news

subject

author

features

Four from six...not a bad start

- 23/08/2009

When you consider that the primary aim this season is to stay in the Premier Division of the Kent County League I believe four points from six out of our opening two fixtures is not a bad return given that we have had two very tough games. I am now confident we can compete at this level and feel we will hold our own and be a match for most teams on the day.

Although I am disappointed not to have won yesterday’s game against Fleet Leisure FC I am delighted with the performance against the most uncompromising team in the League. Fleet do have their critics and there were no surprises yesterday in the style of play they adopted, direct percentage football mainly facilitated by a long ball forward at the earliest opportunity. This style supplemented by their excellent set piece routines wins them games and is why they were runners up last season. They play the system very well and I believe they will again be challenging to win the league this season. With that in mind the draw was a decent result for City yesterday.

I was pleased with the performance of the back four yesterday. Hoss and TJ were excellent in the centre and won the majority of headers, despite conceding several inches in height to their opponents. When they didn’t win the first ball they cleared up the second ball time after time. Both full backs (Sam B and Seags) were excellent and as well as being strong defensively both looked threatening going forward.

As a team we were at our best for the final 25 minutes of the first half and the first ten of the second when we kept the ball and moved it at pace. Mark Rook, Craig Southern and Ben Smith totally controlled the central midfield area whilst Scott Lawford and Ian Brooke made a number of penetrating runs forward to link well with Adam Woollcott who was exceptional throughout as a single central striker. We stretched Fleet and on reflection should have capped this period of domination with a couple of goals. We didn’t and in the end the 1 –0 lead was not enough as the game wore on and Fleet raised their game to get a deserved equaliser.

Overall the performance was pleasing as we were strong defensively as a team and certainly won the midfield battle, it was our attacking edge that was slightly blunted and the area we must put right next week. I was also pleased with the excellent team spirit and level of professionalism shown by the players yesterday. It was a real battle and we were up to it and earned the right to play football. We observed the “respect” campaign throughout and played the game in the right spirit. However, to make it work I believe referees do need to enforce the campaign robustly by dealing with players who persistently use foul and abusive language and openly show dissent against match officials for every decision given against them. At times yesterday some mystifying decisions went against the team who did not continually argue or challenge the decision. That cannot be allowed to go on because it will ultimately encourage others to adopt similar tactics designed to intimidate the referee… enough said!

No one said it would be easy in the Premier league and the big games just keep coming. On Saturday we face early league leaders Stansfield O & B Football Club. They come to Hersden with a 100% record and fired six goals past Milton and Fulston FC yesterday. This is another huge challenge and one we will all look forward to. It’s absolutely fantastic being in this Division and the experience we are gaining with each game is invaluable. I hope we get another good turn out at Hersden next Saturday. It was great to see such support in numbers yesterday and a crowd of 135 paying customers would be the envy of many Kent Premier League Clubs. In particular I would like to thank Joe (our oldest supporter) who has migrated to Hersden with us. Joe attended every game at Bridge and also travelled to some away games in the last two seasons. It was great to see him at H