Kentish Football 
VCD Athletic 2-0 Waltham Abbey - I think we've got a chance to do it, says VCD boss Tony Russell
VCD ATHLETIC 2-0 WALTHAM ABBEY
Ryman League Division One North
Saturday 28th December 2013
Stephen McCartney reports from Oakwood
VCD ATHLETIC manager Tony Russell says his team can hold their nerve to have a chance of winning the Ryman League Division One North title at the end of the season.
The Crayford-based club moved five points clear of Thurrock – who come to Oakwood on New Year’s Day – following their comfortable 2-0 win over thirteenth-placed Waltham Abbey.
Ever-present goalkeeper Nick Blue kept his eighth clean sheet of the season as strikers Sherwin Stanley and Uche Ibemere scored either side of half-time to secure the club’s seventeenth league win in 22 league games.
VCD Athletic were without Stuart Zanone, 28, who was sold for an undisclosed transfer fee to Southern Counties East Football League side Greenwich Borough after the striker scored three goals in seventeen appearances for the club.
The Abbotts arrived in Kent on the back of a 2-0 win away to Burnham Ramblers on Boxing Day, whilst the Vickers sealed a comfortable 1-0 win at third-from-bottom Erith & Belvedere, which was the Deres’ ninth defeat on the bounce.
“It’s hard when you play those two games in such a short space of time – you can’t play at full capacity in both,” said Russell, 35.
“We done enough to win the game, probably maybe a little bit more.
“I said to them after that I was pleased with that because I think we still could have picked them off and scored a few more being ultra-critical but they’re a good side to be fair. They’ve got some good results so they’re no mugs.
“We’ve done a job on them and done the double over them now so I’m well happy.”
Waltham Abbey created the first opening inside the opening seven minutes when Louis Bristow – who was one of three midfielders – swept his left-footed shot across Blue and past the far post from 25-yards.
The Essex side’s best chance of the entire game, however, arrived in the 18th minute.
Midfielder Joe Pearman swung a free-kick into the penalty area and left-back Andrew West ghosted in to glance a header straight at Blue, who caught the ball at head height.
VCD Athletic took 28 minutes to create their first shot when bearded midfielder Karl Dent slipped a pass through to Stanley, who lost composure and blasted his shot over the bar from just inside the corner of the penalty box.
“I said to Razor (Ray Powell) in the warm-up, I sensed it was a bit lethargic and they were all a bit jovial – you could just tell.
“I said before the game don’t come into a game and let it be because you haven’t put the effort in – that’s the reason why you don’t win a game and for 20 minutes it was a bit like we attack, you attack and we attack, which is not great.
“It works sometimes but in the long-term you don’t put runs together like that but once we got going we just upped the tempo a little bit and started moving the ball a bit quicker although we didn’t really have a shot for really 20 minutes.
“The pressure was coming, the balls were coming into the box. It was just that little pass or little bit of quality into the box, but you could see there were going deeper and they were giving it back.
“That’s what we do, we wear teams down. I could see we were starting to wear them down and once we got going I was really confident.”
Waltham Abbey went close when striker Ayrton Coley cut inside to drill a right-footed shot towards goal from 22-yards, which deflected just over the crossbar.
But Vickers upped their game after that chance and finished the first half in a dominant fashion.
Left-back Lee Craig progressed down the channel before playing the ball to Dent, who cut the ball back to James Duckworth who crossed the ball towards the far post and Ibemere knocked the ball down and visiting keeper Ben Barnes smothered the ball at Stanley’s feet inside the six-yard box.
VCD Athletic’s best chance to open the scoring, however, came from a set-piece after 34 minutes.
Duckworth floated in a corner from the right and Stanley sent his header down and Barnes made a comfortable save.
Moments later, midfielder Peter Smith played the ball into Stanley, whose right-footed drive from 19-yards bounced once into Barnes’ gloves.
Another chance went begging for the Kent side when Dent dragged his shot harmlessly wide of the goal and Stanley did well to retrieve the ball on the by-line to cut the ball back to Duckworth, who cut inside Waltham Abbey right-back Matt Attard to blast his right-footed shot over the bar from eighteen-yards.
But VCD Athletic opened the scoring in the 41st minute when Stanley scored his 12th goal of the season and his 32nd in 43 career appearances in 12 months at the club.
Duckworth whipped in a corner from the right and Stanley powered his header into the roof of the net from eight-yards.
Russell said: “He’s been through a bit of a lean spell and he scored against Erith & Belvedere. It done him a world of good. He should have scored a hat-trick today, when he had one in the box that dropped to him three-yards out and the other one when he smashed it over the bar.
“But he’s a good player. It’s what he brings as well, the hold-up play, he’s got a good presence, he’s played at levels and he understands he’s big for us.”
Russell was pleased that work on the training pitch paid off today.
He said: “I want to work on things. It just gives the boys that little bit extra what we can give them. If my input can just give 1% more of a chance then I will do that, watching games or putting sessions on, patterns of play or working on set-pieces. It’s nice when it comes off."
VCD Athletic were to be denied a comfortable 3-0 lead at the break as assistant referee Valentine Anekwe twice raised his flag inside the last couple of minutes.
Russell said: “Smudger’s adamant his goal was never offside when he flicked it and Smudger came round the back and volleyed it in!”
VCD Athletic had another goal chalked off when Barnes dived low to his right to parry Dent’s left-footed drive and Stanley was flagged offside by the time he steered the loose ball into the net.
“We’ve had enough chances,” said Russell. “I can always get a feel and I thought we just needed to have another good ten minutes to just pressure them and I thought we could pick them off.”
Russell complained about having to play two games in 48 hours.
He said: “Razor said at half-time it’s hard to ask of them to play that with that much effort. They’re semi-professional players, they train twice a week. They’re heavy pitches at the moment and we know that as well.
“First half we didn’t put a great shift in. I thought second half we put a great shift in. We pressed them and we didn’t give them nothing.”
Russell, meanwhile, was full of praise for Smith, who deserved his man-of-the-match award.
The manager said: “He’s been brilliant. When I came to VCD, after a few months he left Erith Town for whatever reason and he asked me to come down. I had a couple of decent midfielders (Dean Carpenter and Dent). I said to him he might struggle.
“Don’t get me wrong, he’s always been good at Erith but I didn’t think he’d be quite good enough but I said to him he’s more than welcome to come down.”
Russell admitted the move has paid off.
“His levels of performance have gone through the roof! I didn’t think it was possible! He’s a much better player now than he was a year or so ago, now he’s playing with Dean Carpenter and the likes of Denty.
“He does the ugly stuff for us just so well. He senses danger but just on the ball as well his quality is good.
“If we stopped it now and done a vote for player-of-the-season it will be either him or Barney Williams (the right-back). He’s been superb and he’s a top man as well.”
Smith almost scored his sixth goal of the season in the 48th minute when he received the ball from Duckworth and cracked a right-footed shot from 25-yards, which deflected narrowly over the crossbar and landed on top of the roof of the net.
VCD Athletic wrapped up the game as early as the 54th minute following a sweeping move which started from the back.
Reeves played a diagonal pass to pick out Duckworth on the left, who played the ball inside to Dent, who swept the ball out to Ibemere on the right.
Ibemere cut inside Andrew West, played the ball inside to Dent at the near post, who flicked a pass back into Ibemere’s path.
Ibemere flicked shot was blocked by Barnes low to his right but the striker latched onto the loose ball and swept the ball into the bottom near corner.
Russell was particularly pleased with the statistic that all of his outfield players that started today’s game have scored at least a goal this season.
“We’ve just got Uche back. He left us and went to Dartford and we were delighted for him. He sort of went to Cray Wanderers then he went to Thamesmead and never really settled anywhere so we finally got him back.
“He hasn’t been great but we knew it would take time to get back to speed but today he showed glimpses of that.
“It was a great goal, from the back, eight passes later the ball’s in the goal.
“We can highlight the goal but there were four or five other moves that could have ended in the same thing. We’re consistently doing what we want. If we keep doing that, as we have done this season, we’ll be alright.”
Waltham Abbey created a couple of chances inside the last 20 minutes, without testing Blue in the Vickers goal.
Target-man Loren Maxwell played the ball inside to Bristow, who took a touch before cracking a right-footed drive sailing harmlessly wide from 30-yards, before Bristow released Coley, who danced his way into the penalty area but poked his shot comfortably wide of the left-hand post.
A pass from Stanley released substitute Enoch Adjei down the right channel before the winger whipped in a cross towards the near post where Duckworth’s bullet header was tipped over by Barnes’ outstretched left hand for the save of the match. Unfortunately assistant Chris Myatt had raised his flag for offside.
Vickers missed a good chance with 12 minutes to go, again from a corner.
Duckworth’s corner dropped at Stanley’s feet in a crowded goal-mouth, who cut the ball back to Reeves who produced a defenders finish by clipping his left-footed shot harmlessly wide of the left-hand post.
The Abbott’s squandered an excellent chance to pull a goal back inside the final four minutes but Maxwell planted his header wide after substitute Tom Bruno whipped in a free-kick from the right.
Russell was delighted with the clean sheet and explained: “We can make teams look pretty ordinary because we’re passing the ball and they’re chasing you so much that in the last 25 minutes of a game they’re out on their feet because all they’ve done is chase the ball.
“Bluey spent most of his time just playing keep ball at the back but that’s what we work on. It’s just a way we’re committed to playing and so far it’s going alright for us.”
Duckworth had the final chance of the game when he cut inside and powered a right-footed shot straight at Barnes from 25-yards.
The Vickers can now look forward to a top-of-the-table clash against Thurrock, who are managed by former Gillingham boss Mark Stimson.
The Fleet were held to a 1-1 draw on the plastic pitch at Harlow Town today to put Russell’s side the advantage in the title race.
“I think we’ve got a chance,” said Russell. “I’ve seen it now. I think we’ve got more than enough in our squad to do it. I don’t think it will be down to nerves because if you look at last year at Christmas we couldn’t lose another game and we didn’t so they didn’t bottle it but there’s some good sides.
“Thurrock are coming off a steam train. They’ve got a really big wage bill and they’re a big side so they’ll be a hard game.”
Meanwhile, today’s attendance drew a crowd of 96 – which was the club’s fourth highest of the season – despite Dartford’s home game against Woking falling victim to a waterlogged pitch at nearby Princes Park.
Russell wants more people to watch his side, who have scored 64 goals in 22 league games.
He said: “We can’t do no more, winning games of football and playing good football, so from our point of view, I think we’re the top goalscorers in the league. We can’t really do much more.”
VCD Athletic: Nick Blue, Barney Williams, Lee Craig, Nick Reeves, Ben Payne, Peter Smith, Dean Carpenter (Greg Moorse-Macdougall 66), Karl Dent (Enoch Adjei 66), Sherwin Stanley (Ray Powell 84), James Duckworth, Uche Ibemere.
Subs: Joe Matthews, Connor Taylor
Goals: Sherwin Stanley 41, Uche Ibemere 54
Booked: Karl Dent 45
Waltham Abbey: Ben Barnes, Matt Attard, Andrew West (Chris Sargent 82), Matt Bedford, Christian Wheeler, Jack Deveney, James Peagram (Darelle Russell 56), Joe Pearman (Tom Bruno 56), Ayrton Coley, Loren Maxwell, Louis Bristow.
Subs: Billy Densham, Lee Scott
Booked: Chris Sargent 89
Attendance: 96
Referee: Mr Aji Ajibola (Erith)
Assistants: Mr Chris Myatt (Dartford) & Mr Valentine Anekwe (Bromley)
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