Monday, October 20, 2008 20:55
If ever a game defined the footballing cliché 'a game of two halves' then this was it, writes Mark Downs.
Saturday's visit of Slade Green to Salters Lane proved to be just that with Faversham Town going in only one goal down at half time.
What followed in the second half was extraordinary. With all the activity behind the scenes during the past week including joint manager Jimmy Strouts annoucing his retirement, remaining manager Justin Luchford challenged his players to get a win and to dedicate it to the outgoing Strouts.
He got his wish with an excellent 5-2 victory. Luchford was philisophical about the 'two half' performance by saying "I don't think we were poor in the first half. I was actually very impressed with Slade Green. I thought they were the best side we have faced this year.
They caused us problems by playing the lad on the right hand side very high and wide. This confused the lads a bit and it meant that the midfield couldn't get close enough and so they had space to play. "It was also difficult for the front lads as the full backs were getting out due to the space and leaving them isolated. I thought although they were good going forward we defended fairly well. Kev [Readings] had one shot to save other than the goal and when there were a few scrambles, we got ourselves in the way.
"We were unfortunate once or twice with offside decisions that were very tight. In fact I thought both linesmen were poor on the day, getting alot of big decisions wrong, although I thought the referee played ok." With the talk around the ground at half about what had just been witnessed, manager Luchford earned his spurs in the dressing room with a change in personel, formation and luck.
"We said after 20 minutes that we might have to change things to take the game to them and so we changed the formation at half time" said Luchford. "I brought Steve O'Brien off and went with a three up front with pace in Dane [Luchford] and Damian [Abel]. "We said that we needed to put them on the back foot quickly and try and get an early goal and that we did. Two goals in five minutes really took the game to them.
We could have won by so many more in the second half and when Dane missed the one-on-one which could have sent us 3-1 ahead, we thought it may have been crucial". It proved to be a potential disaster as the referee awarded a very dubious looking penalty when Readings 'up-ended' a Green striker.
"They got the penalty, which apparently wasn't according to their striker, Kev and Shearer, but he took the penalty well" Luchford was quick to point out. Following the disappointment of the equaliser, heads did not drop. "I then wanted us to up the level again and so I brought off the hard working Guiver and sent Sean [Hetterley] on and put Damian through the middle to give us pace across all three.
This paid off big time. "A good free kick from Dane gave Shearer the chance to head the ball down and after a scramble we managed to get the ball over the line. This pretty much won us the game. "Sean then got free twice, once being brought down and the other a great finish.
It just showed what a strong bench we have when I still had Mike McKenna in my locker. A great result, but on the second half display we deserved that win and it could have been a few more. To score five goals in the second half is very pleasing.
A good crowd, but not exceptional in numbers, was treated to an entertaining game of football. Times are good to visit Salters Lane and enjoy the game we all love. "It's hard at the moment with the crowd as we are a bit inconsistent" said Luchford "If we can go on a run of a few wins then I'm sure more will come through.
It was still a good crowd and they have now witnessed 15 goals at home in the last three league games. Hopefully they will spread the word and we can increase the numbers a bit more". This article was written prior to Tuesday night's game against Hythe.
This coming Saturday, Beckenham return to the Lane following their 5-1 defeat last month in the league, this time the League Cup is the competition. "Beckenham game will be much the same as last time" said Luchford, although he may not be predicting another such scoreline.
"They will come and try and play football and we will have to work hard. We will need the whole squad for this game as three games in eight days will take its toll on everyone. It's a cup and the first leg, so we go into new territory with a two-legged affair.
"We need to take a win up to Beckenham and a clean sheet would be very nice indeed. We have always had tough draws in the Cups and this is no different, but if you want to win a cup you have to beat the top sides to get there. They are still a good side despite the League position and I expect it to be a lot tighter than the last time we met them "We will use the whole squad as some players will be tired, but we will be strong. These are Saturday games and so we cannot afford to give players rests. They don't want to rest either, we need to get momentum again now and go on a nice run if we can."