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.

Back On Track: Hendon 1-0 Canvey Island

Hendon 1-0 Canvey Island

Ryman League Premier Division

Saturday 12^th November 2011

Vale Farm

It was late afternoon on Friday, I was just wasting a bit of time at work before 5pm when my phone vibrated on my desk. A text message had arrived, and it was from Twitter, more specifically, @mccann2507’s account. ‘We add two signings of intent in the form of experience….CB Frank Sinclair and Wide man Darren Currie! Both will add plenty to our squad’. Now, I am the wrong side of 30 and yet still, the signing of players who I used to sign on Championship Manager 10-15 years ago still brings me out in the most excited of sweats. I was fairly confident that Currie, whose father Paul played for the Greens in the 70s and 80s scoring 13 goals in 63 games and whose uncle Tony, the famous England international played a handful of games for in the 1985/6 season, still had the required quality. He had very briefly been player/assistant at Boreham Wood earlier in the season and as the reports from We Are The Wood show, he still had it, even if he did leave the club under something of a cloud.. As early as this summer, he had been on trial with Southend.

As for Sinclair, I have to admit I’d rather lost track of his career after his time at Leicester. It has since emerged that he was in the same youth team at Chelsea as Gary Mac and played in the same Leicester side as Junior Lewis. Indications are that he has signed to help us out for a couple of weeks whilst Michael Peacock and Elliott Brathwaite are out injured and with Bradley Fraser now on loan at Potters Bar Town. As a result I was worried that he had spent the last 5 years not having played and that he would be completely shown up as Leo Roget once was when I saw him playing for St. Albans City. The news that he was a couple of weeks shy of his 40^th birthday did nothing to help allay any fears I had. Thankfully, they were all for nothing.

Frank's Car in the car park

There were a number of changes from the XI that took the field the previous weekend against Leatherhead. Sinclair came in for Fraser at centre half, James Fisher made his first start in place of the suspended Kevin Maclaren, Elliott Godfrey returned to fitness and came in for the injured James Archer whilst Currie was named at number 10 in place of the benched Isaiah Rankin. His time though, would come.

Before the action started, I had a perusal of the programme and was interested by the manager’s notes. I always enjoy reading Gary Mac’s musings, I think he is as honest as they come when assessing our shortcomings and where we’ve done well. I always remember reading Neil Price’s words with a mixture of an amused smile and a bemused frown on my face as they rarely seemed to match what I’d seen with my eyes from behind the goal. I certainly wouldn’t disagree with the manager’s assertion that in spite of our bad run, that the effort has been there. From what I have seen, I cannot pick out or fault any of the players for their commitment or work rate (with one possible exception who has now left the squad). Against Met Police, Horsham and Leatherhead we had enough possession and enough openings or opportunities to have taken something from each game, but just lacked that little bit of ruthless quality at either end of the pitch to have taken anything. What interested me in particular were his comments about expectations and negative reactions to our recent run of results and I think, upon reflection, he made a number of valid points.

Perhaps our unexpectedly good start to the season has increased expectations on the terraces to such a point that picking up 2 points from 9 against the bottom three in the division is seen as underachieving. I’m probably as guilty, if not more so in this journal, as anyone of that, but then perhaps we need to temper that with the 16 points taken from matches against Bury Town, Wealdstone, Carshalton, Hastings, Harrow and Canvey Island as opposed to the single point we took from the same fixtures last term. Secondly, there is the large number of players signed on, it’s a long time since we’ve had such a plethora of options available when everyone’s been fit. And there is the caveat. ‘when everyone’s been fit’. That hasn’t been the case at all this season, and with no reserve team, Under 21 team or Under 18 team for Gary Mac to fall back on to make numbers up with when short, it has meant that the number of players has had to be topped up through players coming into the club when short. Signs are there that we are turning the corner injury wise, I only hope that this continues and we are soon able to field something close to the XI which I suspect the manager would like to be able to field week in week out. In the mean time gaffer, keep up the sterling work.

Basking in the glow of the lunchtime kick off, the Wembley Arch in the distance preparing to play host to some other teams, Sky Sports News camera and reporter were in attendance at the game as well. The media glare was on the two sides and I think it’s fair to say one side responded, and the one side didn’t. I’ll leave it to you to draw your own conclusions as to which team was which from the following few paragraphs.

Unbelievable Jeff! Team news from Vale Farm takes Jeff by surprise

From the moment the game started, there was a purpose about the green shirted Trojans that had been missing over the last few weeks. There was a crispness and conviction to the passing straight away, there was a solid look to the back four again. This observer soon began to relax and enjoy what was on show. Lest us not forget that Canvey had thrashed us 4-0 just 3 short weeks ago and arrived at Vale Farm on the back of further progression in the FA Trophy against Grays Athletic.

Sinclair was denied a free header from an early Scott Cousins corner as the ball was flicked away deftly by a Canvey head before Elliott Godfrey, who was excellent in the ‘number 10’ position just a couple of yards off the target man, forced a comfortable save from James Russell in the Canvey goal with a low shot from 25 yards or so. Frustratingly, Godfrey and Charles were effectively through 2 on 1 with a retreating Canvey centre half but with Charles unable to peel off and get himself onside for Godfrey to play him in, the Canadian was forced to go his own way.

With the Greens on top in terms of possession, Sinclair and Wharton marshalling Jason Hallett and Danny Heale well and James Fisher checking the supply of ball into the dangerous Rob King, we began to see why Mauro Vilhete is so highly rated by those at Underhill. In the first period, he beat Ashley Dumas, by no means the worst left back in the league, time and time again. If not for pace, then with a trick. Had his final ball been better, Hendon would have had every chance to have gone into the break a couple of goals to the good. Once he dinked the ball tamely into Russell’s arms with Godfrey and Charles well placed in the middle, once he fired over the bar from an angle and on a couple of occasions, slightly overhit his cross into the box. At the other end, Sean Thomas was largely untroubled, dealing well with a couple of crosses and watching as Canvey’s only shot on goal from Hallett after neat build up ended up nearer Harrow Road than the top corner of the goal. There were appeals for a spot kick late on in the half as Cousins eased King off the ball, but any award would have been extremely harsh.

As the half time whistle sounded, there were a few smiles detectable on the faces of some Greens faithful, although there were still a few nerves around. Although the better of the two sides, there was nothing tangible to show for their efforts in terms of working Russell or indeed, the netting behind him. Elliott Charles, who had once again worked himself to the bone up front was replaced at the break by Isaiah Rankin.

It took less than four minutes for the substitution to look like a managerial masterstroke. Darren Currie, having swapped flanks with Vilhete played a sumptious first time ball, not for the first time) in between Dumas and Steve Sheehan for the lively Godfrey to run onto, into the penalty area. He pulled the ball back for Rankin who took a touch and with two defenders converging on him guided the ball with the minimum of fuss beyond Russell and into the bottom corner of the net. It was a lovely goal and well deserved.

Any expected Canvey fightback never really materialised. Sean Thomas made a couple more good claims from crosses and one good tip over from a Hallett chipped that was just dipping under the bar, but otherwise, was really well protected by the four in front of him. Whilst Sinclair marshaled things well, it was once again Ryan Wharton who really impressed me. On more than one occasion he made excellent timely interceptions, won just about everything in the air and passed the ball well from the back. They looked a far more cohesive and confident unit. Out wide, Vilhete was having as much, if not more success against Andrew West, the Canvey right back who had to resort to a clothes-line to stop him at one stage in the second half as the winger threatened to burst away from him again. With the incident occurring deep inside Hendon territory, the yellow card was entirely correct.

With Rankin and Godfrey linking up well through the middle and occupying the two Canvey centre halves, it gave Vilhete every opportunity to run at West one on one. At one point he got through and his powerful drive was well repelled by Russell. On a second occasion his pull back found Rankin whose effort was superbly pushed away by Russell who was at first going the wrong way (Vilhete tapped the rebound in but from an offside position) and then late on, he got around the Canvey keeper, pulled the ball back again for Rankin who scuffed his effort wide of the goal. With a little more fortune, the former Arsenal man would have been walking home with the match-ball, one final chance that owed as much to his strength and resilience saw him poke the ball no more than 6 inches past the far post with the goalkeeper beaten. Hendon probably deserved a second goal for their efforts, but for one reason or another, it didn’t come.

James Russell - Outstanding for the Islanders

And that was fine, because Canvey in truth, threatened little. It’s obvious why they have only scored 16 league goals so far this season, they are probably a couple of players short of being a play off side. Maybe a livewire striker and a winger to compliment Alex Rhodes. Still, this was a good 3 points for the Greens who can go into the very difficult trip to Lowestoft in good heart and confident mood. If anything, Saturday afternoon was more than a return to the form of earlier on in the season, but the most complete 90 minutes I’ve seen us have so far. There’s no doubt that the additions of Sinclair and Currie helped, but I think just as important was James Fisher in the middle of the park. He brought a calm authority to proceedings that we have lacked in the last couple of weeks and on this evidence, looks a very neat signing by the manager. 3 points, out of the rut and a clean sheet again. A week really is a long time in football.

Player Ratings

Sean Thomas: Largely untroubled, but kept his concentration to make a couple of very smart claims and one good save to keep a well deserved clean sheet. 7

2. James Parker: Best I’ve seen from him this season. Dealt with any threat he was up against well, including Alex Rhodes in the 2^nd half and pushed forward to good effect too. Looked much more confident. 7

3. Scott Cousins: Another smart performance by the skipper, Mr. Consistency once again (one or two loose passes excepted). Defended well, used the ball well, Good stuff again. 7

4. Ryan Wharton: Outstanding. Fast becoming the lynchpin of the Greens back 4. Dealt with the physical threat of Jason Hallett, scorer of a treble here last season, extremely well. Text book centre half performance. 9

5. Frank Sinclair: Oozed class. Looked to have an extra few seconds on the ball, barely had to break sweat and passed the ball well. Not sure every match will be this much of a stroll for him, but reminded me of Ian Cox at Maidstone a few years ago. 8

6. Dave Diedhiou: Loose in possession once or twice again, but far more dominating performance by the big guy who along with James Fisher did well to stop Matt Game and Rob King dominating the game as they did 3 weeks ago. 7

7. James Fisher: Took a few minutes to settle down and misplaced a couple of passes but soon looked as though he’d been part of the side for years. Broke things up well, passed the ball well. Very assured performance. 8

8. Elliott Godfrey: Influential in what I suspect may be his favourite position just off the number 9. Looked sharp, fitter and happier in possession and was at the centre of much that was good about Hendon’s approach play. 8

9. Elliott Charles: Worked hard in the first half before being replaced at the break. Didn’t have a sight of goal, but kept both centre halves occupied at all times. 7

10. Darren Currie: As impressive off the ball as on it. His first touch was dead weight, every pass was made with purpose, can still beat a man with skill, if not pace, and still has a very sharp footballing mind. A pleasure to watch. 8

11. Mauro Vilhete: Wreaked havoc on both Canvey full backs and with a better final ball would have been the architect behind a far greater scoreline. Easy to see why he’s been involved with Barnet’s first team in the past. Worked hard as well, tracked back and made a superb tackle in his own half in the second period. 9

Substitutes

12. Isaiah Rankin: Best performance of the season by a mile coming off the bench at half time. Moments of class, well taken goal and unlucky not to add to his tally on a couple of occasions. 8

14. Belal Aiteouakrim: Came on late for Vilhete who took a knock. Threatened to break clear late on but his control let him down. Looks low on confidence.

15. Carl McCluskey: Replaced Elliott Godfrey with about 15 minutes remaining and kept things ticking over smoothly behind Rankin.

Star Man: Ryan Wharton

Match Rating: 7/10

Verdict: A thoroughly deserved 3 points and a much better feeling around the place than six days previously. Everyone was on their game, and didn’t let the visitors get started. No doubt that the new faces added a lot of quality to the side, on this evidence, the longer they’re available the better.