Kentish Football 
Sevenoaks Town 0-2 Corinthian - We're on a steep learning curve, admits Sevenoaks coach Ferguson
Wednesday 17th August 2011
SEVENOAKS TOWN 0-2 CORINTHIANKent Hurlimann Football League
Wednesday 17th August 2011
Stephen McCartney reports from Greatness Park
CORINTHIAN boss Tony Sitford says his players’ are buzzing after they gave Sevenoaks Town a footballing lesson to ensure they maintained their 100% start to the new season.
The Longfield outfit would have won by more had they taken their many chances, but they had to settle for just two goals from skipper Ryan Johnson and right-back Charlie Burgess just before half-time, after winger Joe Minter showed what his former club are missing with two precise set-pieces.
Corinthian followed up their 3-1 win at Greenwich Borough with a good performance against a Sevenoaks side that are struggling to come to terms with Kent League football after switching from academy and reserve team football with Ryman Premier League club Cray Wanderers.
Corinthian are one of four clubs that have won their opening two games and are sitting proudly in second place, whilst Sevenoaks Town are presently third from bottom and need to bring in some experienced players if they are to improve.
Sitford, 72, said afterwards that he was very pleased with his side’s impressive performance.
He said: “We worked hard. Unfortunately the ground’s very bobbly so it’s very difficult. We played some good stuff. It’s a great spirit at the minute. Everybody’s buzzing for each other and that’s all you can ask.
“I think we had one or two good chances, but at the end of the day they’ll start to go in. Confidence has grown and as confidence grows you start getting the winning feeling and they start to go in.
“I thought we could’ve had four or five (goals) tonight to be honest but I’m delighted with them. Their attitude is top drawer.”
Corinthian winger Ray Mfon terrorised Sevenoaks left-back Jamie Range throughout, Minter excelled with dead ball situations, Johnson pulled the strings and summer signing, James Lyons was solid at the back.
“I thought Ray was outstanding,” said the Corinthian boss. “He’s been like it all pre-season. On Saturday he had a little bit of a lapse, he didn’t play particularly well but tonight he played ever so well.
“I brought him off a minute from the end just to say ‘well done to him’ basically because he was outstanding.
“I told him just to take the full-back out of his pocket and let him go home now because he was brilliant.”
Corinthian started with a very high tempo and pegged Sevenoaks – who kept giving the ball away in their defensive third of the pitch on many occasions - back.
Fraser Cronin gifted possession to Johnson, but he fired just wide of the far post inside the opening two minutes.
Sevenoaks almost grabbed the lead when Liam Gearing released Tom Skelton, who was forced wide by defender George Benner, and the midfielder cut the ball back to Gearing, whose right-footed angled drive sailed over.
And within a minute, Corinthian created another chance, this time left-back Joe Penny delivered a cross into the penalty area and Minter’s header bounced into Pat Brennan’s gloves.
Corinthian’s play deserved goals, and it was frustrating for their followers when chances went begging.
Another cross from Penny was brought down by Minter and Johnson’s left-footed half-volley sailed wide after 23 minutes.
Mfon then played a ball into Johnson’s feet, who teed up former Sevenoaks Town striker Richie Stevens, but his left-footed shot sailed just over from the edge of the box.
But Sevenoaks almost grabbed the lead with a couple of efforts, against the run of play.
Richard Morgan played the ball inside and Gearing allowed the ball roll across to Skelton, whose right-footed drive stung the fingertips of former Sevenoaks keeper Dan Bygraves.
Sevenoaks went route one when Brennan launched a kick up field and the quiet Richmond Kissi cut inside two defenders but the skipper could only roll a right-footed shot past the foot of the near post from six-yards.
Minter, who took ten of Corinthian’s eleven corners, was involved again as Corinthian deservedly opened the scoring in the 36th minute.
His initial corner was dropped by a challenged Brennan and Benner blasted a deflected shot over the crossbar.
Minter swung in the resulting corner in from the right and Johnson found space at the near post to glance his header beyond Brennan to take his goalscoring tally to three goals in two games.
“He’s scored three now in two games. He leads by example, he works hard and he is a very, very good player,” praised Sitford.
“He can play a lot higher level than we are here but he likes it here. He was with us last year and he was offered a lot of money to go to Maidstone, Sittingbourne, a lot of money as well, three figures as well – not interested.”
Corinthian only had to wait another six minutes to seal a comfortable victory, and once again the ball came in from Minter’s right-foot, this time a free-kick from the right.
He picked out Burgess at the far post and the right-back powered a bullet header in from two-yards out.
Praising Burgess, Sitford added: “I think he’ll get on it more because we’ve been working on them (set-pieces) and he’s very good in the air to be honest. He’s tenacious and that’s what you need.”
Praising Minter, Sitford said: “He knocks a good ball doesn’t he? At the end of the day, you’ve got to get people on the end of them. We’ve been practising them a lot, as you probably noticed. All our free-kicks have been worked on in pre-season. We try and play. We’ve got a very good football team.”
Corinthian went close to increasing their lead further inside the opening two minutes of the second half when Minter’s free-kick was met by a right-footed dipping drive from 35-yards from Johnson, which only just cleared the crossbar.
Penny’s precise diagonal ball released nippy winger Mfon down the right and after cutting inside he opted to cut the ball back to Johnson, whose left-footed shot arrowed just over the bar.
The introduction of substitute Jack Highwood caused the Sevenoaks defence even more problems and the striker almost made an instant impression on the game when he shrugged off Range and rolled a weak shot into Brennan’s gloves after he was released by Minter.
Minter then swung in a corner from the left, which was punched away by Brennan and the outstanding Lyons drilled a low left-footed shot, which Brennan blocked at the near post.
Outplayed Sevenoaks did rally around the hour-mark – Gearing’s shot was blocked on the line at the near post, Aiden Sherlock met Morgan’s floated free-kick with a header which he glanced wide, before Corinthian regained control and Highwood centred for Minter, whose right-footed shot sailed narrowly over the bar.
Had Sevenoaks pulled a goal back in the 66th minute, then they may have made a fight off it.
Kissi was denied by a well-timed sliding tackle by Chris Kinnear – watched by his Margate managing father with the same name - and Dan Lagiano picked up the loose ball and his right-footed shot sailed just wide of the post.
Brennan was called into action at the halfway stage of the second half when Highwood released Minter down the right and his over hit cross was retrieved by Johnson, who drilled a low right-footed shot, across the keeper, who got down low to his left to make a smart save.
Sherlock came up from his defensive duties and made an untracked run towards the near post but he could only head Gearing’s corner from the left over the Corinthian crossbar in the final twenty minutes.
A slick Corinthian passing move, involving Penny, Johnson, Minter and Stevens resulted in Penny crossing low from the left and Minter turned at the near post and sent a right-footed shot just over the crossbar with Brennan well beaten.
Minter deserved a goal and he was denied by Brennan in the final ten minutes as Mfon cut the ball back for Burgess to whip in a first time cross and Minter found space at the near post and swept a first time shot with his right-foot which was blocked by the 21-year-old keeper.
Sitford also praised Lyons, because “he’s a composed player. He gets hold of the ball and he plays it and that’s what we want and try to do.”
And Sitford is delighted with his side’s impressive start to the new season, their third back in the Kent League.
“We’ve got a lot to do. It’s a long way to go, it’s not a bad start,” he said.
When asked whether Corinthian will be dark horses for the Kent League title, Sitford replied, “No! We know our limitations. All I will say we’ve got a different attitude to last year. We’ve come away to places like this last year and we would’ve really struggled, but now you’ve got a set of 16-18 players in there that want to go away and win and they want to play for each other and that’s the biggest battle for me to be honest.
“And this guy (coach, Matt Longhurst) has a lot to do with it. He’s a very good coach. He’s doing a great job and that’s what it’s all about. He’s making them play really.”
Sevenoaks Town coach, Anthony Ferguson, 45, admitted his young players are out of their depth at this level.
He said: “I would say at this moment it’s a steep learning curve for a lot of the players’. They’ve stepped up a few levels, now their finding the transition quite difficult.
“From a management perspective, it’s not about criticising, it’s about nurturing young players who will be good enough one day, but also for us to recognise the changes that we need to make quickly.”
He added: “What you would have seen is that a few of them have risen to the challenge but the nucleus of the side, whilst learning and it’s the second game in terms of competitive games for them, they have shown a willingness to learn and a good spirit and as a coach myself, my ambition is to see them develop and to learn and to be able to work with more experienced players.”
Sevenoaks Town will be one of the side’s struggling at the foot of the Kent League table if they don’t bring in streetwise, experienced Kent League campaigners.
Ferguson agrees, “Possibly a couple of older, more experienced players, who have played at a higher level, understand the game a little bit more and have a bit more in terms of streetwise but also pitch wise. We have a young side and the learning curve is steep and by playing with more experienced players it can only be positive for them.”
Ferguson, meanwhile, admitted he was disappointed with the way his side defended Corinthian’s two goals.
“Especially considering that we concentrated on not conceding from set-pieces. It’s disappointing to do so but again you’ll notice the second half we defended those set-pieces differently and much more efficiently.
“If they learn from what they’ve done in there and they can carry what they’ve done in the second half forward, then we’d have made progress.”
Sevenoaks Town: Pat Brennan, Joe Stephenson, Jamie Range (Steven Ita 56), Dan Lagiano, Jordan Clark, Aiden Sherlock, Richard Morgan (Connor Holsgrove 83), Fraser Cronin (Royce Greenidge 70), Liam Gearing, Tom Skelton, Richmond Kissi.
Subs: Otis Taylor, Matt Bailey.
Corinthian: Danny Bygraves, Charlie Burgess, Joe Penny, Chris Kinnear, James Lyons, George Benner, Joe Minter, Ryan Johnson, Richie Stevens (Jamie Taylor 81), Ciaran Mulvihill (Jack Highwood 56), Ray Mfon (Alfie May 90).
Subs: Danny Nash.
Goals: Ryan Johnson 36, Charlie Burgess 42
Attendance: 84
Referee: Mr Jamie Broughton (Deptford, London SE8)
Assistants: Mr Brian Harvey (Bromley) & Mr Steve Roots (Tunbridge Wells)
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