|
NEWS >>>>>>
24th October 2006 By JAMES BROWN Faversham Town 2 Sporting Bengal United 3 A GOAL of the highest quality from Steve Aslett was not enough to prevent Faversham Town from crashing to another humiliating defeat at Salters Lane on Saturday. Former England schoolboy international Aslett capped a performance head and shoulders above his team-mates when he fired home from 25 yards on 75 minutes. But strugglers Sporting Bengal - a team beaten 10-3 by Thamesmead earlier this season - produced an equally impressive winner with Shinsuke Itagaki curling a delicious free-kick beyond Town goalkeeper Tim Holmes on 80 minutes. The Lilywhites were expected to come out with all guns blazing following the embarrassment of their harrowing 3-0 defeat to Hythe Town on Tuesday night. But they were dreadful in a non-event of a first half and were only marginally better after the interval leaving boss Terry Cordice with alot of thinking to do as he looks to recapture Town's early-season form. Faversham's plight in a niggly contest that witnessed 10 yellow cards - six of which were shown to Bengal - was not helped by the dismissal of stand-in captain Julian Beal for a second bookable offence just after the hour. Sporting took the lead just seconds from half-time when Holmes hesitated before coming out to close down the lively Abdul Ali who went round Town's out-of-sorts stopper to score with ease. Beal hauled Town level 13 minutes into the second half with a cool finish from the penalty spot after Graham Taylor went over in the box after a nudge by Rofiqun Choudhury. Sporting went 2-1 ahead when Richard Gamble failed to deal with eccentric keeper Pape Diagne's kick upfield and Ali caused panic in the box by pumping a ball to the edge of the area. Town's defence failed to clear for a second time and with Holmes caught up in a tangle of bodies, the ball fell to Jahed Khan who had the simplest of finishes from 12 yards. Aslett gave Town hope but Itagaki had the final say and Cordice was left to reflect on a second home defeat of the season. He said: "If we had played anywhere near our capabilities then we would have won the game. Instead, we have given them the points. Victory was there for the taking if we'd wanted it enough. "The lads have to work harder. Sporting Bengal won because they wanted it more but we'll work hard in training this week and see how they respond." Midfielder Beal was walking a tightrope from the 39th minute when he was booked for tripping Ali as he moved clear towards goal. Repeated warnings from referee Darren Blunden went unheeded and the player, who is banned for Saturday's trip to Sevenoaks for running up five bookings, saw red on 65 minutes. To be fair, Beal did NOT retaliate after being fouled by Itagaki but the Town midfielder's running feud with Bengal's matchwinner had already seen him escape sanction on a couple of occasions. In the end, it must have been one flare-up too many for Blunden. The over-worked official really should have made it ten a side just a few seconds later when Shane Baptiste scythed down Michael Seager but he chose yellow instead of red. And Town sub Bradley Maguire could have had no complaints if he had joined Beal in the changing rooms when he clattered into Ali in a frenetic finale. The challenge resulted in one of three cautions in 11 minutes tagged on the end of a second half that would have been thoroughly entertaining for a crowd of 209 had Town not been so frustratingly second best. Bengal goalkeeper Diagne was the butt of many jokes for his timewasting tactics during a bizarre - and often comical - display between the posts. At one point he easily gathered a ball with barely enough pace to reach him only to launch a dramatic forward roll to hoots of derision from the Lilywhite faithful. Mind you, at that point it was the only way he was going to dirty his fluorescent yellow jersey on a day when Town really did not impose themselves on the game. Aslett was the one exception and his second goal of the season was worth the admission price alone. Ironically, he owed the opportunity following two decent 50/50 tackles in midfield with Mark Smith winning the first as Town moved over the halfway line. The ball fell just beyond Aslett but he retained possession with a great tackle of his own before releasing second-half substitute Andy Martin. Aslett then made a run to the left and took a return pass from pal Martin before letting fly with a sweet strike that flew beyond Diagne and into the top right-hand corner. It was a rare moment of brilliance matched only by Itagaki's sensational winner. Town's Top Man: Steve Aslett - Quality goal, quality performance. If only his team-mates had responded to the Hythe debacle in the same fashion Tim Holmes 5, Wayne "Junior" Farrell 5, Mike Seager 6, Wes Hammond 7, Richard Gamble 5, Gary Stock 6, Julian Beal 6, Steve Aslett 7, Graham Taylor 5, Kris Parker 5, Mark Smith 6. Substitutes: Andy Martin (for Farrell, 45) 7, Brad Maguire (for Seager, 70) 6, Aaron Scanlon (for Gamble, 71) 7.
|
Fixtures / Match Reports Check out the details of upcoming fixtures and previous match reports. League
Tables Player
Stats
|
 |
