19 April 2023

 

Erith and Belvedere          0

Deal Town                            3          Murray pen 16, Alford 22, Munday 80

 

EVEN DEFEAT TO DEAL DOESN’T SPOIL THE PARTY

written by Mark Doig
 

Victory for Deal Town at newly crowned Southern Counties East Football League champions Erith and Belvedere kept their hopes of finishing as runners-up alive.

Matt Longhurst’s Deres came in off the back of a draw at Tunbridge Wells two days earlier which clinched the league title while Deal had fallen to a shock six-nil Kent Senior Trophy Final defeat against Punjab United over the weekend.  Stat of the day was that it was the first time Deres had played a league match while already champions since 1942!

In the early exchanges, Prince Domafriyie drew a diving save out of Deal goalkeeper Henry Newcombe before a half clearance in the Erith box fell kindly to Aaron Millbank but he failed to get a clean connection.  On 10 minutes a Ben Wilson free kick was headed out from under the crossbar.

Deal, whose away strip brought back fond memories of Fruit Salad sweet wrappers, took the lead in the 16th minute.  Macaulay Murray was allowed too long a run and was brought down in the box by Lewis Chambers: he then stuck away the penalty himself.

After sixteen minutes had passed the Hoops went ahead. Alex Green was brought down in the penalty area and although Jordan Perry went the right way, Macauley Murray’s penalty had the accuracy and power to find the bottom corner.

Six minutes later, Deal doubled their lead. Riley Alford’s shot was tipped onto the bar by a brilliant Perrin save however it counted for nothing as Alford followed up to bury the rebound.

Joe Reeves might have made it three when he cut in from the right but shot well off target before the Deres missed an outstanding chance to pull one back. Domafriyie was sent clear but failed to hit the target with his low shot.

Ben Wilson hooked an effort that was caught comfortably by Newcombe before Domafriyie had another chance. He turned two men brilliantly just inside the Deal half close to the touchline and burst away like a non-league Gareth Bale. He drove into the penalty area but just as he was about to pull the trigger, Green got across to make a crucial last gasp challenge.

As the first half came to a close, Ben Chapman had the last goal attempt for Deal, but his shot was deflected wide.  It had been an entertaining half but Deal had been sharper with their finishing.

Early in the second period, Wilson clipped in a near post corner that Danny Lear met with a volley that flew wide before Tom Chapman got in behind the Deres’ defence but was thwarted by an excellent low save by Perrin.

Alfie Foster fired just over for Deal after a free kick was half cleared before Domafriyie headed wide from Henry Burnett’s cross. Marcus Elliott did likewise from a Domafriyie centre before Deal’s Jack Penny shot wide after his free kick had come back out off the Erith defensive wall.

Lear looked odds on to reduce the arrears when sent through on 76 minutes but Newcombe made a fantastic block with his legs.

Nine minutes remained when Deal put the game to bed. As Erith threw men forward, they left a massive space behind and Billy Munday strode through and gave Perrin no chance with a powerful finish high into the net.

Victory for Phoenix Sports at Holmesdale means that the outcome of Saturday’s matches will decide who take the runners up spot and a one off play-off match. That was not a matter to concern the Deres, though, and they were presented with the trophy after the match, a suitable way to celebrate their centenary year.

Erith and Belvedere: Jordan Perrin, Kie Douglas, George Snelling (Jahmal Howlett-Mundle 66), Lewis Chambers, Jude Russell, Rob Strachan (Billy Bennett 77), Danny Lear, George Monger, Prince Domafriyie (Sammi Takalobighashi 84), Henry Burnett (Ryan Khanye 77), Ben Wilson (Marcus Elliott 63).

Yellow cards: Strachan

Deal Town: Henry Newcombe, Joe Reeves, Jack Penny, Alex Green, Alfie Foster (Lewis Stevens-Toomey 90), Billy Munday, Tom Chapman, Macauley Murray, Aaron Millbank (Alex Smith 69), Ben Chapman (Sam Taylor 90), Riley Alford (Max Niblett 78).  Sub: Connor Coyne.

Yellow cards: Foster, B. Chapman

 

22 April 2023

 

Canterbury City                  1          Gorgol 45

Erith and Belvedere          1          Elliott 38

 

Written by Kevin Olver

In isolation, a home draw against the already crowned league champions would normally be considered a good result for a team in City’s position, but today the only result that could have helped them would have been a victory and the three points that go with it to give them any sort of chance of avoiding the drop into the First Division for next season.

 

As it happened, results elsewhere also failed to go in their favour, as the only two teams they could have overtaken both secured the points they needed to keep themselves safe meaning City’s stay in the SCEFL Premier Division has come to a hopefully, temporary end!

 

To their credit, their opponents Erith and Belvedere, were in no mood to give City a free pass and coming off the back of a midweek loss at Deal Town, they were competitive and combative in what turned out to be a lively, but close encounter. City started brightly and positively and within a minute, Rob Lawrence was acrobatically volleying a Michael Turner cross just over the E&B bar.

 

For a while E&B seemed content to knock the ball about in a defensive midfield zone looking to try and pick City off on the counter but despite all the possession they weren’t really creating anything of note - Jahmal Howlett-Mundle having their first effort on goal firing well past the City angle.

 

For City, Henry Arnold drilled a low shot just wide of the post, while Danny Keyte at the other end pulled out a couple of important blocks but it was City that just seemed to have the upper hand and around the twenty-fifth minute had a string on corners all curled into the danger zone by Lawrence, but none of which they were able to prosper from. The first was glanced away by a defender, while the second fell to Keyte who pulled out a great measured shot only to see it well blocked out. The next saw a Will Currie header deflected out and the final one proved the most dangerous as keeper Damian Niemczycki misjudged it and ended up just pawing it down into space with Seb Rowland’s shot again being blocked and cleared.

 

With City just in the driving seat, E&B had to try to get a more meaningful attacking presence in the game and they began to push City back. Lewis Chambers was inches away from turning home a ball in from Danny Lear while a free-kick from Ryan Khanye was well headed clear by Lawrence. E&B were also employing the long throw tactic with Chambers propelling the ball deep into the City box, but by and large, the City defence were able to continue to clear these.

 

On thirty-six minutes, Amin Gorgol squared a great ball for Rowland but as he prepared to shoot a defender got there first sending the ball over the bar, this was unseen by the referee and a goal-kick was awarded. City were a little aghast at that decision and it was shortly after that they conceded the opening goal. A corner swung in from the left took a couple of rebounds deep in the box before Marcus Elliott smashed it home from close range for 0-1.

 

E&B were on the prowl now and an attacking free-kick from wide right was fired in but fortunately bounced and skidded straight through to City keeper Lucas Hanley without getting any sort of touch. City responded well to going behind and in the run up to the break had another series of corners which started when Gorgol tricked and shimmied his way into the E&B box only to see his bullet shot crash off a stooping defender and ricochet high over the bar. The first of these saw Keyte’s header take a nick off an E&B player for another, which Lawrence fired into the near post picking out Luke Illsley who thumped a close-in header narrowly, the wrong side of the post.

 

With the game now deep into first-half stoppage time the pressure was all coming from City and they were duly rewarded in the fifth added minute when Arnold’s break down the right saw his ball in deflected past it’s intended target Lawrence, but fall into space for Gorgol to come galloping in at the far post and thunder a great shot through Niemczycki’s attempted stop and into the back of the net for 1-1 – a very timely and very deserved equaliser.

 

Half-time came shortly after but not before City were a little aggrieved as a promising attack through the heart of the E&B lines was twice halted by a pair of uncarded cynical fouls with the eventual free-kick drifting straight out of play.

 

So all square at the break but with news filtering through that the results elsewhere weren’t currently in their favour and City needing to win remember, there were still likely to be a few twists and turns before the afternoon was out.

 

City Manager Dan Lawrence came on at the restart replacing the injured Illsley, as he sought to hopefully add his experience and quality to the cause. Meanwhile, the second-half began to open up a little as both teams searched out a likely pivotal second goal and Anthony Adesite headed over at the far post for E&B when well placed while Billy Bennett fired well over the City bar.

 

In between times, Rowland was just crowded off the ball as he attempted to turn an Arnold cross goal bound before E&B almost took the lead. Another long throw from Chambers found Rob Strachan and his well-directed downward header was brilliantly saved low down to his right by Hanley to keep his team firmly in the hunt.

Pressure was building on City and to be fair they were riding their luck at times, but also there was some cracking defending mixed in with it. City repelled a free-kick and a corner, while Hanley flew out to punch a Khanye cross well clear. Elliott then blasted a shot well off target and into the stand, before E&B went close again as a low ball across the face of the City goal failed to find a willing attacker to turn it home.

 

City, desperate to get out and get up the pitch were being pinned back as the atmosphere got more and more nervy as the time ticked by (or was that just me!). City were digging in with a ‘thou shalt not pass’ attitude as Keyte pulled off a terrific block and then Currie made a telling interception that halted a quick-fire counter attack dead in its tracks. Alex Emery then made a point-blank block, while Currie did likewise and then rose through a crowd of players to head away another dangerous Chambers long throw.

 

With news spreading off the pitch that Welling were now in front, it began to look like a forlorn hope for City’s survival hopes, but they kept plugging away and eventually broke free of the defensive shackles that E&B had placed on them and Arnold’s ball in skied off a defender and could have gone anywhere but flew over the bar for a fruitless corner. City were pushing further and further forward but that meant gaps appearing at the back and after a free-kick had cannoned off the City wall and out for a corner, Elliott thumped a free header wide of the City goal, as they breathed again!

Substitute Luke Carey then headed just over for City but E&B continued to push for the winner as a free-kick and another brace of the powerful long throws were all resisted by the hosts. With just four minutes remaining City were lucky not to concede a second when Prince Domafriyie somehow crashed a clear, point blank header from a Kie Douglas cross wide.

 

As the match moved into added time and the news elsewhere still hadn’t improved it was becoming clear off the pitch at least that City’s game was looking finally up!

How E&B didn’t hit the winner in the first minute of added time is anybody’s guess as three quick clear-cut chances in just a few seconds were all missed – well, no guesswork really, another excellent double save from the outstanding Hanley stopping two of them while the post did for the third!

 

With almost five minutes of added time now on the watch, a City free-kick saw Hanley go up into the box, but the high ball in was well cleared by Strachan at the expense of a corner. With Hanley still up, Carey’s corner was swung in, but was headed away and E&B broke. With the keeper marooned up field, they broke in numbers and should really have scored but Rowland had tracked them all the way back and his telling tackle brought City enough time to get reinforcements back.

There was no time left for City to mount anything further and on ninety-six minutes, the referee brought the game and City’s time in the Premier Division to an end.

The odds have been stacked against them for months, but bit by bit City have clawed their way back into a having a chance of staying up and they took this right down to the last game. Today was another hard-working, spirited and heartening display and for it, they were rightly applauded off at the end.

 

Seems odd to say when you’ve just been relegated, but the club and the team is clearly in as good a position today as it has been for years, so roll on next season!

Final score: Canterbury City 1 Erith & Belvedere 1

 

CITY: Lucas Hanley, Michael Turner, Nico Cotton, Danny Keyte, Luke Illsley (Dan Lawrence), Will Currie, Harry Maher (Alex Emery), Henry Arnold, Rob Lawrence (Luke Carey), Seb Rowland, Amin Gorgol (Leo Dodds)

Unused Sub: Euan Bunn

DERES: Damian Niemczycki; Jude Russell, Rob Strachan, George Monger, Jahmal Howlett-Mundle, Lewis Chambers, Anthony Adesite (Kie Douglas 87), Billy Bennett (Ben Wilson 82), Marcus Elliott (George Snelling 87), Henry Burnett (Ryan Khanye 40), Danny Lear (Prince Domafriyie 70)