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NEWS >>>>>> 1st October 2005 Cray Valley 3 Faversham Town 4 NO-NONSENSE Terry Cordice used the softly-softly approach to coax a fabulous result from his Faversham Town players - but they tested his patience to the limit. Incredibly, the Lilywhites were two goals down after just four minutes of this British Energy Kent County League clash at Badgers Sports Ground. Cordice must have feared the worst against the defending champions who had not conceded a single goal at home before Saturday. But rather than rant and rave, Cordice and his assistant Peter Holder opted for the gentle touch and the ploy paid off with Town fighting back to secure an incredible victory. Cordice explained: "They caught us on the hop, there's no two ways about that. It's a difficult call in circumstances like that but Pete and I kept encouraging them because we knew that if they kept cool there was obviously a chance of goals. We could tell that after 10 minutes - we knew we could score against them. "We were telling the lads to hang in there and there would be chances and they did that. To be fair, we can be very critical at times but we chose the other option this time and it paid off. "Mind you, it was tempting to let rip at them. The first goal was a great effort so I've no complaints there but we stood and watched for the second. "Then they hit the bar! But we kept on at them to keep their composure and stay positive and they did us proud. "We could have given them a lecture afterwards but we just told them to go and enjoy the rest of the weekend. They showed a lot of character to come back the way they did and were worth the win." Cordice was thrilled with the performance of 22-year-old goalkeeper Tim Holmes whose composure under pressure was a key factor. He said: "I never like to single out individuals but Tim Holmes was outstanding in goal. "The Cray lads roughed him up a bit. They really seemed to be targeting him but he just kept coming back for more. "His handling of the ball in the mud and rain was superb. They bombarded him in the last 15 minutes and a lesser keeper might have caved in, especially after he took an elbow in the face."Few keepers will be happy after conceding three goals but he could not really be faulted for any of them. He was quality and my man of the match without a doubt." Town were rocked inside two minutes when the rampant home side drew a foul on the edge of the box and Barry Putt score a brilliant free-kick. More punishment was to come with Matt Knuckey returning to haunt Town following his two goals in the 2-2 draw at Salters Lane in August. The nippy forward may have been one of the smallest players on the pitch but he capitalised on indecision in the defence to score a cracking diving header. When Cray had a shot hit the bar just second later, the shell-shocked visitors looked like they were in for a torrid afternoon. But they stuck to their task and centre-half James Holder pulled a goal back on the half hour with a neat chip after a flick-on from Adam Hewitson, making his first start of the season. Then came the highlight of the match with Rikki Cable opening his box of tricks to waltz past FIVE players on a mazy run that took him from the halfway line all the way into the box. And he did not disappoint with the finish in what must rank as Town's best goal of the season although he owed much to good running off the ball by John Goodwin. Town emerged from the interval in positive mood and more wizardry from Cable saw him floored in the box after Goodwin played him in. Skipper Julian Beal scored from the penalty spot and Town looked in total command, especially when Ross Cable came on as a sub. Rikki Cable dropped back into midfield to accommodate his brother in attack and the duo combined well on 69 minutes for the fourth goal with Ross providing the final touch. Valley responded with a battling finish when Holmes really came into his own with some cracking handling between the posts. He also had to be incredibly brave with the physical home side desperate to claw their way back into the game. Indeed, play was held up for several minutes so he could receive attention after a stray elbow caught him in the face. Knuckey rode his luck with five minutes remaining when he made it four goals against Town this season, throwing his side a lifeline with a shot that took a deflection on its way past the helpless Holmes. The goal
made for an incredibly tense finale
but Town were not about to let all
their hard work go to waste. To have
done so would have risked seeing a
very different side to manager Cordice.
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