Welling United 0-1 Eastbourne Borough - We lacked belief - admits disappointed Day

Saturday 12th December 2009

WELLING UNITED 0-1 EASTBOURNE BOROUGH
FA Carlsberg Trophy First Round
Saturday 12th December 2009
Stephen McCartney reports from Park View Road

CUP-TIED Welling United player-manager Jamie Day believes a lack of belief from his side was to prove their downfall as they were knocked out of the FA Carlsberg Trophy by a workmanlike Eastbourne Borough side.

Eastbourne, a part-time outfit struggling in the bottom five in the Blue Square Premier, won the game courtesy of a 20th minute strike from lone striker Liam Enver-Marum and then shut up shop, frustrating the Kent side on a bitterly cold day.

“I think they were workmanlike,” Day told www.kentishfootball.co.uk following the dull first round encounter.

“I think the first twenty minutes we didn’t come out of the blocks and we got caught cold with a goal.

“After that, I thought we were in control of the game, without having loads of chances, but second half I don’t remember them having a chance at our goal.

“I’m just disappointing for us and our lads, if we had believed in ourselves a little bit more we could’ve got something from this game.”

Eastbourne, playing a negative 4-5-1 formation, came to Park View Road with the main intention off keeping things tight and their best opportunities - other than the goal - came from headers.

Two glancing headers from Enver-Marum and central defender Ben Austin bounced just wide inside the opening eleven minutes, following set-pieces.

The only time that the east Sussex side played any decent football, was when they scored the only goal of the game, after 20 minutes.

Dan Smith’s through ball cut open the central defensive pairing of Graeme Andrews and Jack Parkinson and Enver-Marum latched onto the ball.

The tall striker was twice thwarted by keeper Charlie Mitten, who used his legs and hands to deny him, but the ball broke free and the striker stabbed the ball into an empty net from just three yards out.

Smith was booked for a challenge on Loui Fazakerly in the corner and the winger headed Tony Finn’s resulting free-kick wide.

But Welling United were left to rue their best chance of the game after 27 minutes.

Right-back Andy Sambrook floated in a cross, which was missed by two central defenders and their goalkeeper, and the ball dropped for Andrews, who snatched at the chance, and agonisingly blasted the ball over with his right boot from just six-yards.

Enver-Marum worked some magic inside the Welling penalty area, losing possession and winning it back, cutting in and was denied by an alert Mitten at his near post, beating the fierce drive out for a corner.

But this game never really got going as Welling didn’t get any change out of a well-drilled and organised Eastbourne side.

Both keepers were called upon early in the second half; left-back Neil Jenkins joining an Eastbourne attack to drill an angled drive, which forced Mitten into making a comfortable low save.

Andy Pugh’s one and only chance of the game arrived after 53 minutes, when he was released down the inside left channel and after cutting in, his low angled drive, across keeper Danny Knowles, was turned around the post by the former Welling man.

Eastbourne should have doubled their lead in the 65th minute when Smith’s cross from the left found Jamie Taylor, who made space for himself inside the penalty area, but he headed down and past the far post.

Welling’s last remaining efforts came from distance as both Michael Deane and Fazakerley tried their luck with 35-yard drives but Knowles produced a flying save to tip Deane’s effort around the post, and then kept his eyes on the ball when Fazakerley got his whole body behind his fierce drive, which moved in the air, before kneeling down to save comfortably in the end.

Eastbourne were content to run down the clock with blatant time wasting and soaked up all the pressure that the Wings threw at them, and the final whistle brought a realisation that Eastbourne were there for the taking - had Welling treated their higher league opponents with less respect - and went for the kill.

Day, meanwhile, was disappointed with the way that Eastbourne played, which makes losing to such a boring side even harder to take.

He said: “They came and got a goal and they just sat back and let us put pressure on them and didn’t really cause us any problems.

“I’m disappointed we haven’t got something from the game, but we’ve now got to learn from that and take it on back into the league.”

Day continued, “I can’t hide the fact I’m disappointed that we’ve gone out because like you said if it was a decent team that’s took us apart I could accept that.

“But I think what’s let us down today was we didn’t believe in ourselves and believe from the off that we could beat them.

“I think it took us a good thirty minutes to actually think we could get something from this game. We huffed and puffed and unfortunately we didn’t get anything from it.

“I said to them before the game it’s a winnable game, but we didn’t start as we finished and we’ve been caught out.”

Having previously lost to Chelmsford City by the same scoreline, Day admitted, “We lost to Chelmsford, I was disappointed. This is probably the most disappointed I’ve been because I felt this was a game that we could’ve won and got something from and progressed into the next round and get another decent team home or away.

“It’s just disappointing that we didn’t do enough to win the game today.”

Welling United: Charlie Mitten, Andy Sambrook (Jake Hobbs 77), Michael Deane, Ryan Johnson, Graeme Andrews, Jack Parkinson, Tony Finn, Sam Cutler, Sam Harrell (Steve King 85), Andy Pugh, Loui Fazakerley.
Subs: Jack Obersteller, Michael Bakare.

Booked: Andy Sambrook 38, Graeme Andrews 59

Eastbourne Borough: Danny Knowles, Paul Armstrong, Darren Baker, Matt Crabb, Gary Elphick, Liam Enver-Marum, Neil Jenkins, Simon Johnson, Ben Austin, Jamie Taylor (Matt Smart 90), Dan Smith (Andy Atkin 73).
Subs: Nathan Crabb, Michael Jordan, Mark Pullan.

Goal: Liam Enver-Marum 20

Booked: Dan Smith 24

Attendance: 437
Referee: Mr Anthony Sellano (Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire)
Assistants: Mr Mark Mellor (Hemel Hempstead, Herfordshire) & Mr Tim Donnellan (Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire)
Fourth Official: Mr Guy Marley (Bexleyheath)