Sittingbourne 1-2 Eastbourne Town - We deserved something out of the game, admits Marc Seager

SITTINGBOURNE  1-2  EASTBOURNE TOWN
Ryman League Division One South
Saturday 17^th March 2012
Stephen McCartney reports from Bourne Park

DEPARTING temporary manager Marc Seager says he leaves manager Joe Dowley a Sittingbourne team in a positive frame of mind for their remaining seven league games of the season.

Seager, 39, has collected two points in the four games that he has stood in for Dowley, who returned from his holiday in Cuba to watch the game from high up at the back of the stand.

Sittingbourne, however, remain third-from-bottom in the Ryman League Division One South table, but remain thirteen points clear of Whyteleafe, who occupy the sole relegation place and mathematically need just a couple more points to avoid the drop.

Eastbourne Town, who came away from Bourne Park to hold Maidstone United to a 1-1 draw last weekend and defeated leaders Bognor Regis Town 1-0 in midweek, snatched the three points today.

Sittingbourne dominated the first half but a mistake from left-back Jonathan Hogg gave Scott Kirkwood the opportunity to score, the Eastbourne Town midfielder drilling a shot into the bottom corner on the stroke of half-time to leave the home faithful stunned.

Eastbourne striker, Matthew Geard, who wore the number 5 shirt, powered home a header past a stranded Adam Woodward to double their lead early in the second half.

But Sittingbourne pulled a goal back with seventeen minutes remaining when player-assistant manager Bradley Spice, 29, made a rare appearance as a substitute, after Ryan Cooper was forced off through a foot injury, to curl in a free-kick.

Rainham-based Seager admitted he felt disappointment at the final whistle after Eastbourne Town snatched the points to move up one place into twelve in the table.

“Very disappointed really because I thought we dominated it for vast periods of the game, especially first half,” said Seager.

“I thought there was only one team in it!  It was sloppy defending right on half-time and I feel it knocked the lads’ confidence a little bit really.  We talked about a few things at half-time and they done the total opposite what we asked them to do, which is disappointing.

“We’ve been punished for two sloppy bits of defending and that’s why they are where they are in the table and that’s what we’ve just said to the boys’.

“But in saying that in the couple of weeks that I’ve been here, when I first came down to see them against Corinthian-Casuals (which was a 2-0 home defeat) it was a team lacking in total confidence and not much game plan and that’s come from confidence.  I’ve been in that position but now with a couple of new players in there I’ve tried to instil into them being hard to beat.

“In the end, I thought we deserved something out of the game so I’m disappointed with that because the lads’ have worked hard this week.  We just let ourselves down with decision making and poor defending.”

Sittingbourne started well and Hicham Akhazzan turned and laid the ball off to Cooper, whose right-footed drive from 25-yards deflected off Steve May and looped up into Kieron Thorp’s gloves beside the far post inside the opening three minutes.

Thirty-one seconds later, Geard should have done better when he met Sam Crabb’s cross from the right with a snap shot with his left foot, which rose high and wide.

Sittingbourne squandered an excellent chance to open the scoring inside eight minutes when Anthony Hogg played Joe Nwoko in behind the Eastbourne defence but the former Thamesmead Town and Aveley striker took a touch but slammed a low right-footed shot agonisingly wide of the foot of the near post from ten-yards.

Seager said: “In that position, if you wanted it to drop to anyone, Joe’s the man you want it to but Tuesday night he scores a great goal (away to Hythe Town).

“He worked hard.  It wasn’t quite his day today.  We had five shots in the first half, got one on target, which is disappointing but we was creating chances but we were dominating the first half today.”

Eastbourne missed an excellent chance of their own within two minutes when Ross Treleaven’s heavy touch took him around Luke Girt and stabbed his shot across keeper Woodward but the Sittingbourne right-back managed to get back and swept the ball away from inside the six-yard box.

Sittingbourne started to seize control of the game and chances peppered Thorp’s goal.

Treleaven gifted possession to Nwoko, who sprayed the ball out wide to Akahazzan, who cut along the by-line before cutting the ball back to Cooper, who took a touch before whipping in a cross from the right which found Cooper at the near post and he swept a shot towards goal from just eight-yards out, but the ball bounced off a defender and Thorp at his near post.

Eastbourne had a chance in the 21^st minute when Adam Davidson, who is now in his seventh season at the club, played the ball into Danny Curd’s feet, the striker’s left-footed shot from 20-yards was comfortably saved by Woodward.

Nwoko and Goldsmith were involved in a move before Cooper cut in from the right but he swept a low, left-footed shot, which was comfortably saved by the visiting keeper.

Sittingbourne-based Akhazzan, who had his back to goal, laid the ball back to Nwoko, who curled a right-footed shot around the far post from 20-yards, the corner of the Eastbourne penalty area.

But Bourne Park was stunned into silence when workmanlike Eastbourne Town grabbed the lead, totally against the run of play, with 44:22 on the clock.

Curd played a diagonal pass, which should have been cleared by left-back Jonathan Hogg, but he allowed the ball to bounce underneath him and Kirkwood drilled a low shot across the stranded Woodward into the bottom far corner with a clinical shot on the angle from fifteen-yards.

Seager said: “To come in behind and they were thinking how they were in front at half-time! 

“Like I say, we finished the first half badly, we started the second half poorly and set the tone for the first 15-20 minutes but then the goal (from Bradley Spice) gave us a massive lift.”

Things got worse for Sittingbourne when Eastbourne Town doubled their lead in the 53^rd minute, with their only piece of quality.

Right-back Luke Denton had time and space to whip in an excellent cross towards the penalty spot and an unmarked Geard powered his header across Woodward to find the far corner.

Sittingbourne defender Calum McGeehan cracked a speculative right-footed drive whistling wide of the post from 35-yards after Jonathan Hogg, Danny Moore and Nwoko combined in the 68^th minute.

But substitute Spice scored his 80^th career goal for Sittingbourne, scoring what turned out to be a consolation goal after fellow substitute Dan Palfrey was pushed just outside the box.

Faced with a four-man wall, Spice stepped up and stroked a right-footed free-kick from 25-yards, which he bent over the wall and curled the ball into the near corner, leaving Thorp rooted to the spot.

Seager said: “It’s great to see Bradley back on the pitch.  The thing is with Bradley he’s a great player and you just have to get him out on the pitch.  Bradley’s biggest problem is himself! He’s got to believe he’s a great player and he’s got to get himself fully fit because you can see what he does.  He looked a handful when he came on and you wouldn’t have thought he’d been out for long periods.

“Getting Bradley back will be like a new signing for the football club, so add them to the signings and another couple of signings may be added during the week, they can drive on.”

Seager added: “I could only see us going on from there but we kept going, the lads’ kept fighting.  The lads have learnt from it and we have talked about things and hopefully they can learn from their mistakes today and drive on.”

Sittingbourne pressed for the point that they deserved and 12-goal midfielder Joe Goldsmith should have scored against his former club in the final six minutes.

Woodward pumped a free-kick upfield with his right-foot and central defender Rob Lyall rose to head across the goal and Goldsmith ghosted in at the far post but he couldn’t apply the finish past Thorp whilst under pressure.

Seager praised the Sittingbourne number 8 by saying, “I thought Joe Goldsmith was excellent today. I left him out of the side at Hythe on Tuesday but he bounced back in the right way.  You want your ball players to get on the ball and express themselves and that’s the hardest I’ve seen him work today.”

Reflecting on his chance, Seager added: “The ball just didn’t quite come down for him but it was nice to see him get in the box and that’s what we want to see.  We want to see Joe get in the box and that’s what we’re trying to get the midfielders to do.”

Seager hands over the team back to Dowley for their trip to joint-top Dulwich Hamlet next Saturday and he said: “Joe would’ve learnt a lot from the game. There were a lot of positives for him to take on board.  I’m sure he will be the first to tell you himself that the team, the way it plays, the way it acts, the way it looks after itself is in a lot better position than what it was when he went away two weeks’ ago.  It’s a lot stronger, there’s new signings.”

Seager agrees that despite the club’s lowly position, Sittingbourne will be a Ryman League club next August.

He said: “Hopefully they can finish the season on a high and look forward to Ryman football next season.”

Sittingbourne: Adam Woodward, Luke Girt, Jonathan Hogg, Anthony Hogg (Dan Palfrey 63), Rob Lyall, Calum McGeehan, Ryan Cooper (Bradley Spice 62), Joe Goldsmith, Joe Nwoko, Hicham Akhazzan, Danny Moore.
Sub: Vince Holness

Goal:  Bradley Spice 73

Booked: Rob Lyall 62

Eastbourne Town: Kieron Thorp, Luke Denton (Neil Watts 72), Ryan Storrie, Nick Fogden, Matthew Geard (Dean Brooks 67), Steve May, Adam Davidson, Scott Kirkwood, Danny Curd, Sam Crabb, Ross Treleaven (Aaron Hopkinson 28).
Subs:  Danny Simmonds, Matthew Percival

Goals: Scott Kirkwood 45, Matthew Geard 53

Booked: Neil Watts 81

Attendance: 120
Referee:  Mr Andy Mead (Orpington)
Assistants: Mr Christopher Dodd (Eltham, London SE9) & Mr Peter Cruise (Sidcup)