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West Kent Sunday League Report – Sunday 22nd January 2017
Winter finally arrived in the area with a vengeance. Heavy overnight
frost and the resulting frozen pitches wiped out all but two of tthe
games scheduled to be played.
First of all, a correction and an apology. An error crept into the
report on TW Foresters Reserves game last week.. I havecorrected this -
Billy Dunn's four goals were his first of the season and thus his first
hat-trick, not his fourth. Confusion reigned after that, for which I apologise.
Kent Sunday Premier Cup
Quested 7 Tonbridge Origin 0
The League's last
remaning representative in any of the County Cups travelled over to
Chatham to meet holders Quested. This report from Chris Gregory of Tonbridge Origin.
The longer than usual Sunday morning away day trip was always going to
be tough against a quality outfit, who were the current Kent Cup Holders
and who domestically had not lost for several seasons.
We arrived at Luton Rec to find a frozen pitch and not a yard of green
grass in sight. The game had been cancelled. As we prepared to go
home one of the Assistant Referees came up to us and said by Kent FA
rules we were required to wait until 11am for an official cancellation.
At 10.30am we were told to kit up.. the match was now on.
Whilst the pitch was more like concrete and with grip hard to come by,
we needed to get our game faces on. The opening ten minutes were close,
with both teams trying their best to accommodate the testing conditions.
In the 15th minute from a loose ball that bounced free, the Quested
right winger turned swiftly and smashed an unstoppable shot in to the
top corner. Two scrappy goals followed soon after, all but ending
the game as a contest. Quested were moving the ball with precision and
causing all sorts of problems down the wings. We gathered ourselves and
were unlucky not to score ; Jack Kinnear hit the post having gone round
the keeper, and Jimmy Shepherd had a header smartly saved from a well
delivered Chris Gregory freekick. Sadly, we were unable to take our
chances and from two close range finishes towards the end of the half
Quested had established an unassailable five goal lead. Half Time.
Following the interval we were a lot better, contesting and at times
winning a lot of the first and second balls. Our passing improved and in
periods were playing some nice triangles which lead to a decent tally
of chances. Their keeper was called in to action, but largely their two
impressive centre backs were in control of proceedings. At the other end
their number 9 was causing us all sorts of trouble, linking well with
their midfield, so it was not surprising when he added a sixth. Corners
and freekicks were a source of our opportunities, however from our
attacks Quested broke at pace and at times we were defending for our
lives to keep the score down. Arguably, our best chance of the half fell
to the left foot of Myles Lowden who saw his shot wonderfully saved by
their keeper. With ten minutes to go their number 9 added the final goal
of the game from header that bizarrely looped over Alan Page in goal.
Whilst Quested created another ten or so clear cut chances in addition
to the seven they did score, it is important that we take the positives
out of a tough day at the office. Our second half display was one we
should take great heart from, but that 15 minute spell in the first half
cost us pulling off any sort of upset. Having played 13 years worth of
adult football in the WKSL there have been some great teams in my time,
Gardeners Arms, Artois, Simla and Jarvis Brook, but Quested were on a
whole other level. They attacked with pace and artistry (especially out
wide), with decision making of the highest calibre, calmness at the back
and not to mention hard work and desire on and off the ball. Yes at
times we made it far too easy for them in the first half, but they were
simply brilliant, and equally as ruthless on the day. We will aim to
take what positives we can from our Kent Cup run, and now fully focus
our efforts in the League and Senior Cup.
Division Four
The only other game played was the Tonbridge derby between Casuals and
Origin Reserves on the synthetic grass of Hayesbrook School. For Casuals
it was their first win in four matches, for Origin's second string this
was their first defeat in five. Veteran Mark Whorlow scored twice for
the hosts, Paul Edwards the third. Levi Caruana scored for the fourth
game in row for the visitors. Ollie Howard scored their other one, which was his first of the season.
| Pos |
Team |
P |
W |
D |
L |
F |
A |
GD |
Pts |
| 1 |
TW Foresters Reserves |
12 |
11 |
0 |
1 |
63 |
21 |
42 |
33 |
| 2 |
FC Hayward |
11 |
7 |
2 |
2 |
41 |
18 |
23 |
23 |
| 3 |
Insulators Reserves |
12 |
5 |
3 |
4 |
35 |
35 |
0 |
18 |
| 4 |
AFC Six in One |
13 |
5 |
2 |
6 |
61 |
49 |
12 |
17 |
| 5 |
FC Grinstead |
9 |
4 |
3 |
2 |
30 |
25 |
5 |
15 |
| 6 |
Tonbridge Origin Reserves |
11 |
4 |
3 |
4 |
35 |
35 |
0 |
15 |
| 7 |
Tonbridge Casuals |
14 |
2 |
5 |
7 |
27 |
48 |
-21 |
11 |
| 8 |
TW Youth (Ridgewaye) |
12 |
3 |
1 |
8 |
35 |
63 |
-28 |
10 |
| 9 |
Tonbridge United |
10 |
1 |
1 |
8 |
6 |
39 |
-33 |
4 |
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