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18th July 2006

By JAMES BROWN

Picures - Tony Gray

Faversham Town 0 Cray Wanderers 4

JOHN GOODWIN was left with a World Cup hangover at Salters Lane on
Saturday but it had nothing to do with England's dismal showing in
Germany.

Town striker Goodwin was still in short trousers when Harald
Schumacher came charging out of goal before launching himself at
France defender Patrick Battiston in the semi-finals of Spain 82.

CLOSING IN ... Mark Smith (left) tries to snuff out a Cray attack

Cray goalkeeper Steve Northwood was even younger but he still
pulled off a pretty convincing impression of the flying West German
as Town created their only real chance of a horribly one-sided contest.

Goodwin was sent crashing just outside the area but referee Ian
Regan showed he was suffering a World Cup hangover of his own when he
failed to produce a card of any colour.

Zinedine Zidane is the obvious exception but you did not have to do
too much wrong in Deutschland this summer to find your way into a
referee's notepad.

A SHADE DISAPPOINTED...Town boss Terry Cordice with assistant manager Peter Holder and new first team coach Paul Copley (right)

Yet back in the rough and tumble of an English pre-season,
Northwood's charge of the not-so-bright brigade led to nothing more
than a free-kick which came to nothing.

Northwood was not the only player to enjoy the indulgence of Mr
Regan. Town skipper Julian Beal was forced to battle all day for
scraps and he inevitably ended up in bother.

However, his frequent bouts of handbags resulted in nothing more
than a series of final warnings from the man in black.

To be fair, referees are always more lenient in the heat of summer
and a rash of cards would only have raised the temperature further
still and this was not a dirty game.

Cray went ahead on 18 minutes when Kris Parker - operating in his
preferred role in defence - brought down Dave Hall with a rash
challenge in the penalty box.

Gary Abbot made no mistake from 12 yards and Wanderers - who
finished 10th in Ryman League Division One South last season - went
into the break with a 2-0 lead thanks to Ross Lover.

Leigh Bremner made the most of uncertainty at the back to net
number three 10 minutes into the second half, firing a left-foot shot
that goalkeeper Tim Holmes got a hand to but could not keep out.

And Matt Lee rounded off a comprehensive victory for the Wanderers
at the end of a short corner move involving Bremner and Terry Khan.

By that time, Northwood was on the sidelines having been
substituted. Sadly for bruised Goodwin, it wasn't the first time he
been cleared for take off that afternoon.

Town's Top Man: Julian Beal - Lucky to avoid at least a booking but
showed the kind of battling spirit Town will need in the Kent League

GO ON MY SON...Julian Beal looks to set up an attack watched not only by Richard Gamble but dad Brian Beal, the lone spectator

Bobby Mason's Marks (out of 10): Tim Holmes 6, Mark Smith 5,
Richard Gamble 6, Stuart Dane 7, James Holder 7, Kris Parker 5, Dean
Abrahams 5, Julian Beal 8, John Goodwin 6, Andy Martin 5, Stuart
Smith 6.

Substitutes: Gary Stock (for Dane, 45 minutes) 7, Nicky Scott (for
Goodwin, 65), Lee Skinner (for S Smith, 65) 6, Steve Ward (for
Martin, 78) 5.

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