Soccer Shorts: Corinthian unveil coach Matt Longhurst as their new manager

BEARSTED manager Tony Cornwell says he is relatively pleased with his side’s start to the Kent Invicta League season.

The Honey Lane outfit sit in third place in the table with 10 points from five games, a couple of points behind league leaders Hollands & Blair, who have won all four of their games.

Cornwell said: “We have had a tough start to our season in August with Bridon Ropes, Ashford United, Seven Acre & Sidcup, Phoenix Sports and Rusthall away amongst our early fixtures.

“Due to the early start to the season we have experienced a number of unavailabilities and also during this month also a number of minor injuries.

“I am relatively pleased to have secured 10 points from the 15 available, but feel circumstances against us resulted in dropping points against Phoenix Sports when in control of a six-pointer fixture.

“Early thoughts and form suggest Phoenix Sports, Ashford United, Hollands & Blair and Seven Acre & Sidcup together with us will be challenging for honours if form is anything to go by.”

Cornwell takes his side to Lewisham Borough tomorrow, a side who have picked up just one point from their opening three league games.  Lewisham Borough are now managed by former Charlton Athletic ace Willie O’Sullivan, but they are sitting in bottom place at present.

“Lewisham Borough have had a slow start to their season’s campaign with two losses and a draw to date and a new manager at the helm,” said Cornwell.

“We are taking one game at a time and know any away fixture is difficult and from experience Lewisham is not an easy place to visit and claim any easy three points.

“We are, however, confident if we play to our strengths we have enough ability in our squad to take the three valuable league points on offer.”

BROMLEY are staging a celebrity football match in September to raise the profile of fighting racism in football.

Hollywood actor and British film icon Tamer Hassan, of movies such as ‘The Football Factory’ and ‘The Business’ and British actor and Eastenders favourite Shane Richie, will take to the Hayes Lane pitch to Show Racism the Red Card.

Former Greenwich Borough chairman Hassan, whose son Taser plays for Ryman League Division One South side Hythe Town, will lead his new team ‘Tamer Hassan’s Celebrity XI ‘against ‘Shane Richie’s Celebrity XI’ to raise awareness for Show Racism the Red Card, the campaign that uses high profile footballers such as Luther Blisset, Jason Euell, Rio Ferdinand, Cesc Fàbregas and Sol Campbell to educate against racism.

The match will take place on Sunday, 23 September (1pm) at Bromley’s Hayes Lane ground, followed by a dinner and celebrity auction led by Tamer Hassan, with donations David Beckham, Salomon Kalou, Shane Richie, Luther Blisset, Rio Ferdinand, Darren Campbell and more.

Bromley owner Jerry Dolke told www.bromleyfc.net: "We are looking forward to welcoming Tamer Hassan and Butterfly PR to the home of Bromley Football Club, for what we see as a exiting working partnership, the whole aim is to support charities up and down the country while providing top class entertainment whilst having lots of fun.”

Donations from the event will go towards Show Racism the Red Card an anti-racism charity that produces anti-racism educational resources, which harness the high profile of professional footballers such to combat racism throughout society.

Ged Grebby, the chief executive of Show Racism the Red Card said: “Show Racism the Red Card welcome a new partnership with the actor Tamer Hassan and Butterfly PR. It’s an exciting development for Show Racism the Red Card and as well as being a new high profile partnership carries on a great tradition of actors supporting our events and aims.

“I look forward to working with Tamer and Butterfly PR on the upcoming celebrity match, which I’m sure, will help raise the profile of Show Racism the Red Card and help to combat discrimination in sport.”

Hassan’s ‘Tamer Celebrity XI’’ team Danny Dyer, Lucien Laviscount, Jeff Brazier, Kirk Norcross, Steve Collins, James Argent, Patrick Monahan, Chris Newman, George Riley, Jason Euell, Gavin Ramajaun, Mario Falcone, Darren Byfield plan to beat Shane Richie Celebrity XI’ players which include Jake Wood, Chuck Vern, Gary Lucy, Paul Canoville, Perry Fenwick, Clarke Carlisle, Greg Lake, Frank Sinclair, Thomas Law and Bradley Johnson, with more to be confirmed.

Actor, Hassan said: “I’m bringing together my celebrity team to raise media awareness and money for an incredible cause, combined with a sport I absolutely love. We promise to bring an entertaining game on the day.”

Actor, Richie added: “My team know how to put on a performance, we want to support an important campaign, so bring on the game on, my team are ready to entertain and bring home the cup."

Pre match tickets £10 Adults, £5 Under 12's and Seniors, £30 VIP Access are available at www.butterfly-pr.co.uk/LatestEvents where fans can purchase tickets at lower prices and to avoid disappointment. On the day general admissions tickets will be £15 for all. Dinner and celebrity auction tickets are £50.

CORINTHIAN have this week appointed Matt Longhurst as their new manager to replace Tony Sitford, who has been appointed director of football.

Longhurst, who has been at the Kent League club for two years as coach, takes charge of his first game away to Beckenham Town in the FA Carlsberg Vase First Qualifying Round tomorrow.

Longhurst said: “I’ve been at the club for two seasons now and seen us finish tenth and then seventh and reached the club’s first ever Senior Cup Final and witnessed the emergence of some fine young players through the youth and reserve teams.

“My beliefs on the way the team plays match that of the club’s and so it’s been an enjoyable time over the last season seasons.

“Tony and Bonze, the chairman, sat down with me this week and have said that they’d like me to take over as manager as progress for myself and obviously I’d like to eventually work at a much higher level.

“Tony has moved to director of football and I’ve taken the manger’s role, but little will change with our roles anyway, except the buck now stops with me, good, bad or indifferent, but that’s fine with me.”

Corinthian travel to Eden Park Avenue sitting in the bottom five in the Kent League table, with one win from their opening four games.  Jason Huntley’s Beckenham Town side, however, lie in fifth-place with three wins out of four.

Longhurst said: “Beckenham away is always a tough fixture.   They’ve got some great players with the lad Jamie Turner in midfield and Danny Tipple and Nathan Paul, possibly the best full-backs in the Kent League and Alfie Nunn has already scored seven goals, so it’s going to be a tough test.

“We’ll be organised, we’ll play good football the right way. We’ll certainly work hard for each other, all the basic essentials for any team really.

“Can we win the game? Yes, I think we can!  I wouldn’t be a very good manger if I was putting a team out I didn’t believe in, would I?”

Longhurst says his side have worked hard on the training ground this week as they bid to secure the victory to set up a home tie against Wick in the next round on 15 September – and £500 in prize money.

“These lads work their socks off every week, trying to improve after Monday’s loss to Canterbury with 10 men.  Some of them came in Tuesday to work on things in a small group and some did extra sharpness work as they felt they lacked that.

“Last night we have worked on our shape and set pieces and I cannot fault the players’ effort, desire and attitude, things that will help them go on to better things.”

GREENWICH BOROUGH boss Gerry Cox has today confirmed that his side will face Ryman Premier League side Cray Wanderers on Sunday, 9 September (3pm) when the two sides lock horns in the FA Cup First Qualifying Round.

Boro’ may be third from bottom in the Kent League, with three points from as many games, but they have a good record in the Cups. They came away from Hailsham Town with a 4-2 win in the Preliminary Round and Akim Hanson scored the only goal of the game in their midweek replay win at Sidley United after the two sides played a 2-2 draw at Oakley Road.

Greenwich Borough make the trip to Herne Bay on Sunday to face sixth-placed Canterbury City in the FA Carlsberg Vase, but Cox retains his stance about not taking to the media, although I doubt that will not be the case if Sky Sports ever thrust a camera in his face!

Cox, who is manager and club secretary, did issue this statement ahead of the First Qualifying Round game against Simon Austin’s Canterbury City on Sunday. “Just read your report on Sunday’s game. For the record Greenwich Borough FC are not cash strapped as you say. We are financially sound despite the persistent rumours putting us down and only adds to the reasons why I don’t wish to comment on ANY websites as to what goes on at Greenwich Borough Football Club.”

The club, who play at Holmesdale’s Oakley Road ground in Bromley, have banked £2,750 from their FA Cup run so far, with another £500 up for grabs if they knock out Canterbury City in the FA Vase, and a further £3,000 if they cause a FA Cup giant killing by knocking out Ian Jenkins’ Cray Wanderers side.

HERNE BAY assistant manager Hugo Langton says he is looking forward to their home Kent derby against Sittingbourne tomorrow.

Both Kent sides had contrasting FA Cup results last weekend with Herne Bay losing 3-1 at home to Folkestone Invicta, while Sittingbourne defeated Burnham 2-1.

Langton, who teamed up with Simon Halsey at Winch’s Field in the summer said: “Jim Ward’s sides are always strong and competitive. They’ve had a solid start to the season, including a good win against Burnham in the FA Cup, who I know are a decent side.

“But we need to focus on ourselves.  We’re pleased with our League performances so far.  The players know they need to be competitive in every game, to work hard and then hopefully the quality we’ve got in our side will shine through.

“Since I’ve been at the club I’ve been impressed with the players’ never-say-die attitude and their strong desire to do well for each other.

“Simon Halsey has been and is doing a fantastic job at the club and the fact that the players’ attitudes are spot on is credit to Simon’s work over the last few years.”

KENT FOOTBALL United manager Sam MacNeil has today unveiled the double signing of former Erith & Belvedere midfielder, Adrian Deane, 29 and Dan Willis, who has previously played for Thamesmead Town, Erith Town, Erith & Belvedere and VCD Athletic.

RAMSGATE boss Tim Dixon admits “it’s been an up and down start to the campaign”.

The Rams have a 50% record from their opening two Ryman League Division One South games so far this season so far, but they slumped to a 5-2 defeat away to Southern League side Godalming Town in the FA Cup last weekend.

Dixon, who took over from Jim Ward towards the end of last season, takes his side to Burgess Hill Town tomorrow.

Reflecting on their campaign so far, Dixon said: “In the first league game away to Dulwich, our goalkeeper was sent off after 40 seconds so needless to say, the rest of the game was an uphill battle and resulted in a 3-0 defeat.

“The second half response from the team was very good and they kept a clean sheet on the hottest day of the year and worked tremendously hard.

“This was followed with a well-deserved 2-0 home win against a very attack minded Faversham Town team before losing 5-2 away to Godalming in the FA Cup, a game in which we should have been two or three nil up early in the game.”

Dixon says he is looking for a positive response at Burgess Hill tomorrow.

“This weekend requires a good response from the team after the disappointing exit from the Cup,” he said.

“Any away day in Sussex over the years is very difficult and this will be no different as The Hillians have had an indifferent start to the season as well and will be looking to bounce back from a couple of defeats to build on their 2-2 draw away to Hythe on Monday.”

Ben Laslett and Adam Slegg return to the side after family commitments and a couple of players who had minor injuries have been able to rest this week so there are no injury concerns.

Goalkeeper Danny Twyman comes back into the squad as Ashley Bourne is suspended, following his early red card at Champion Hill on day one.

Dixon added: “I’m still hoping to make a couple of additions to the current squad to give us more of a chance this year but they need to be the right type of player and person.

“Being new to management, I’m still building on the good job that Jim Ward has done over the years, but I’m gradually getting things done the way I like them done and in my assistant manager Darren Beale and the very well respected first team coach Steve Nolan, I feel we have most things in place to push the club in the right direction.”

Dixon added: “It’s been a strange start to the league campaign for many clubs results wise and I think this highlights the fact that most teams have managed to improve their squads since last year making the Ryman South even more competitive this season.

“With this in mind, Ramsgate need to keep in touch with the leaders and taking first steps in doing this by securing three points on Saturday.

“The lads have been playing good football and need to build on this to get a winning mentality back in the side because it’s a good habit to get into and enables you to gain a bit of momentum, which every manager is looking for.”

SEVEN ACRE & SIDCUP manager Chris Tuley has home advantage for their Kent Invicta League game against Dartford based side Crown Alexandra. The game will kick-off at 11:30am and will be played at Oxford Road, Sidcup, which is Cray Wanderers’ former home.

Crown Alexandra were playing in the fourth-tier (third division) of the South London Alliance last season and have played only two away league games this season because their ground in Dartford is not ready to host Kent Invicta League football.

Tuley said: “Looking forward to it, but not 100% sure what to expect from Crown. We sent a select eleven to play them in pre-season and won convincingly. I would have thought they would have strengthened since then so I’m expecting a tough game. No one in this league will roll over for you!

“I believe they have some issues with their ground and the League have asked us to assist and play their home fixture at our place so that will be a bit out the norm and with an 11:30am kick-off it will be a bit strange but we will prepare the same as we do for every game we play. We are looking to continue improving and get a positive performance and result.”

Meanwhile, Seven Acre & Sidcup’s Veterans will play their counterparts from Cray Wanderers on Sunday (1:30pm). The Oxford Road battle is free to watch.

The Wands’ squad will consist of current manager Ian Jenkins and former players, including David Gray, Jamie Kempster and Ian Rawlings.

TONBRIDGE ANGELS boss Tommy Warrilow says he wants to start climbing the table by picking up points against Basingstoke Town at Longmead Stadium tomorrow.

The Angels are in the bottom four in Blue Square Bet South after picking up only two points from their opening four league games.

Basingstoke Town finished in fifth-place last season after going on an impressive run of form towards the end of the season, but their promotion hopes were ended as they lost twice in the play-offs to Dartford.

Looking ahead of the game, Warrilow said: “Another tough one, they reached the play-off’s last year.”

Warrilow explained why he loves managing in Conference South, instead of the Ryman Premier League.

“Like I said, I wouldn’t swap it for the world. I love the teams we’re playing against. I love coming to the nice pitches and the nice stadiums.”

WELLING UNITED player-manager Jamie Day takes his side to Woking tomorrow looking to avoid a draw against Hayes & Yeading United. The unbeaten Wings have drawn three of their first four league games in Blue Square Bet South and lie in seventh-place in the table, a couple of places above tomorrow’s opponents.

Day said: “It will be a very difficult game against a good side that will cause us problems if we don’t perform to the level that is required. We are still unbeaten and had a steady start. We have probably had one draw too many but we’re looking forward to Saturday and hopefully get a decent result.”

Welling United, who reached the play-off final last season but lost to Dartford in front of a full-house at Princes Park in May, welcome Eastbourne Borough to Park View Road next Tuesday (7:45pm) and Staines Town on Saturday, 8 September, where current season ticket holders of clubs in the Premier League and the three divisions of the Football League on production of a valid season ticket can take advantage of reduced admission prices for the game against Staines: £7 (adults), £5 (concessions), £1 (all kids, under 12s with an adult).

All adults and concessions who pay the club’s usual admission prices next Saturday will receive a discount voucher for the home match against Hayes & Yeading United on 8 December. Discounted prices will be £7 (adults), £5 (over 60’s and under 16’s).