“We’re playing a team that’s now 18 games unbeaten – they’re in the play-offs – and to be honest with you we should’ve been 4-0 up at half-time!

“We totally dominated it. I thought we was all over them first half, missed too many chances and it comes back and bites us on the bum and that’s the difference!

“What did they have? Two chances second half, win the game 2-1 and we’ve been done the same again. Thamesmead last week, same as, yes, go down there lost 3-2. We deserved more out of the game last week but I can’t keep saying we’re unlucky every week. It’s been happening too often.

“I can’t keep saying we’re unlucky every week. It’s got to start turning those unlucky’s into points and to be fair I’ve got the right hump!”

Most promoted clubs would be satisfied with a midtable placing on their debut campaign.

But O’Boyle said: “Not good enough, not good enough for the play-offs, I’m afraid.

“Yes, you might say it’s our first season in the league but that’s not good for me. I expected us to be in there.  I’ve seen the league, I’ve sussed the league out. We’re as good as the teams up there but today we should’ve won the game before half-time.”

Tilbury, who arrived here on an impressive run of seventeen league games unbeaten, started the game on the front foot.

Glozier and Tony Martin linked up down the left and the ball came out to Conor Mead, who took a touch and flashed his shot just past the post from 30-yards after only 141 seconds.

Tilbury’s right-back Mead then swung in a cross towards the far post which saw Aiken stroke his right-footed shot rolling into the hands of Oshane Brown, who was making his home debut having signed on loan from Ryman Premier League leaders Dulwich Hamlet.

Tilbury’s next opening came in the 14^th minute.

Matt Game swept the ball out to Mead, who took a touch and hung over a cross into the Phoenix box, Brown comfortably catching a looping header from striker Neil Richmond.

O’Boyle said: “I thought our shape was excellent. I thought our defensive shape, when we lost the ball, was very good.”

But Phoenix Sports rode the storm and created their first chance on the break after 18 minutes.

Mead swung in a free-kick which was cleared by the home side and Jamie Mascoll released winger Harrison Carnegie down the right.  He cut the ball inside to central midfielder Alistair Gordon, whose right-footed drive from 20-yards forced visiting keeper Clarke Bogard to dive low to his right to make the save.

O’Boyle barked: “Not good enough! Should’ve scored! Harrison is clean through, he’s took a bad touch or whatever, but I’m sorry but that’s just sums us up! That weren’t good enough! 

“We should’ve been 1-0 up there. When they’re through on goal, we should score!”

Mead floated over a deep free-kick which was hit on the turn by Aiken, which was caught at the second attempt by Brown.

But Phoenix Sports started to edge themselves back into the game and created some glorious chances to end Tilbury’s impressive run of results.

Tilbury last suffered a defeat in the league on 8 September 2015 when their Essex rivals Thurrock came away from Chadfields with a 1-0 win.

Gordon burst down the right and cut the ball inside for Mascoll, the left-winger stroking his shot past the far post after 20 minutes.

Adrian Stone then showed quick feet to side-step his way past Jack Carlile inside the Tilbury half before running towards the edge of the box and drilling his right-footed shot, which was saved by Bogard.

Tilbury skipper Game then cracked a speculative right-footed drive sailing over the crossbar from 35-yards, before Phoenix Sports took a deserved lead with 29:34 on the clock.

Brown launched a big kick straight down the middle, which lone striker Stone flicked on.  Tilbury cleared their lines and the ball came out to Goodchild on the right-hand side.

The central midfielder powered a stunning right-footed angled drive from 30-yards, which screamed over Bogard’s right shoulder and crashed off the underside of the crossbar into the far corner.

“What a good goal, a good goal but that was a half chance. I don’t expect us to score them but I expect us to score the others,” said the Phoenix boss, who was seen undertaking groundsman’s duties out on the pitch with the sponger an hour before kick-off.

“I said to the boys before the game, when it’s conditions like it is today, you’ve got to shoot. If you don’t shoot, you don’t score and that’s how we scored today – we took a shot!

“It was a good goal and it was a good first half performance. The first half performance was fantastic but I did say in the way in at half-time, they’re coming in and I guarantee those missed chances and we’ll be coming in at the end of the game going ‘oh, unlucky again!”

Tilbury went close when Aiken played the ball into Richmond’s feet, who cut inside and from the edge of the penalty area his shot deflected past the post.

O’Boyle felt his side should have doubled their lead with a great chance in the 41^st minute.

Tony Martin swung in Tilbury’s first corner from the left which was punched away by Brown and the ball was cleared up to Mascoll in midfield.

The winger released Carnegie ripping down the right channel and he cut into the penalty area but Bogard came off his line to make a vital block.

O’Boyle barked: “Another chance, another chance, one on one with the goalkeeper. Not good enough! Should’ve scored!

“That’s what I keep saying to them in there, I can’t keep saying it every week.  That should’ve been 3-0 up. We should be making sure we’ve seen the game out.

“We’re playing a team that hasn’t been beaten for 17 games, you’ve got to take those chances, that’s the difference.  We don’t score goals, they’ve been scoring goals and we don’t.”

Bogard then made another crucial save in another phase of play, just 34 seconds later.

Carnegie, now in the middle of the pitch, hit a low right-footed drive from 25-yards which was destined to find the corner, but Bogard made a full-length diving save to tip the ball around the post.

When asked what he told his players’ at the break, O’Boyle replied, “I said to them, you’ve got to carry on and see the game through now. We’ve got to go out there second half – you’re talking about a team that are unbeaten in a long time, they’re just not going to chuck it away!

“They’re going to come out with all guns blazing second half and we’ll need to have a second half performance, which is going to match the first one.”

Tilbury created the first chance of the second half after only 105 seconds and were denied by a fine save from Brown.

Martin swept the ball out wide to full-back Mead, who played the ball inside to Richmond, whose clever turn beat his man and his right-footed drive from 20-yards was tipped around the post by the keeper, diving to his right.

“He didn’t have too much to do, did he? “O’Boyle said of Dulwich Hamlet’s second-choice keeper, who was making his second appearance for Phoenix Sports.

“A bit like last week, he didn’t have too much to do, but he picked the ball out of the net three times (at Thamesmead) and picked it out twice today.”

O’Boyle rued his side’s first opened when Stone shrugged past central defender Joe Nigtingill but a heavy touch ensured Bogard came out to smother the ball and the chance went begging.

O’Boyle said: “The only chance we had second half I would say when it was 1-0 to us Stoney’s had a chance one-on-one with the goalkeeper. He should’ve toe poked it. He’s tried to take another touch and the chance was gone.”

Carnegie was unmarked inside the Tilbury half but his speculative left-footed swept shot from 35-yards was comfortably gobbled up by Bogard.

Brown did well to hold on to a shot from Tilbury in the 57^th minute.

Mead released Aiken charging down the right and he cut inside and drilled a right-footed angled drive which the keeper held at his near post.

But Tilbury equalised with 18:29 on the clock when Mead – going away from goal – was clipped by the advancing Brown and referee Nick Dunn pointed to the spot.

Glozier proved left-footed players can score penalties by placing the resulting penalty into the bottom left-hand corner.

“At first thought, I thought it was soft,” admitted O’Boyle.

“One of the boys said ‘he clipped him’. Foul. Penalty.

“Yes, I’m more concerned how he got there. We switched off for five minutes in the game and lost the game.  They got in behind us there and they should’ve have got in behind us.”

But Tilbury produced a moment of quality to snatch the victory just 191 seconds later.

Francis Babaola was hugging the left flank when he whipped in a quality cross in between Phoenix’s otherwise solid central defenders (Chris Hill and Steve Springett) and Aiken nipped in to plant his header over Brown into the roof of the net.

“Déjà vu! Once we concede one, we always concede one straight after!” revealed O’Boyle.

“We can’t just go, I tell you what, they’ve just equalised, one-all, sit in there. They’ve got the upper hand at the moment, let’s sit in for five minutes, let’s get our composure back. Let’s get our shape back. There’s plenty of time to get a goal back in the game. But we’ve got to score straight away.

“We get caught on the break and they go and score and that’s what we’ve got to learn as well.

“We try to score straight away just after they get a goal we want to come back and make it 2-1 straight away more than getting our shape and getting ourselves sorted. We’ve got a long time to go in the game.”

The same two players almost replicated that goal again but this time Aiken got in front of his marker on the edge of the penalty area and sent his downward header harmlessly wide.

Tilbury’s quick-fire sucker punches appeared to knock the stuffing out of Phoenix Sports, that was until Bogard made a great save with just five minutes remaining to prevent the home side scoring an equaliser.

Phoenix substitute Christie Pattison’s cushioned the ball down to put Stone through on goal and he swept his right-footed shot across the keeper and towards the bottom far corner, but Bogard dived to his right to tip the ball around the post for a corner.

O’Boyle said: “That is the difference between us winning and losing the game today. They’ve scored their chances and we missed our chances.

“Second half we huffed and puffed but once they went 2-1 in front, they were a little comfortable.”

Basement side Waltham Abbey – a side that’s won only two and drawn eight of their 27 games – visit next Saturday.

“That’s probably where we’ll end up – twelfth!

O’Boyle added: “I’m not a manager who wants to sit in midtable! I can’t handle it! I want to be a manager who’s pushing for honours.  I don’t like losing. I don’t like Saturday’s and weekends after getting beat and I’m fed up with it.”

Striker Ricky Freeman (rolled ankle), captain Russell Bedford (hamstring) and winger Adem Ramadan are expected to be in contention next weekend.

“You get those three back, people will be looking at themselves and their places for next week, because those three are good players.

“My captain, my leading goalscorer and Adem, who is lively as anything. People will be looking at their performances today and I will change it!

“I’m expecting three points, no more, no less and that’s all, I’m expecting three points. 

“There’s no good playing for 45 minutes. We’ve got to play for 90 minutes and that’s all we’ve done today, the 45 should’ve been good enough to win a game.”

When asked what he wants from the club’s last 16 league games, O’Boyle made it quite clear.

“What am I aiming for? Sixteen wins! I go into every game expecting to win. 

“I don’t fear no one. We’ve seen the league – it’s a big step up from the Kent League – but we’re good enough.

“We’ve got to start taking our chances – and we will take them.

“We got two goals away from home (at Thamesmead) and I think if you get two goals away from home you should come away with points.

“Last week we didn’t defend well enough. This week our defending for five minutes weren’t good enough and our attacking weren’t good enough.

“I’ll go away very frustrated, annoyed and we ain’t got points out of the game again today.”

Phoenix Sports: Oshane Brown, Ryan Andrews, Lewis Mingle, Alistair Gordon, Steve Springett, Chris Hill, Harrison Carnegie (Christie Pattison 79), Jason Goodchild, Adrian Stone, Giannoulis Fakinos, Jamie Mascoll.
Subs: Scott Whibley, Richie Hamil, Zak Bryon, Adam Woodward

Goal: Jason Goodchild 30

Tilbury: Clarke Bogard, Conor Mead (Bradley Webb 77), Danny Glozier, Danny Smith, Joe Nigtingill, Matt Game, Francis Babaola (Jimmy Cook 87), Jack Carlile, Neil Richmond, Tony Martin, Emiel Aiken.
Subs: Jake Pooley, Ross Elsom, Lewis Jaggs

Goals: Danny Glozier 64 (penalty), Emiel Aiken 66

Booked:  Conor Mead 70

Attendance: 130
Referee: Mr Nick Dunn (Deal)
Assistants: Mr Richard Butler (Orpington) & Mr Alexis Stacchini (Orpington)