Kentish Football 
Sittingbourne 0-3 Chipstead - My players should go home embarrassed after that, fumes Gary Abbott
Tuesday 04th January 2011
SITTINGBOURNE 0-3 CHIPSTEAD
Ryman League Division One South
Tuesday 4th January 2011
Stephen McCartney reports from Bourne Park
SITTINGBOURNE manager Gary Abbott described his side’s lacklustre home defeat to Chipstead as “embarrassing!”
The play-off chasing Kent club were playing their first game at Bourne Park since they were defeated by Burgess Hill Town on 20 November, so the small crowd of 102 were looking forward to seeing their side cement fifth-place in the Ryman League Division One South table at the halfway stage of their campaign.
But Sittingbourne put in a dire display, which lacked passion and fight and they were 3-0 down inside the opening 25 minutes, as Chipstead sealed a comfortable victory courtesy of Jason Goodchild, Ray Freeman and Jason Thompson.
Abbott wanted his side to claim victory tonight to move three points clear of sixth-placed Burgess Hill in the table, but Sittingbourne simply failed to turn up.
It might have been so different, however, had leading goalscorer Tom Bradbrook tucked home his chance inside the first 20 seconds of the game, instead of firing an angled drive into Martin Grant’s arms.
But Surrey side Chipstead, buoyed from their impressive 2-1 away win at high-flying Leatherhead at the weekend, strangled Sittingbourne in an attack minded opening half.
A ball over the top released Billy Harding down the inside left channel, and his pace saw the striker ease past Lawrence Harvey, before he cut the ball back to the edge of the box for Goodchild to sweep his shot over.
Andrew Morrison then drove a fierce right-footed drive into Matt Reed’s hands with a shot on the run, before things went downhill fast for Sittingbourne.
Chipstead took a deserved lead in the 18th minute when Thompson swung in a left-footed free-kick from the right and the ball was headed dangerously back towards his own goal by Sittingbourne’s Billy Manners, and with Reed flapping the ball dropped nicely for Goodchild, and the central midfielder made room for himself before blasting his shot into the roof of the net from the corner of the six-yard box.
Reed then made a comfortable save from Rodney Green, before Chipstead scored twice in the space of just 104 seconds.
Harding released Freeman down the inside left channel and the former Maidstone United attacker cracked an angled left-footed drive across struggling Reed to find the far corner in the 24th minute.
The game was swiftly over when Chipstead scored their third goal when Thompson smashed a left-footed free-kick from inches outside the penalty area, but inside the D, which rocketed through the wall into the roof of the net, leaving the Sittingbourne keeper a spectator.
Morrison then whipped in a cross from the left which was glanced over by Harding at the near post for Chipstead, as the Kent side came to terms with their shocking start.
Just before the break, an error from Sittingbourne central defender Lawrence Harvey let in Freeman, who fluffed his lines when through on goal, slicing a left-footed shot over.
Sittingbourne faced an uphill struggle to get back into the game, but there was no desire from the men in red and black to do so.
Chipstead squandered a couple of decent chances to increase their lead around the hour-mark when on each occasion Harding released his strike partner Freeman, but his first effort flashed across Reed and just past the foot of the far post, and his next attempt was caught at the second attempt by the keeper.
Sittingbourne striker Bradbrook reached the by-line in the 62nd minute but he was thwarted by Grant at his near post, before the visiting keeper made a routine save from substitute Jaie Nuttall later on in this one-sided game.
With all three substitutes on the pitch, Abbott was forced to withdraw Hicham Akhazzan, who pulled his groin, as the home side finished the game with ten-men.
And there was to be no late consolation for Sittingbourne when Grant blocked a right-footed shot from substitute Ryan Golding after some good approach play from Bradbrook down the left.
Abbott was clearly an angry man at the final whistle.
When asked what he thought, he said: “One word. Embarrassing! To be honest with you!
“We’ve come here in a great position, trying to keep in that fifth spot, we didn’t turn up tonight!
“We showed no urgency tonight at all and we got what we deserved and it could’ve been more to be honest with you.
“Good luck to them, they worked their bo****ks off all the way through and they got what they deserved.”
Abbott added: “You get those games don’t you, but when you look at the position we are, they’re probably thinking how are we in fifth place, which I make them right - but you have your off games but they’ve come here tonight and I’ve never seen a front two work like them two did tonight. They unsettled us at the back and we were all over the shop.
“If you’re going to give three goals to any team in the first 25 minutes, where games can be won in the first 20 minutes, that’s exactly what they’ve done to us.
“I just hope it’s a one off and we’ve got to come here Saturday now and get three points against Eastbourne.”
Abbott knew it was game over at three-nil down.
He said: “Teams have come back from that but if you’re going to come back you have to get a goal or two by half-time.
“Like I say, you’ve got to do some work to come back from that, but like I say, half the players might have stayed at home tonight to be honest with you! We weren’t at it!
“The warm-up was all sharp, it was good, but it started from the first whistle with Tom. If he goes through there and scores it’s a different game we might go on and win two or three nil but after that it was embarrassing!”
Abbott agreed that his side just didn’t seem to care.
“There was no commitment there,” he bemoaned. “There was nothing at all there and that’s what’s hurting us more.
“If you’re playing bad there’s no reason why you can’t work hard! I’ve always said that if you’re having a bad game you can still work hard but we didn’t keep the ball. Every time we got the ball it was a hot potato. We just weren’t at it from the first minute and you can’t do that!”
Abbott added: “To lose in that way is annoying and it hurts and I’m embarrassed tonight. I hope they (my players) go home embarrassed because they should be! It was one of them days where you want to forget about it now and it’s gone and we’ve got to move on and train Thursday and hopefully turn up on Saturday, but it’s definitely not good enough!”
Sittingbourne: Matt Reed, Joe Horlock (Jack Hooper 52), Dan Palfrey, Shaun Raggett (Ryan Golding 62), Lawrence Harvey, Billy Manners (Jaie Nuttall 52), Ross Morley, Paul Semakula, Tom Bradbrook, Hicham Akhazzan, Nick Reeves.
Subs: Richard Brady, Joe Dowley.
Chipstead: Martin Grant, Ellis Conroy, Jason Thompson, Lee Coburn, Louis Hollingworth, Rodney Green (Wayne Grizzle 75), Russell Bedford, Jason Goodchild, Ray Freeman, Billy Harding (Sean Rivers 81), Anthony Morrison.
Subs: Adam Broomhead, Josh James.
Goals: Jason Goodchild 18, Ray Freeman 24, Jason Thompson 25
Booked: Russell Bedford 31
Attendance: 102
Referee: Mr Graham Kane (Ditchling, East Sussex)
Assistants: Mr Baris Erguven (Brighton, East Sussex) & Mr Mark Tasker (Lewes, East Sussex)
Red Dragon I.T. Ltd