You don't want to lose to your tenants, says Holmesdale coach Ross Mitchell

HOLMESDALE coach Ross Mitchell says he is hopeful of attracting a decent crowd for their clash against tenants Greenwich Borough over Christmas, writes Stephen McCartney.


Greenwich Borough will be the home club when the two sides lock horns at Oakley Road on Tuesday, 27 December, but with the game kicking off early at one o’clock, Mitchell hopes both clubs will benefit financially as over at Hayes Lane, Cray Wanderers’ home clash against Margate in the Ryman Premier League doesn’t start until 3 o’clock.

“It’s over the Bank Holiday period and we thought we’d get the game in so people can spend the day with their families,” said Mitchell, who is also the club’s secretary.

“It doesn’t take up the full day but there’s an added bonus that Cray are playing at 3pm and we might get some extra support.

“It will be a bonus for Greenwich as it’s their game and we will benefit in terms of the bar.”

Greenwich Borough go into Christmas at the foot of the league table with one win and three draws from their seventeen league outings, whilst Holmesdale are fourth-from-bottom with four wins and a draw from the same number of fixtures.

“I think looking at it as a whole we had a fairly decent start in pre-season, we obviously had a change of manager and I think we’ve cracked on since the changes have happened,” reflected Mitchell.

“It’s enjoyable! We’re all there to enjoy it.  It’s a club that is a welcoming club.  It’s a friendly club.  If anyone doesn’t enjoy it they don’t stay around.  That’s always been our philosophy.”

Greenwich Borough appear to be a club where joint-managers Gerry Cox and John Cumberbatch run the show both on and off the pitch and the club struggle to attract people willing to help out and to support the ailing club.

Mitchell said: “I’ve got a lot of respect for Gerry, he tends to run around and does everything.  I know Devon (Hanson), the chairman, supports him.

“I know with our small committee of seven or eight it’s still hard and everything needs to be done on matchdays.

“Gerry has been the backbone behind Greenwich this year and a lot of credit goes to him.”

Looking forward to the tenants-versus-landlords clash, the Holmesdale coach doesn’t want to lose.

Mitchell said: “You don’t like to lose any game, especially against your rivals and certainly your tenants.  It’s a game that we want to win.  We want to win every game.

“I suppose the extra spice comes from, not the rivalry as such, but you don’t want to be losing against the tenants.”

When asked whether Greenwich Borough will be extending their stay to a fourth season at Oakley Road next season, Mitchell replied, “We’ve not had a meeting with Greenwich yet.  I’m sure we’ll have one soon in the New Year.  There’s been initial conversations, nothing of great concrete yet.  We’ve still got an open dialog with them.”

Visit Holmesdale’s website: www.holmesdalefc.co.uk

Greenwich Borough  v  Holmesdale
Kent Hurlimann Football League
Tuesday 27^th December 2011
Kick Off 1:00pm
At 68 Oakley Road, Bromley, Kent BR2 8HQ