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29th September 2006 Faversham Town U-18s 1 Crockenhill U-18s 0 RAY TURNER has paid tribute to his rookie Faversham Town Under-18s after they secured a first win of the season. Youth development officer Turner has been right behind his fledgling youth team throughout a difficult start to their first campaign. And he was in jubilant mood after Adam Oxberry's 30th-minute strike finally delivered his side a debut victory in front of an ecstatic Salters Lane crowd of 124 on Tuesday night. Oxberry, who has already made an impact for Town Reserves this season, was the hero of the hour but boss Turner preferred to focus on a good all-round team performance that saw Town progress to the second round of the John Ullman Cup. He said: "I am just so pleased for the players. They really deserve this result. It is a just reward for their huge effort. I was particurlarly pleased it was acheived in front of a substantial crowd who have been very supportive and gave the players a huge cheer as they left the pitch. "I have told the players to make sure they enjoy this result and then make sure we maintain the momentum. It is important we realise how we acheived this win and continue to learn, work hard in training and maintain our concentration levels." And he added: "We have worked hard on a shape which is difficult to break down. The biggest thing for me was being able to send out the same starting line-up as last time when the players performed well. "With the players performing the same roles it led to more confidence in our system. We are trying to play good football throughout the team from back to front." Crucially, Oxberry's strike saw Town go ahead for the first time this season and they played some good football with confidence spreading throughout the side. Turner revealed: "We talked about how important it was to get the first goal, without getting desperate and losing our shape. I was very pleased with their patient start in the game. "It was a great forward's goal from Adam. I was particurlarly pleased for him because he works tremendously hard for the team. Because of the system we play, he often lacks support but he has a great attitude and at 16 is a great prospect for the club." Oxberry still had a lot to do as the ball was played into his feet on the angle of the six-yard box. But he beat his marker, pushed the ball on to his left foot and let fly with a great finish into the opposite corner. Town's victory was under-pinned by their dominant centre-midfield partnership of Hugo Gaskin and Adam Lawrence who wasted no time in releasing wide men Sam Couzins and Luke O'Regan. This enabled Town to push three men on and they finished the half strongly, with five shots on target in the 15 minutes before half-time. The second half started slowly for Town with Crockenhill bouncing back strongly and this gave the likes of skipper Phil Battersby and his defence a chance to shine along with goalkeper Daniel Smith. Town slowly began to wrestle back the initiative with more good midfield play and this led to a number of chances. With Oxberry going off with cramp just after the hour, in-form Sam Parter came on to lead the line well. Dan Gurr, who has been patient on the bench for the last two fixtures, replaced the impressive Jack Gray with 20 minutes to go and showed his power and crossing ability down the right. And Town went from strength to strength with Nikki Ede settling in well down the left and markers Jim Easter and Brad Doyle also in great form. Lawrence hit a great shot from the edge of the box that was well saved before Couzins went close and then Parter had a header cleared off the line. Town's young guns received a standing ovation from the crowd after the final whistle and Turner was in wonderland. He said: "All the team would like to thank everyone for their great support and hope they enjoyed the night. "I would like to make a special mention to Harrison Grant who has been on the bench for the last two games without getting on. He is a hugely popular in the changing room and a significant and important member of the squad. "We now have three difficult away games at Dover, Deal and Sittingbourne and we are hoping to pick up some more results."
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