Kentish Football 
Thamesmead Town 0-2 Hendon - The whole place just needs a lift, says Mead boss Keith McMahon
Wednesday 30th March 2011
THAMESMEAD TOWN 0-2 HENDON
London Senior Cup (Sponsored by Coventry Scaffolding (London) Limited) Quarter-Final
Wednesday 30th March 2011
Stephen McCartney reports from Bayliss Avenue
THAMESMEAD TOWN may be out of the London Senior Cup - but manager Keith McMahon revealed some positive news concerning the delayed development of Bayliss Avenue.
Two first half goals - courtesy of mistakes by Richard Avery and goalkeeper Sam Mott - ensured that it was Ryman Premier League side Hendon who earn a lucrative trip to Blue Square Bet Premier giants AFC Wimbledon in the semi-finals of the London Senior Cup.
But McMahon said: “Work is starting again this week. We’ve got a new builder in. The Trust (Trust Thamesmead) have had to front up another £700,000, which they have, which shows how committed they are to the community, which is brilliant and they are hoping for it to all be completed by September.”
McMahon continued, “As much as it looks like there’s a lot to be done, it’s not as much as you might think. It will be great in the close season, new drainage is being done on the pitch as well and the start of next season this place will look completely different as it looks now, which is like a bomb’s hit it! It will be great once it’s done!
“The delay has taken a lot out of all of us, players, management, committee. It is difficult when you come here and the balls going over (the fence) and they have to jump in holes and things like that but we knew that from day one.
“We’ve done well to stay where we are as it goes. We could’ve gone and groundshared and who knows what could’ve happened - but we didn’t.
“We just have to put up with it but it’s good news for everyone, especially for us, for training because we haven’t had anywhere to train all year. It will be a massive plus for us for the start of next season.”
McMahon hopes everything is finished in time so he can prepare for next season.
“There will be other bits that will be ready beforehand hopefully,” he said. “This place (the current clubhouse) will be completely flattened so I expect us to maybe be in the new building for pre-season, fingers crossed and touch wood nothing else happens, but the luck we’ve had on the site at the moment anything could happen.
“The whole place just needs a lift and a little bit of luck and hopefully this will be it, so fingers crossed.”
With average gates of just 56 - only 42 watched tonight’s Cup tie against higher league Hendon - McMahon hopes the re-development will improve things for the better at Bayliss Avenue.
“We’ve got good players in our squad and they’ve come down because of what’s happening,” explained McMahon, who praised the patience being shown by everybody at the club.
He said: “The committee here are just unbelievable. How they’re putting up with this and working, everyone’s doing what needs to be done.
“But when the players look over there and see nothing’s being done and hearing that builder’s have gone bust, people ask me that they’ve heard the football club’s going to fold next year because it feels like nothing’s happening. Nothing can be more positive what’s going to happen to the football club here.”
Thamesmead - with only five points out of the 33 available since the New Year which has seen them slide down the Ryman League Division One North table from second to fifteenth - were the better side for the opening 20 minutes, against a Hendon side that made only three changes to the side that were defeated by Canvey Island just 48 hours earlier.
Both sides played with a 3-5-2 formation, but Thamesmead Town took the game to the north Londoners and they called visiting keeper James Reading into action early.
Ashley Probets’ swung in a delicious free-kick towards a crowded goal-mouth and the ball bounced off a Hendon head and Reading did well to tip the ball over his crossbar.
Marcus Perona and Harrison Carnigi both released leading goalscorer Andy Constable, but the Thamesmead striker lashed a couple of shots over the Hendon crossbar from outside of the penalty box.
Yet another excellent Probets free-kick caused Hendon problems, but this time Nick Davis steered his header across Reading and past the far post from a very tight angle.
Hendon wasted their first opportunity when Jamie Busby cut a left-wing corner back to skipper Scott Cousins, who skied a first-time shot over the crossbar from 25-yards.
But Hendon grabbed the lead, with their first shot on target, against the run of play, after 19 minutes.
Hendon swiftly attacked and McMahon blamed Richard Avery (who plays on the right hand side of a three man defence) for allowing Aaron Morgan’s pass to find Busby unmarked inside the box and he swept a left-footed shot across Mott, into the bottom right-hand corner.
McMahon said: “We didn’t go with our runners and the ball’s got played and Richard Avery - if he thinks about it, he should’ve cleared his lines - and he’s basically fell over and he’s miss-kicked it and it’s gone through to the fella so yes, he’s gone through but normally Richard would’ve cleared that.”
Despite that set-back, Thamesmead attacked and Probets’ teed up a chance for Carnigi, who stung Reading’s fingers with a right-footed drive from 35-yards.
Worst was to follow for Thamesmead, as a blunder from Mott gifted Hendon a second goal after 27 minutes, which effectively killed off the game.
Morgan shrugged off the attentions of Davis and slipped the ball through for Dave Diedhiou, who appeared to have lost the race with Mott, who advanced to the right-hand corner of his penalty box, and slid in to grab hold of the ball, only to inexplicably let loose his grip and gift the ball to the Hendon number two, who cut inside and rolled the ball into an empty net with his right-foot.
“Listen, Sam’s been brilliant for us all year,” said McMahon.
“The ball’s come over the top and he’s called and he’s got there and I think he’s just taken his eye of the ball and he’s had it in his hands and he’s let it go through.
“Listen, I can’t knock him. He’s the best goalkeeper in our league by a distance and he’s been brilliant so he’s entitled to one mistake. I haven’t got a problem with that.”
Thamesmead weren’t getting any luck, an example of this arrived just after the second goal.
Probets whipped in a hanging cross from the left, which was dropped by Reading whilst under pressure from Constable, but the ball bounced behind the 13-goal striker and Casey Maclaren, who was standing goal-side of Constable, hacked the ball off the line.
Mott made amends for his earlier error when he made a reaction save at his near post (picking the ball up in front of his legs) to prevent James Parker sweeping the ball in at the near post, following a right-wing corner.
“I thought we done quite well to be honest,” said McMahon.
“I thought we started the game really, really well. I think we were fantastic in the first twenty minutes until they scored. We just got done by two mistakes.
“Sam’s was a bad mistake but we should’ve dealt with it but I thought we made a good response in the second half.
“I thought we were the better side in the second half. We were a bit unlucky.”
Thamesmead failed to trouble the Hendon keeper during the second half, but they did enjoy plenty of possession and right wing-back Raphael Momodu linked up well with the attack on many occasions.
Carnigi picked out Raphael Momodu with a delightful diagonal pass in the 53rd minute, but all he could do was smash a right-footed drive past the near post after shrugging off his marker.
The small band of Hendon followers had to wait until the 62nd minute for their next opportunity as Cousins teed up a free-kick for Kevin Maclaren to crack a right-footed driven shot from 35-yards, which was tipped over by Mott.
However, the final ten minutes produced a flurry of goal-mouth action.
A move involving Hendon substitute Danny Dyer and Busby set up a chance for James Burgess and his left-footed driven shot forced Mott into saving low at his near post.
Hendon then squandered a good chance when two substitutes combined. Dyer’s cross from the by-line was headed over by an unmarked Bradley Ambrose when well placed.
Thamesmead’s best chance of the half arrived to Constable, who met Raphael Momodu’s cross from the right with a glancing header, which bounced agonisingly wide.
And at the death, Ambrose released Busby, but his low right-footed drive was saved low by the Thamesmead keeper.
McMahon added: “I thought we had all the pressure. I thought they hit us on the break. I was happy. We just needed a bit of luck in their box. That’s what we’ve been missing at the moment.
“But overall, the performance, I was quite pleased. We’ve got a little fight back but two mistakes cost us. I’m not disappointed, they’re a league above us but the first twenty minutes I don’t think you would’ve seen that. It looked the other way. We have turned the corner. We just need a bit of luck now.”
McMahon expressed his thoughts on missing out on a lucrative trip to play AFC Wimbledon in the semi-finals.
“For the club that’s massive, but you don’t look in front,” he explained. “You look at the game you’re playing. If it happens, then you take it. Obviously we’re slightly disappointed. I’m more disappointed as we’ve lost a game, not who we’re going to play in the next round.
He added: “We’re sort of playing fairly well recently and we have a little bit of a buzz about us, a little bit more of a snap, which I thought we did today.
“We made them (Hendon) really work and if you watched the game at the beginning you would’ve thought we were the better side.
“Second half their keeper didn’t have (to save) loads of chances but the ball was mainly in their last third and they hit us on the break when we were really pushing forward.
“I thought Raphael and Gabriel, again, looked very lively, caused them problems so we’ve got to take the positives out of that. Two mistakes have cost us but we’ve held our own.”
Thamesmead Town: Sam Mott, Raphael Momodu, Ashley Probets, Danny Moore, Nick Davis, Richard Avery, Marcus Perona, Lea Dawson, Andy Constable, Gabriel Momodu, Harrison Carnigi (Jake Burnham 71).
Subs: Adriano Lawson, George Stollery, Scot Mulholland, Danny Wells.
Hendon: James Reading, Dave Diedhiou (Rakatahr Hudson 63), Casey Maclaren, James Parker, Kevin Maclaren, Eddie Munnelly, James Burgess, Greg Ngoyi (Danny Dyer 76), Aaron Morgan (Bradley Ambrose 63), Jamie Busby.
Subs: Belai Aite-Ouakrim, Michael Peacock
Goals: Jamie Busby 19, Dave Diedhiou 27
Booked: Jamie Busby 67, Casey Maclaren 89
Attendance: 42
Referee: Mr Ben Wright (Walworth, London SE17)
Assistants: Mr Peter Georgiou (Tooting, London SW17) & Mr Alex Gray (Westminster, London SW1)
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