TWO goals in three first-half minutes
from Andy Martin ended
Faversham Town's run of four straight Kent League defeats at Salters
Lane on Saturday.
Striker Martin took his league tally to
six for the season with a
lethal double blast that sent the Lilywhites up to seventh in the
Premier Division table.
CELEBRATION TIME.....Town striker
Andy Martin (left) celebrates his second goal of the afternoon
Beckenham
pulled a goal back through Wade Falana on 25 minutes and
went on to dominate for large spells of a full-blooded encounter on a
real pudding of a pitch.
But
Terry Cordice's side, showing renewed spirit and determination,
produced a fantastic rearguard action to keep 18-goal Ashley Carew
and Co at bay while looking dangerous on the counter.
Town's
form had been truly dreadful going into this return clash
against the Eden Park Avenue outfit with just one win from their last
six league games.
But
the Lilywhites, who saw off Becks 2-1 in South
London
back in
September, completed their first double of the season courtesy of a
performance full of guts and passion - qualities that have been
conspicuous by their absence during their nightmare run.
The
return of fit-again John Goodwin has been a massive boost with
the forward come defender now being fielded in midfield where his
physical presence and desire to win combines well with Steve Aslett's
unruffled approach to the passing game.
GOOD WIN FOR TOWN.....John Goodwin in action
against Beckenham
Anthony
Pace's promotion from the reserve team is another bonus and
he produced an excellent display, full of speed, energy and
enthusiasm.
But it was Town's leading scorer Martin who stole the show,
igniting
a bitterly cold afternoon with two excellent strikes that
gave the home side an advantage they would fight all
afternoon to
protect.
The
former WhitstableTown
striker made the breakthrough on 21
minutes with a goal he made and converted with help from the free-
running Pace.
ABOUT TIME TOO.....Andy Martin in
celebratory mode after scoring Faversham Town's opening goal of the
afternoon
Martin, playing in the hole just behind
the front two of Pace and
Graham Taylor, spun away from trouble in midfield before spreading a
pass out to the right flank and storming through the middle.
Pace took up the play and after a poor
first touch few others would
have been quick enough keep in play, the former
Thamesmead
Town
man
moved inside before sliding a ball behind the defence and into the
path of Martin on the charge.
And he wasted no time, firing a
first-time shot with his right foot
that beat Beckenham goalkeeper Grant Hall at the near post.
Three minutes later and Martin was at it again after another
sustained spell of Town pressure and a decent passing move involving
Aslett and the busy Mark Smith.
Goodwin swung over a dangerous cross
the Becks defence could clear
only as far as Martin whose half-volley, while not the sweetest of
strikes, was good enough to beat Hall for a second time.
Beckenham reduced the deficit four
minutes later when Carew sent in
a fabulous cross from the right that demanded a decisive response
from Jurgen Wild.
But the Town goalkeeper came and then
stopped allowing Falana to
charge in at the far post to bundle the ball home to make it 2-1.
Faversham had started the better side
and were good value for their
two-goal lead but the Beckenham reply dented the home side's
confidence and Town could so easily have been 3-2 down just eight
minutes later.
Carew is the Kent League's leading
scorer this season with 18 goals
which is a remarkable haul when you consider the lad takes the
majority of his side's corners.
And his excellent flag-kick from the
right just after the half-hour
picked out Falana in acres of space near the penalty only for his
free header to balloon over the bar.
The Town fans in a crowd of 132 had
their hearts in their mouths
again on 33 minutes when Chris Barrett's sweet left-foot ball down
the flank released Carew on goal with only Wild to beat.
And the prolific hitman, who is
believed to have been watched by
scouts from both Dover Athletic and
Chatham
Town
at
Salters Lane
,
looked to have scored but his side-foot finish somehow bobbled beyond
the right post.
Wild produced the save of the match
just after the hour when Ted
Hart's shot from the right edge of the box took a wicked deflection
off Jones Awuah.
But former Ramsgate goalkeeper Wild
dived quickly to his left to
turn the ball round the post for a corner that came to nothing.
A minute later and Awuah had the ball
in the net with Carew
outmuscling James Holder close to the byline on the right but the
whistle sounded for an infringement in the area as the ball was
played into the box.
The aptly-named Pace is a defender's
nightmare and he almost scored
the goal his hard-running performance deserved after breaking free
down the right. He swept in-field at speed before letting fly with a
sizzling drive that Hall did well to tip over the top of the crossbar.
Substitute Michael Seagers did well
coming on for Bradley Maguire
but his second-half cameo almost ended in disaster as the match
ticked into time added on.
Incredibly, Beckenham forced eight
corners in the second half and
13 in total but the majority failed to trouble Faversham until sub
Jamie Turner picked out Awuah on 93 minutes.
The powerful forward rose above the
defence to head towards the
corner only to see the ball cleared off the line by Seagers. Becks
boss Jason Huntley and his vociferous backroom team were convinced
the player was guilty of hand ball.
But the referee Keith Stone waived play
on and Town were home and dry.
Chairman Bob Mason would later dedicate the victory to the memory
of club stalwart Ken Hammond who died last month.
A two-minute silence in honour of the
club's long-serving trustee
was impeccably observed before kick-off. How he would have enjoyed
this battling win.
Town's Top Man - Andy Martin: Worked
his socks off from start to finish
Marks (out of 10): Jurgen Wild 6, Mark
Smith 7, Brad Maguire 6, Wes
Hammond 7, James Holder 7, Kris Parker 6, John Goodwin 7, Steve
Aslett 6, Graham Taylor 5, Andy Martin 8, Anthony Pace 8.
Substitutes: Michael Seager (for Maguire, 63 minutes) 6, Dean Walker-
Mackenzie (for
Taylor
, 71) 6, Adam Oxberry (for Martin, 84) 6
