Lewisham recorded their heaviest defeat today, on a day that went from bad to worse. Having experienced an in-disciplined episode the previous week, Lewisham were looking to make amends by turning in a positive performance on the pitch.

 

It didn’t help though that in the week leading up to this match, goalkeeper John Henry had decided to join Croydon FC after spending five seasons at Lewisham. With no reserve team or youth team and a number of un-successful phone calls to try to get a replacement keeper, Lewisham were without a recognised keeper for this fixture. Jason Campbell volunteered to stand between the posts and consequently became the sacrificial lamb.

 

Approaching kick-off time things were even worse, as four senior players failed to turn-up. So Lewisham started the match with 10-men, awaiting the arrival of centre-back Martin West who was delayed at work. The home team managed to hold out for 10 minutes before Coney Hall opened the scoring with a fine effort into the top corner giving Campbell no chance.

 

West then arrived on the pitch to make it an 11-a-side affair and within a couple of minutes against all of the odds Ousmane Kaba had equalised by scoring his first goal for the club, after good link-up play with Dinah Diawara.

 

This was as good as it got for the home side as the goals started to flow in favour of Coney Hall. Firstly a Coney Hall forward benefited from indecision by Anthony Sands and West, then another after weak defending by Chris White and Sands and then a forth shortly followed after more poor ‘team’ defending.

 

The second half was a slightly more even affair, with the away team being made to wait until the last 15 minutes to grab a further three goals. With 10 minutes to go Darren Wallace had a ‘coming together’ with a Coney Hall player, who reacted by twice pushing Wallace in the face, an incident that was obviously missed by the officials as both players were booked. Neither player wanted to accept the referee’s outcome of the incident and followed one-another all over the pitch to get into ‘petty’ arguments and episodes of bumping into one another, stepping on each other’s feet and squaring-up. Trevor Cogley eventually had enough and sent both players off.

 

They continued to argue as they left the pitch and Wallace was surrounded by a number of Coney Hall players, one of which also received his marching orders for being verbally abusive towards Wallace.

 

Things will have to improve for the Borough club in the new year, a task that has been made all the harder after an exodus of players and a member of management in the two-week period leading up to Christmas.

 

TEAM:

Jason Campbell 5, Chris White 5, Marcus Wilson 7, Anthony Sands 5, Martin West 6, Ousmane Kaba 5, Lambert Tsemzang 5, Ricardo Harvey 4, Erron Dussard 5, Darren Wallace 6, Dinah Diawara 5

 

SUB:

Jamie Fairman 6

Today’s visitors are experiencing their first season in the Kent Premier League and have applied themselves very well to date. Their form has begun to improve as they have probably adjusted to the Kent League. My sources inform me that they have invested heavily in some young and exciting players, which I believe is always good practice.

They are a club that have built up a good ‘community’ programme and a club that we ourselves could learn a lot from as we continue to develop.

 

My first ever game in charge for Lewisham was an away fixture to Coney Hall reserves, a game which saw 10-0 result in our favour. I have absolutely no doubt that this result will not be repeated today. We were well looked after during our trip on this day, and I hope that all connected to the club enjoy their brief spell in the London Borough of Lewisham and a safe journey back home.

 

Last week saw our team fail to win at home again, as our team struggled to find an end product, so today we will be looking to secure a precious three points. I want my team to really go for the kill today and have a real go at being more direct and thus having more of an end product than in recent weeks. Our performances at home have been far from acceptable. Our players need to learn that they cannot expect to play free-flowing football on every surface, with our home pitch being a less than welcoming playing surface. It is down to our players, as a team, to adjust the way that they approach each game and begin to realise that we are a Kent League team, not a professional Premier League team.

 

By this I mean that sometimes our way of playing should reflect the standard that we are playing in and the playing environment. Other teams have come here and not played attractive football, but have left with all three points! We have tried to play pretty football, but been undone by a set piece or a long-ball. For us to climb the table and apply some pressure on the sides near the top, we need to learn our lessons, play as a team and work hard for each other.

 

I want our boys to know that we still have half of the season to play for and there are a lot of points up for grabs. So I am laying down the challenge to our players, how much do we want to achieve and how far up the table can we climb? I for one am a winner and I hope that this continues to rub off on all of the people around me!!

Today brought Lewisham Borough to the halfway mark of the current season and produced a fixture, which brought the home sides opponents from the first match of the season to the Ladywell Arena. Lewisham were victorious by a 4-2 score line on that occasion as they out-passed and out-classed Snodland on a sunny day and smooth playing surface. Today brought a very different playing environment with cold weather and a pitch that is saw to the eye.

 

Lewisham welcomed back Anthony Sands and Sheldon Brown, both long-term absentees, and gave a debut to Stephen Williams in goal. Snodland arrived with a much younger and fresher looking squad than the opening day fixture and started the game at a fast tempo. The away team were putting pressure on the Borough team in all areas of the pitch and also made a number of ‘late’ challenges, which were going un-punished by the referee. Sheldon Brown became a ‘target’ for a few ‘friendly’ tackles and one of these, a kick from behind that was no-where near the ball brought about little more than a free kick.

 

Martin West was the next player to be caught late, again with only a free kick being given, as he received treatment for a dislocated finger. This resulted in West being off of the field of play for over ten minutes, during which time Snodland grabbed the opening goal. As Sands cleared a ball down the line, Snodland picked the ball up and put it back down the same channel. Sands appealed for offside, only to find Dwayne Okocha behind him playing the opposition on side. The winger then produced a low cross into the box, which first Williams and then Wilson failed to deal with, leaving a simple tap-in for a Snodland forward.

 

Lewisham picked themselves up and finished the half with a lot of possession, particularly in the Snodland box, but without ever testing the keeper.

 

The second half saw the home team start the stronger and again dominate possession, as the away team found it difficult to get out of their own half. Every time that Snodland entered the Lewisham half, they were dispossessed as Lewisham launched another attack. The problem is that the home team again did not produce a shot on goal.

 

As the game began to even up again, Williams was called upon to make three good saves, each time rushing off his line to smother Snodland efforts on goal. With minutes remaining, Snodland grabbed a second goal after a defence-splitting pass was finished with an excellent first time effort into the top corner of the net.

 

With a minute of the match remaining, an incident happened involving a Snodland supporter and Lewisham player which provoked an ‘off-the-field’ brawl, ending with the referee abandoning the game. This was something that is very out of character for both teams, which will be dealt with by the Kent League Officials.

  

TEAM:

Stephen Williams 7, Anthony Sands 7, Martin West 8, Dwayne Okocha 7, Marcus Wilson 7, Jason Campbell 7, Sheldon Brown 6, Lambert Tsemzang 6, Ricardo Harvey 6, Dinah Diawara 5, Ikeno 5

 

SUBS:

Chris White 5, Ousmane Kaba 5

due to waterlogged pitch.

Today’s visitors are one of my former clubs, where I spent one successful season, winning the Kent Premier League. They are a club that I found very friendly and there were a lot of very committed people behind the scenes doing all they could to try to secure promotion that season, which unfortunately did not materialise. In recent seasons the club has languished at the wrong end of the table and this season seems to be the same story. Last week saw them grab their first league win of the season and they will be desperate to build on that today. I hope that all connected to the club enjoy their brief spell in the London Borough of Lewisham and a safe journey back home.

Last week saw our team fail to build on a positive result from the previous week and so we equally will be looking to secure a precious three points. I want my team to really go for the kill today and have a real go at being more direct and thus having more of an end product than in recent weeks.

Today’s fixture brings our club back to the reality of a match at home, where our performances have been far from acceptable. Our players need to learn that they cannot expect to play free-flowing football on every surface, with our home pitch being a less than welcoming playing surface. It is down to our players, as a team, to adjust the way that they approach each game and begin to realise that we are a Kent League team, not a professional Premier League team. By this I mean that sometimes our way of playing should reflect the standard that we are playing in and the playing environment. Other teams have come here and not played attractive football, but have left with all three points! We have tried to play pretty football, but been undone by a set piece or a long-ball. For us to continue to climb the table and apply some pressure on the sides near the top, we need to learn our lessons, play as a team and work hard for each other.

I want our boys to know that we still have over half of the season to play for and there are a lot of points up for grabs. So I am laying down the challenge to our players, how much do we want to achieve and how far up the table can we climb? I for one am a winner and I hope that this continues to rub off on all of the people around me!!

On Saturday, Lewisham Borough were hosting the current league leaders of the Kent Premier League, Norton Sports, hoping to build on the previous weeks morale boosting away win to Bromley Green. Unfortunately the home team came back down to earth with a bump.

The home side were hoping to become the first team to beat Norton this season, having had a right go away and getting a 0-0 draw, this with ten-men for most of the second half. With a game plan being driven into the Borough players pre-match, the Lewisham management team of Anthony Sands, Danny Fairman and Ray Williams were confident of gaining a positive result.

The first 20 minutes reflected this as the home team dominated possession and were taking the game to the visiting team. Unfortunately there was no end product and the Norton goalie wasn’t tested once. Jordan Taylor then gave away a needless free-kick 25 yards from goal and Lewisham assembled a three-man wall. The Norton forward stepped-up and fired a superb shot into the corner of the net to give the away team the lead against the run of play.

Within a couple of minutes Norton attacked the space down the left hand side of the Lewisham defence and a low cross was met by a sliding Norton attacker, who smashed the ball against the bar and over.

Not taking this threat seriously Lewisham then gave away a second goal. Jason Campbell tried to be too clever running the ball out of defence and was dispossessed. Within the blink of an eye the ball was fired across the face of the Lewisham goal and blasted past the hapless John Henry.

The away team were now dominating the match as the home side began to become casual in possession and in their passing. Their captain threw them a lifeline however, as Martin West swivelled and fired a shot into the roof of the net from just inside the box having stayed forward from a corner.

A change of tactics at the interval brought the domination back to the home team, but again there was no end product. 20 minutes into the second half Lewisham were awarded a corner and with the Norton keeper’ clearly struggling with an injury, there were strict instructions to put the ball on him. With players making runs towards the six-yard box, the corner was amazingly aimed to the edge of the box and Norton cleared and broke fast. Campbell intercepted the attack, but then gave the ball back to the opposition and two passes later the ball was in the back of the Lewisham net for number three and the end of the game.

John Henry made some amazing saves for the remainder of the game as Norton led the home team a merry dance. One final goal was added near to the end, with barely any celebration from Norton as they knew just how easy a job this had been.

“I am bitterly disappointed with today, especially with the fact that my team were given strict instructions at the start of the match, instructions designed to get three points, which were not implemented at all.” Said Sands after his team’s third defeat in the last four games.

“Any number of tricks, flicks and dribbles are a waste of time if there is no end product and if a ‘team’ defends like we did today, then the opposition will always have a field day. My team has enough talent in it to go so far, but filling-up an serried of Soccer AM’s ‘Show Boat’ isn’t going to win you anything.”

TEAM: John Henry 9, Jason Campbell 6, Marcus Wilson 7, Dwayne Okocha 6, Martin West 8, Erron Dussard 6, Ricardo Harvey 6, Lambert Tsemzang 6, Jordan Taylor 6, Darren Wallace 6, Dinah Diawara 6

SUBS: Chris White 6, Ikeno Page 5, Ousmane Kaba 5.

Saturday saw Lewisham Borough make the long trip to Ashford to play against Bromley Green, desperate of a victory after pressing the self-destruct button the previous two weeks. The pitch that Bromley Green usually play on was un-playable and so the game was played on a pitch that was a little further over on the green. This pitch appeared bigger than the usual one and it was felt that this would suit the Borough team’s style of play.

Bromley Green started the faster and were looking to put in a match-winning performance for their departing manager, Clive Cook, who was taking charge for the last time due to personal reasons.

A few early breaks by the home side were brought to a halt by the assistant’s flag, but eventually Bromley Green made the break-through after 20 minutes. A through ball was raced onto and centred by a deep-running midfielder, to be met by a cool finish by a Bromley Green striker.

Bromley Green continued to dominate the first half, with only the alertness of Martin West helping to keep the score at 1-0.

An inspired half-time talk was needed and that’s exactly what the Lewisham players got….whilst sitting on the grass beside the pitch. A change of shape and a few words of encouragement saw a real change in fortunes for the away team.

Lewisham took full control of the game and enjoyed large spells of possession. Bromley Green began to launch into some over-the-top ‘tackles’ and without any protection from the referee the game became a very physical affair. The Bromley Green keeper’ was called on to make a couple of saves for the first time in the match, with Ricardo Harvey, Dinah Diawara and West going close with efforts.

With 20 minutes remaining and the home side visibly tiring, Lewisham drew level with a superb goal from Harvey. After turning a player one way and then the other he eventually created the space to chip a cheeky effort into the far top corner off of the inside of the post.

Lewisham, with the wind in their sails, began to really stretch the home team and were attacking from both wings at will. With Manager Anthony Sands yelling to his players “There’re gone” the away side broke away with new belief to grab a well-deserved three points. As a Bromley Green attack was broken-up Lewisham found themselves in a four-versus-one break away of their own. Dinah Diawara lead the charge and after his effort was charged down by the lone defender he squared the ball to Harvey to coolly pass home the winner.

A well deserved victory and a positive finish to carry into next weeks match.

“At last the ‘real’ Lewisham team turned up today and got a good three points.” Said a pleased Sands afterwards.

“I believe in discipline in any level of football and this is something that my team showed today. I am positive that we can build on this result next week and continue to climb the table, if the players remember the basics of discipline – good preparation, time-keeping, positive attitude and good team spirit!”

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