Captain's Log Latest

For the neutral spectator today’s game must have been fantastic to watch, but for anyone associated with either club it was a rollercoaster of emotions! How many cup finals have ever had so much drama? Cup finals are meant to be boring and nervy affairs, but I suppose with the season we have had that was never going to be the case.

This game had everything… three penalties (two saved by goalkeepers); a shot against the bar; various scoring chances; two own goals (sorry Luke!); a change of lead; drama in the final minute, but more importantly the football played by both teams was excellent, and I would like to think because of that it was a great game to watch.

So many people have said to me it took “nerves of steel” to take my penalty and score it the way I did, especially after missing a vital one earlier in the season, and although there was a spilt second of worry when it went in off the post, I was always 100% certain that I was going to score. But for me, the real nerves of steel were from Danny Black. Agreed, the Holmesdale player didn’t strike a great penalty, but had Danny dived the other way it would have rolled in. To hold your nerve and pull off a vital save like that in the dying seconds, and manage to hold on to the ball shows how good he is. He is an unsung hero because for so many games this season he has had little to do, but when he has been called upon he has shown his class. It is difficult to stay focussed when you are standing watching most weeks, but today he was kept busy and deserves all the praise he gets because what he did was as good as us scoring.

What a first season back! Double winners! No-one expected it. We believed we could do it, and we’ve earned it. We have worked so hard all season,training intensely week in-week out and deserve all the success we have. This is my final Captain’s Log until a pre-season update so I want to finish by saying this. Thank you to the coaching and management team – Dave, Gary, Steve, The Doc, Bob and Ade, you all deserve so much credit as well as us players. Thank you to the committee for all your hard work off the pitch. Thank you to those of you who have supported us in so many ways. Your following and encouragement at games has seen us have attendances better than some Kent league teams. So that’s me for the season. Let’s now win our last two games to set a new record for a points total in this league and then take a well-deserved break… I know I will when I am on my honeymoon in the Maldives! After that it will be a tough pre-season to prepare for next season when we need to do it all again!

Just a short message from me today… There was a lot of hype going into today’s game against APM Mears. After what happened in the first game it was understandable that we were going into a game that could have proved to be very difficult in a number of ways. However, two early goals settled any nerves and from then on we never looked like conceding a goal, let alone losing.

We must put the past behind us and move on. Since the first match we have gone on to be crowned champions, and no-one can say we are not worthy league winners. APM Mears were excellent hosts today and were sporting opposition both on and off the pitch. Some players and staff even took the time to congratulate us on our league victory. Now, however, our focus switches to the Kent Cup next Saturday. We must prepare ourselves for a massive game. Holmesdale Reserves will be tough opposition, who I understand are a very good footballing side, and like to get the ball down and play.

We will have two hard training sessions this week to get ready, and I am sure everyone will be there working hard, trying to impress and secure a starting place in the cup final. Whilst being a game that we obviously want to win, a cup final is also a time to reward hard work throughout the season and I am sure that the starting eleven and those in the matchday squad will be a reflection of this. Nevertheless, I am sure Dave has an idea of what and who he wants to play in the game. It will be great to see a large crowd at the game, so I look forward to seeing you all there. It really does help having people there to cheer us on.

I don’t think anyone could say we were being big-headed by saying that it was only a matter of time before we were crowned champions. Having been top since the opening day of the season, losing only one game throughout the campaign and scoring an average of four goals per game, whilst conceding on average less than a goal a game, I think it is fair to say we are deserved champions.

The hard work has paid off and we now have the rewards we deserve. All those cold and rainy nights when we were hill training, or sprint training with Dr Dave, the hours of set-piece work with Gary, and all the technical training with Steve have been worthwhile, because now we can say we are champions.

It is now appropriate to congratulate each and every member of the club who have all played their part in helping us to win the league. Every player who has pulled on the Canterbury City shirt has played their role and contributed to our success. This has not been down to one or two individual performances, it was a squad effort and every player deserves to say they have been part of the cause. The management team mentioned above led by Dave have been fantastic. As I have said before, Dave is an excellent manager and knows how to get he best out of his players. He has given everybody a fair chance to show what they can offer.

The committee have supported us in ways that cannot be imagined, doing all the hard work behind the scenes that goes unnoticed. I don’t think a lot of people know what it takes to run a football club, even at this level, and we have to remember that they are all doing this as volunteers! I cannot go through all these congratulations without mentioning the supporters. I never imagined how much interest the club would generate, although having seen so many attend the first game of the season there was some expectation that home crowds would continue to be large. What has surprised me the most, however, is the large number of people who have travelled to our away games. It has been absolutely fantastic to see how much the club means to them, and I am certain that the players were often motivated by the number of faces they see on the sidelines each week. The support has been so strong and I only hope this continues to grow next season.

This season is not over yet. We want to finish our remaining games with three more wins, meaning that we will have gone 16 games unbeaten in the league… that’s a great achievement by anyone’s standards. This will not be easy though as we still have to play two of the top five teams in APM Mears and Borden, as well as Pembury who not only gave us a tough game at home but also had an emphatic victory over APM Mears today despite being much lower than them in the league. And then there is the ‘small’ matter of the Kent Cup Final. Winning that will cap off the season and believe me, the squad are up for that game. We will do all we can to win it to make Canterbury City’s first season back an unbelievable start.

Firstly, I must give credit to FC Quayside as they pushed us right to the very end. I had begun to resign myself to the fact that we were going to be playing extra-time again, and then who knows what may have happened? Our opponents, whilst not creating much for themselves, frustrated us, stopped us playing and very nearly got something from the tie. Ok, we can say that we should have had at least two penalties, and on another day, some of our attempts would have gone in, but the scoreline doesn’t lie. We left it late to eventually make it to the final.

We worked extremely hard and I’m sure I’m not the only one whose body is aching at the moment. Defensively we were outstanding, reducing them to very few chances, I thought Tom O’Brian in particular had his best game of the season and Justin Hodge and Luke Lockhart didn’t miss a thing. Sam Baker’s usual probing runs also provided us with a number of attacks.

The season is not over yet, we still have at least two more massive games. Ideally we will get the league title wrapped up in our next game, whoever that may be against, and then there’s the cup final itself. Not any easy game and one we are going to have to prepare meticulously for. However, we want to win it as much as Holmesdale Reserves will want to and we will not roll over and die. We want to finish the season with two pieces of silverware to cap off an amazing first season back for Canterbury City.

We would have taken the position we are in now at the start of the season – promotion and a cup final. But now, we won’t be satisfied with just that. We want to win the league and the cup, to show everyone out there how serious we are about achieving our aims of progressing through the leagues and putting Canterbury City FC back on the football map.

Extra-time and a replay are the last things any team wants at this stage of the season. With promotion already certain, all we want to do now is finish the season off by getting the three points we need for the title and book our place in the Kent Cup Final. We are going to have to wait that little bit longer now though as FC Quayside pushed us right to the limits today. Take nothing away from them, they came at us right from the start and took the initiative in the game. Once again though we started slowly, and didn’t begin playing well until the second half.

Scoring the equaliser so early on in the second half gave us more of a possibility of scoring the second, but it was not to be. From the sidelines it was clear to see the tiredness showing. Dr Dave said that we looked tired throughout the game, and when you consider that this one was our 44th since forming, I think that can be expected. Our first game, which was played ‘behind closed doors’ was in the beginning of July last year, and since then we have played a game almost every week, with some weeks seeing us play two games. This on top of holding down full-time, demanding jobs as well! So although it is the same for everyone at this stage of the season, how many of our opponents can say they have played over 40 games and still maintained the highest of standards throughout?

It has been a very demanding season, with many people watching our progression, waiting for us to trip up, and now I think it is starting to take its toll. That is why we must work extra hard between now and the end of the season. Due to the fact that others haven’t had such a challenging season, means you could say they have the upper hand slightly. We need to cancel that out by keeping ourselves fresh and giving ourselves the right preparation for each game. We must work hard in training to overcome the minor flaws that have crept into our games, and do that little bit extra to raise our fitness levels again, as clearly this element is going to be a decisive factor in the remainder of our season.

I would like to start by quoting my very first column, which I was asked to write for the Gazette to go in the pullout back in the summer: “Our obvious aim is promotion and if we can do this playing attractive, effective football, and as league winners then that would be fantastic.” Now that the first part of that has been completed, and I would like to think the second part as well, our final aim is the last part of the statement. One more win will see us crowned champions and the bold statement I made before the season started can no longer come back to haunt me!

As I have maintained all along, we set ourselves high standards and have done everything we can to achieve them. We have worked hard week in, week out and the rewards are beginning to come our way. “You reap what you sow” as they say. Well no-one can take away what we have achieved so far. We have always tried to play good attractive football, tried to stay cool under pressure, and tried to get the job done efficiently. Against Pembury today, it was difficult to do those things. Firstly the conditions made it very difficult to play football. Although, take nothing away from Pembury, they battled right until the end, and on another day may have even snatched a draw. At times the decisions were not going our way, the 50-50 balls were going against us, but I suppose nothing was going to spoil our day. We didn’t play well. Maybe it was tiredness – maybe we could be excused, bearing in mind we started playing in May last year! It was a bit of an anti-climax, but the result was the most important thing. We knew a win would guarantee promotion, and although it would have been nice to win emphatically and go up in style, ultimately it was the result we needed and believe me, every member of the club is ecstatic that we have achieved this at the first attempt.

I want to congratulate each and every member of Canterbury City FC both playing and non-playing. The hard work has paid off and everything you have done, no matter how small has contributed in some way. Well done, but let’s not stop here, let’s carry on and raise the bar even higher. We still have two trophies to play for, and we will be gutted if we do not claim them, so let’s not sit back and enjoy just yet. Keep working hard and finish the season in style. We have a tough game this week in the Kent Cup semi-final, so we cannot switch off, and I’m sure you would all rather get the remaining three league points sooner rather than later!

After a hard-fought win yesterday, and the results for the teams around us going in our favour, the rewards are almost ours. A win next week, will almost certainly guarantee promotion, and another win after that could see us crowned champions. Sandwiched between these two games is the Kent Cup semi-final against FC Quayside. So in the space of three weeks could well see us with the league title wrapped up and in the final of the Kent Cup. We know, however that we have got to work hard for these.

Lanes End made us work very hard yesterday and it was by no means a comfortable win. Despite winning by three clear goals and having the majority of the possession, we had to be patient and grind out the result. In the end, fitness and quality prevailed and we got the result we needed. This is what we are going to have to do for the remainder of the season. Every team we play against will want to try and be the team that stopped Canterbury City winning the league, even if they have nothing to play for themselves. We are going to have to maintain our quality, and keep working hard as a unit to break teams down. This will also be true in the semi-final. Our opponents will be no push-over and despite going into the final as underdogs will certainly fancy their chances.

I have just about dried off after watching the Ladies’ play their Kent Cup semi-final against Millwall Lionesses. Unfortunately, they lost 2-1 after extra-time, with the winning goal coming with virtually the last kick. They did themselves proud, and although I think the result was fair in the end, it could have gone either way and had it gone to penalties… who knows what may have happened. I know I probably wouldn’t have watched as many of the Ladies’ games if I were not marrying one of the players, but I can honestly say I have thoroughly enjoyed watching them play. The progress they have made through the season has been amazing. As well as being a very friendly bunch of ladies, they are a delight to watch and for that I congratulate each and every one of them.

I have no doubt that they can go on to claim their league title. So, it’s a pivotal few weeks for all our teams as the season end draws closer. You see some funny results around this period that can often change the shape of the leagues. I urge all players not to drop your standards. Maintain your quality and see the season through. At the very least there is pride to play for, and for those of you still challenging for honours, good luck and do the club proud!

I often find myself thinking: ‘What were the club’s expectations at the beginning of the season?’ Maybe I should speak to people about it. A lot of preparation had gone in behind the scenes, but what if it was all for nothing? What if we hadn’t delivered on the pitch? Although we have achieved nothing yet, I think what has been achieved so far is far beyond expectations. I am not talking just about the men’s First team, but all the teams in the club. In fact I think the biggest successes so far have come from the Ladies’ First team – two cup semi-finals and a possible league title. At the end of the season there could possibly be a whole cabinet full of silverware across a number of teams, and how fantastic would that be for a club that has been in existence for such a short time?

Our performance today showed how far we have come this season. No-one could have blamed us for not being that interested in the cup competitions as it was stated clearly at the beginning of the season that our only goal was to gain promotion. As the season has progressed, our new goal became winning the league as we realised that this was something that was within our reach. Similarly “a good cup run” was not acceptable. We knew that we were good enough to compete for every competition we entered. So that became our new goal – to win as much as we could – and who could blame us? Why shouldn’t we want to win everything? That is why the defeat against UKC hurt us so much, because it was a competition we wanted to win.

Today we showed how much we wanted to win this cup, as we put in what was one of our best all-round performances of the season. We are under no illusions. Nothing has been won yet, and we know there is still a lot of hard work to be done. We will be absolutely gutted if we do not come away with any silverware at the end of the season, so we will make sure we do all we can to achieve this. We strive to be the very best, and there is nothing wrong with that attitude. What is the point in doing anything if you do not aim to be the best at what you do?

I hope, come the end of the season we can look back and have evidence to back up what we thought would happen. We have never claimed to be something we are not, but at the moment the evidence is there. We are comfortably top of the league, and are one of the best four teams at our level in Kent. We have been knocked by so many people and been accused of many things. But what I would like to say to these people is wait until the end of the season and than pass judgement. If we win nothing, then you can call us what you want, but if we gain success, give us the credit we deserve. We are after all a very young club and anything we achieve in our first year must be beyond any expectations at the re-formation stage of the club.

Atcost defended well in the first half and limited us to just a few chances on target, although there were a host of opportunities that went over the bar or narrowly wide. It did seem only a matter of time before the breakthrough came and when it did, it totally knocked everything out of the Atcost players. Once again our superior fitness showed, finishing with a flurry of goals.

I must congratulate Ashley Tuite, who has become increasingly frustrated at his lack of goals. He hasn’t given up however, and today he got the rewards his hard work has deserved. I made sure to mention this to him when he rifled home the final goal of his hat-trick. How many teams can say they have had six hat-trick scorers in one season?

If I have one slight criticism of our performance today, it’s that when things were not going the way wanted them to, we began to force the play and made some wrong decisions. We were all guilty of it at some point, so my message is to remain patient and keep playing to our strengths. We know that teams are going to put a lot of men behind the ball to try and limit our chances, and so they should, we have scored 72 goals in 15 league games. We must therefore continue to play the way we’ve been coached, and remember that the chances will come. Like I said last week, we will take a 1-0 win every game for the rest of the season, and if that goal comes in the dying minutes then so be it. Our defence is so good that I am certain that they will continue to shut teams out, so all we need to do is score at least one goal. Our first priority for every game is a clean sheet, so we always ensure that our goal is protected as best we can. That then provides the platform to go forward, break down our opposition and score goals.

We have six league games left, and I know that our defenders will be aiming to not concede another goal, whilst the forwards will want to score a hatful. I am confident that our defenders can keep the clean sheets, which in turn will reap the rewards. I am also in no doubt that we can score against any defence because of the quality we have going forward. We just need to remain patient with our build-up, and gradually grind teams down. Another step closer to our target, and one less game to go. Let’s keep up the hard work. Please continue your support and encouragement to help us get there.