Ranks Awfully, I Sigh

I would have taken a point quite frankly. Before the game, at half time, ten minutes from the end. A goalless draw would have been fine. Maybe not ideal in the pursuit of a play-off spot given the games in hand our rivals have on us, but as that soon to be famous new adage goes, Points in the bank are worth more than games in the tank.

Lowestoft Town arrived at Vale Farm aching to get themselves back into some sort of title form. They began the day five points ahead of the Greens as Billericay’s current closest challengers for the title despite a disappointing run of form that had seen them pick up just seven points since the turn of the year and win one of their previous five matches in all competitions. In spite of that, they remained this correspondent’s pick for the title come the end of April.

Speak of the Trawlerboys to any Hendon fan and the chances are they will break out in a cold sweat and quite probably have a heart attack. Funnily enough though, I don’t think our 8-1 trouncing in Suffolk just over a year ago was the lowest nor most embarrassing moment of last term. That honour went to the 8 man debacle on Canvey Island. This season’s trip to the eastern tip of the UK went much better – it would have had to have gone some to have been worse than last season’s efforts – but despite a good performance, the Greens lost by 2 goals to nil.

With our return to form and the back four once again enjoying their miserly selves since shipping eight goals in two games around New Year, I thought that a point was a realistic hope if not perhaps a realistic expectation.

The Trawlerboys included two ex Football Leaguers of some note in their starting line-up, Adrian Forbes lining up at right back and new addition Dean Sinclair directing things from the heart of the Lowestoft midfield. A collective sigh of relief went around the Hendon faithful when the news broke that their former heart-throb Lubo Guentchev would be starting amongst the Lowestoft substitutes, yet still their starting XI possessed more than enough quality and goal potential to give this scribe in particular mild and irregular palpitations.

Dean Sinclair, seen here playing for Barnet

The first half might as well not have bothered kicking off. About the only incidents of note were an extremely loud penalty claim by the visitors that was waved away (some eyewitnesses of a Greener persuasion suspected we got away with one there) and a superb flowing move that would have had Adrian Chiles looking for a third, fourth and probably fifth hand upon which to count the number of passes from Lowestoft ended with a powerful Matt Nolan effort that was turned aside with a decent block.

On that note, Matt Nolan was completely unrecognisable from the player I remember as a youngster making his name at Hitchin Town more than a decade ago now. It took me the best part of half an hour to realise who he was (I thought for quite a while it was former Harrow, Wimbledon and sundry others target man Darren Grieves). I always thought of him as more of a number 10 than a number 9, a second striker as opposed to a target man. Just goes to show how much I know.

For the Greens with their 4-5-1 formation (or 4-4-1-1) Greg Ngoyi received little service or support not to mention no change from the strong centre half pairing of Stuart Gaughren and Scott Mitchell. The quality of ball forward from the back and midfield wasn’t great, and part of this was down to the impressive quality of Lowestoft’s pressing game. Led from the front by Chris Henderson, no Hendon player was given time on the ball and this led to possession being recycled time and again.

The deep lying midfielders for either side Dean Sinclair and Casey Maclaren were probably the best players on the pitch in the first half which says a lot for the scrappy quality that was on show. I think this position is the one in which the elder Maclaren excels in best. What you know you will get from him is 100% running and commitment, but when deployed wide in midfield for example, sometimes the quality you might want in terms of the final ball is lacking. When able to keep things nice and simple he looks a very good player, as does Kevin when playing the same role.

Half time came with the game goalless and as coincidence would have it, that’s how the 2^nd period would begin.

Gary Mac made a change at the break with Elliott Charles replacing Jamie Busby and joining Greg up front and immediately, we had more purpose and threat about our play. I think both our main strikers (I’m not including Isaiah Rankin in this because I think his main threat is coming off the bench) are better when playing up front with someone else and the ‘little and large’ combination that Greg and Elliott provide works very well. Faced with the physical presence of Charles, all of a sudden the two Lowestoft centre halves looked quite a lot less secure.

Charles hit the bar with a close range header from a superb Darren Currie corner but was ruled to have impeded Andy Reynolds in the Lowestoft goal. It was noticeable just how much pressure the visiting custodian was subjected to when the Greens had set pieces around the penalty area and it was clear why. At no point did he look secure when the ball was floating around in the air around his head throughout the afternoon.

To be fair to Reynolds, he may well have been unsettled by accepting the award for the most pointless caution of the season when, after being told on three or four occasions by the referee’s assistant stood no more than 10 yards away from him to move the ball back before taking a free kick and refusing to do so the referee was forced to run 40 odd yards to brandish the yellow card. Whilst some may think the officials were being pedantic (and to some extent they were), that doesn’t excuse Reynolds’ unwillingness to take the kick from the place the official wanted him to. Particularly having already been made to re-take the kick, to commit the same offence again is quite frankly bordering on idiocy.

As the game wore on, it became increasingly likely that the breakthrough would come through outrageous fortune or reckless misadventure. Just past the hour mark a backpass from Scott Cousins bounced awkwardly on the sandy, uneven surface and over the swinging boot of Berkley Laurencin. Under pressure from the ever lurking Henderson, the goalkeeper did pretty well to recover before the Lowestoft forward but was extremely fortunate as his clearance rebounded off of Henderson from a yard or two out and luckily for him, ricocheting off the outside of the post. Sigh of relief breathed.

Elliott Godfrey finally had the Greens’ first serious effort on goal midway through the period pouncing on another flap by Reynolds, but his effort was well blocked by a sprawling Gaughren.

The breakthrough when it did come was due to an enormous slice of fortune, and a sprinkling of misadventure as Currie’s through ball should have been dealt with by Reynolds and substitute Stuart Ainsley under pressure from Rankin. Somewhere amongst the visitor’s communications wires were crossed and as Reynolds advanced, what should have been a simple back header sailed over the goalkeeper’s head and with Rankin having gambled as all good poachers do, he stooped to head home his third late goal from the bench in his last three league appearances. Ole Gunnar Solksjaer? Pah! Not needed thanks.

This is becoming a more and more familiar pose for Ranks by the week

There were eight minutes plus four added minutes for the Greens to hold out and by and large they did so without too many scares. Berkley who had previously done well to touch a curling effort from Rob Eagle (I think) just over the top, had a routine save to make from an Adam Smith free kick and Matt Nolan curled a shot just wide of the goalkeeper’s left upright but despite a lot of huff and puff, the Green wall at the back remained steadfast.

Not for the first time this season, immense credit has to go to the back four, in particular the two centre halves. Ryan Wharton was once again outstanding, reading the game well and proving himself more than able to deal with the physical threat of Nolan. Next to him James Fisher once again looked the part, marshalling things with calm cool effectiveness. Is this our best partnership at the back since Cooper and Butler? It’s early days yet, but they quite possibly are.

At the whistle, the home players and fans celebrated a result that could probably rival the win against Sutton United at Vale Farm as the best result since we moved there. I came away with the feeling that we matched one of the main contenders for the title and although I think on balance a point apiece would have been fair reward for both sides, to come out on top in a match like that shows that actually, we have a real chance of seriously challenging for the top five this season. This time last year I think we’d have lost that game 3-0. Things have changed and there is belief, determination and perhaps most importantly togetherness amongst the players. The celebration that greeted Rankin’s goal was proof of that.

Next up it’s back to cup action against local boys Harrow Borough as the Greens seek to reach their second semi final of the season in a week. Having already played Boro three times this season and come out on top just the once, Gary Mac will be very keen to put the record straight and continue our proud recent tradition in the London Senior Cup.

Player Ratings

1. Berkley Laurencin: Another clean sheet for the goalkeeper, the third on the spin and 19^th of the season for the club. I certainly cannot remember this many blanks sheets before. Not really tested, but dealt well with almost everything thrown at him. 7/10

2. James Parker: Faced with the tricky test of keeping former Norwich and Luton man Rob Eagle quiet, he dealt with his task well. Defended superbly, but perhaps lacking a bit of quality at times, first half particularly with his distribution. 7

3. Scott Cousins: Another very good performance by the skipper. No nonsense defending kept Michael Frew quiet down the Lowestoft right flank and linked up well when able to with Currie down the left. 7

4. Ryan Wharton: I think before long I might need to think up new superlatives for the centre half. Another superb performance marshalling a dangerous opponent in Matt Nolan. Read the game well, strong and rarely beaten in the air or on the ground. 9

5. James Fisher: Has slotted in beautifully at centre half alongside Wharton and looks as though he’s played there all his life. I don’t know, perhaps he has. Calm on the ball, read the game well and deceptively good in the air as well. 8

6. Casey Maclaren: Playing in the holding role in which Kevin has impressed so much this season, Casey gave probably his best performance that I’ve witnessed this term. Strong, two excellent challenges in particular and kept the game simple in possession. 8

7. Carl McCluskey: Preferred to Michael Lewis or Jerome Federico in a largely wide midfield role, although occasionally getting forward to assist Greg Ngoyi up front. Worked very hard and used the ball well in the second half in particular. 7

8. Elliott Godfrey: Picked up a booking for a mistimed challenge in the first half, Elliott was quietly efficient and came more into the game after the break as he was given more space to pull the strings in midfield. 7

9. Greg Ngoyi: Worked extremely hard and almost managed to break the shackles of the two opposing centre halves in the first half without the ball falling his way. Helped with the addition of Elliott Charles at half time, lively stuff from the top scorer. 7

10. Darren Currie: Simply oozes class. Have I said that about him already? Able to last 90 minutes and barely break sweat, yet works as hard as anyone on the pitch. Very neat and tidy, keeps things simple, keeps possession and capable of the killer ball. 7

11. Jamie Busby: Quiet first half from the midfield dynamo who still seems to be trying to shake off the effects of his time out of the side injured. Replaced at half time in a tactical move that definitely paid dividends. 6

Substitutes

12. Dave Diedhiou: Played about 90 seconds and hoofed the ball towards Greenford once.

13. Isaiah Rankin: What can you say? Another late goal, although by his own standards this one was practically opening minute. Gambled on a mistake and reaped the dividends. Another classy little cameo. 8

15. Elliott Charles: Gave us an outlet after the break and certainly unsettled the Lowestoft back four with his pace, power and strength up front. 7

Match Rating: 4/10

Man Of The Match: Ryan Wharton

Verdict: An excellent three points that confirms us as definite contenders for a play-off berth now. Good results against Bury, Hornchurch and now Lowestoft have proven that we can mix it with the top sides in the division. This win was as much about brawn and spirit as anything else and although a goalless draw would probably have been fair, I’m certainly not going to be writing to the League and asking them to take the extra two points away from us.