Kentish Football 
Sittingbourne 2-0 Whitehawk - No one expected us to win, admits Joe Dowley
Sunday 08th January 2012
SITTINGBOURNE 2-0 WHITEHAWKRyman League Division One South
Saturday 7th January 2012
Stephen McCartney reports from Bourne Park
SITTINGBOURNE eased themselves twelve points clear of the relegation zone into fourteenth place in the Ryman League Division One South table with a shock victory over second-placed Whitehawk.
The Brighton-based side had beaten league leaders Bognor Regis Town 3-0 at home in their last game but they had no answer to Sittingbourne manager Joe Dowley’s excellent tactics.
Joe Nwoko, who ran his socks off as lone striker, gave the Kent side the lead in the 58th minute with their first shot on target, before player-coach Bryan Glover’s deflected free-kick sealed the points with twelve minutes left to end Sittingbourne’s run of seven games without a win.
Sittingbourne failed to score in their last three home games at Bourne Park but Dowley was a happy man after their six league win of the season puts them into midtable security.
Dowley admitted he was “over the moon” with his side’s resilient performance.
He said: “I’m pleased, well pleased because we had no right to get anything today before the game.
“They’re second in the league, they beat Bognor 3-0 last week so we knew we’d have our work cut out but I thought we were excellent especially second half. We knew they’d come at us after half-time but they didn’t really. I thought we deserved the win.”
Sittingbourne suffered an early blow as right-sided midfielder Jack Hooper was substituted inside the first three minutes through a knee injury that he picked up nine games ago against Hythe Town on 26 November.
Dowley said: “He’s been injured over Christmas, which is why he’s not been playing but he told me he was fit. He thought he was fit. He was fit in the warm-up, so if he’s fit I’m going to play him because he’s a good player but it’s just unfortunate for him really because he was enthusiastic and he wanted to play today.
“Obviously he’s not fit so he’ll have to go away and get fit but I thought Luke Girt who came on done well in a position which probably he’s not that used to. He’s more of a central midfielder but he done a job for me.”
Dowley immediately set out his stall to be defensively strong, leaving the impressive Nwoko working tirelessly up front on his own when he never stopped running and pressurised the Whitehawk back four.
Therefore, it was not a surprise when Whitehawk enjoyed plenty of possession but throughout the game their finishing was simply woeful.
Their first chance came inside seven minutes when Karley Akehurst snatched possession from Sittingbourne skipper Anthony Hogg inside the Brickies half and Ben Godfrey found Kyle Vassell, who hooked the ball across to Akehurst, whose right-footed hooked shot looped over from eighteen-yards.
Sittingbourne goalkeeper Matt Reed got his body behind Godfrey’s rasping right-footed drive from 30-yards as Whitehawk dominated, before several chances went begging.
A long ball was played over the top of the Sittingbourne defence and striker Sam Gargan flicked the ball on for Vassell to lay the ball off to Whitehawk skipper Paul Armstrong, whose right-footed drive from 22-yards whistled wide.
Then, James Fraser ghosted in at the far post to plant a header wide of Reed’s left-hand post after the home defence failed to clear Craig Richards’ throw.
With the patient Sittingbourne faithful still waiting for their first chance, Whitehawk missed a good one on the half-hour mark.
Godfrey made progress down the right and whipped in a low cross which was flicked on by Gargan and Vassell hooked wide of the near post from an acute angle.
But Whitehawk should have broken the deadlock in the 40th minute when central defender Stuart Tuck pumped forward a left-footed free-kick from inside his own half and Vassell stabbed the ball on to put Fraser through on goal but the striker swept his shot wide.
Sittingbourne almost snatched the lead with their only first half chance – timed at 45:20.
Nwoko lashed a right-footed angled drive from the right hand side, which sailed over Whitehawk keeper Chris Winterton, but the ball agonisingly bounced off the underside of the crossbar and bounced down into the lucky goalkeeper’s arms before it spun over the line.
Reflecting on a rather boring first half, Dowley explained that he couldn’t afford to play attacking football against Whitehawk today.
“They’re a good side, so we had to set up in a way to try and stop them playing,” explained the 28-year-old. “We’re not going to go out and be able to pass the ball and play them off the pitch. We had to try and defend properly and try and stop them playing, which I thought we did first half.
“If we came in at half-time 1-0 all well and good.”
Whitehawk manager Darren Freeman brought on Jerahl Hughes at the interval and the former Dover Athletic and Tonbridge Angels winger failed to get behind Sittingbourne right-back Ryan Cooper and Girt, doubling up.
Whitehawk were thwarted by Reed inside the opening three minutes when Gargan shrugged off the otherwise excellent Cedric Abraham and slipped the ball through to Vassell, whose right-footed shot was blocked by the keeper’s legs at the near post.
Godfrey was again thwarted by Reed, cracking a left-footed drive from 25-yards straight at the goalkeeper.
But Sittingbourne stunned the high-flying big-spenders as they took the lead in the 58th minute – their first goal at home for 339 minutes.
Jonathan Hogg played the ball inside to Joe Goldsmith, who released Nwoko, whose pace left central defender Tuck on his backside and the striker slotted a right-footed shot underneath Winterton and into the middle of the goal to the delight of the home faithful.
Nwoko, who was wearing florescent yellow and orange boots, received plenty of praise from Dowley following his second goal in only his third game for the club.
“He’s done really well since he’s come in,” Dowley said of the former Aveley striker.
“I’ve never seen him play before, he was Elie Kayembe’s friend, he brought him training one night back in November and he’s done really well. He’s done well again today.
“He played up there on his own today, which was hard and he had a lot of work to do. He’s a good, honest player. The way we played with one up front you need someone who is going to give you that for 90 minutes, which he did, and when he got the ball he looked dangerous.
“He’s got good pace, he’s got good touch. I’m pleased for Joe because he’s a good lad.
“It was a great finish. He took it well. He put the centre half on his backside and slotted it home, which was good, so I’m really pleased for him.”
Dowley praised keeper Reed for keeping the lead intact in the 63rd minute.
Godfrey’s driven cross form the right was flicked on by Gargan and Vassell seemed destined to score from four-yards but Reed dived low to his right to clutch the ball safely into his gloves on the goalline.
Dowley said: “I told him before the game if he keeps a clean sheet he’ll be getting extra money in his pay packet. He deserved it. It was a good save and we’re still in the game.”
That miss appeared to knock the stuffing out of Whitehawk as Sittingbourne missed a good chance when Hicham Akhazzan looped a shot high over the bar from 25-yards after Nwoko chased a lost cause down the right flank.
Sittingbourne wrapped up the shock victory with a slice of luck in the 78th minute.
After Akhazzan was brought to his knees, Glover stroked a right-footed free-kick from 28-yards towards goal, but someone in the wall stuck out his elbow and the ball deflected off it and the ball looped over a stranded Winterton and dropped into the bottom far corner.
“We deserved a bit of luck,” admitted Dowley, who has made 267 starting appearances for his home-town club.
“We haven’t had the luck. It’s hard sometimes, they say you make your own luck but I think over the last five or six games we haven’t had anything go for us, not to say we’ve deserved it, but we haven’t had anything go for us and that did.”
Whitehawk missed a couple of good chances late on but they couldn’t find a way past Reed and a defence excellently marshalled by Abraham.
Dowley said: “He (Abraham) was excellent today – but he hasn’t been and he’ll probably hold his hands up.
“That’s the first game that he’s played for me when I actually said he stood up for himself today which he needed to because he hasn’t been doing it. He didn’t lose a header, he didn’t lose a tackle. He was good. It makes a difference when you’ve got two centre halves who are doing that for you.”
Gargan sent a right-footed free-kick over from 19-yards after Girt tripped Hughes – before substitute Lee Newman’s deflected shot from eight-yards bounced on to the top of the crossbar and out to safety.
Today’s victory has eased the pressure off Dowley as the club had been looking over their shoulder during their miserable run of form.
Dowley said: “I don’t know what their budget is. I know myself all of their players’ are on good money, they’re still signing players and they’re looking to win it and get promoted so we weren’t expected to win today but it’s like any game in this league – if you do the basics right you’ll get results.
“When you haven’t won a game in seven you do start looking over your shoulder but I think we’re too good. We’ve got good players, good young players and we want to be looking forward and start climbing the league.
“I said to the players before today the worse thing is in January and February time when you have nothing to play for - you want to push on as high as we can.”
Sittingbourne: Matt Reed, Ryan Cooper, Dan Palfrey, Bryan Glover, Jonathan Hogg, Cedric Abraham, Hicham Akhazzan, Anthony Hogg, Joe Nwoko (Ryan Golding 88), Joe Goldsmith, Jack Hooper (Luke Girt 3).
Subs: Josh West, Luke Coleman, Ryan Palmer
Goals: Joe Nwoko 58, Bryan Glover 78
Booked: Anthony Hogg 67
Whitehawk: Chris Winterton, Craig Richards, Mark Knee, Paul Armstrong, Sami El-Abd, Stuart Tuck (Lee Newman 75), Ben Godfrey, Karley Akehurst (Jerahl Hughes 46), Sam Gargan, James Fraser (Joe Keehan 87), Kyle Vassell.
Subs: Sam Fisk, Marc Pullan
Booked: Paul Armstrong 43, Stuart Tuck 55
Attendance: 116
Referee: Mr Wade Norcott (Harlow, Essex)
Assistants: Mr David Gainsford (Basildon, Essex) & Mr Rhys Battye (Grays, Essex)
Red Dragon I.T. Ltd