Greenwich made it three wins in their last four games on Saturday, defeating Faversham Town FC in a close game at the DGS Marine Stadium.
The match began slowly with the bulk of the play comprising of cheap fouls and ‘nearly moments’ in attack from either side. The Cannons’ Ryan King-Elliot made daring runs down the right wing, at one point sitting his marker on the ground before a low-driven-cross was cleared by Faversham defenders.
Full-back Tom Carlse had a strong first half for the home side. Faversham were through on goal and would have scored, if it wasn’t for Carlse darting back with an assertive last-ditch tackle to quash the danger. His link up play with Kaka Dembele also allowed Carlse to escape down the left multiple times, but unfortunately for Greenwich the crosses were not able to find a teammate on each occasion.
Chances Spurned
Down the other end, Faversham defender Oliver Lee found himself with a chance to score well inside the box, but he put his shot over the bar and into the neighbouring allotment. Fortunately for him, he was flagged offside.
The first half was very much a ‘what could’ve been’ affair, and the second half seemed to go the same way. Ten minutes after the restart, Dembele wasted a free-kick in a good position, before Bradley Pritchard managed to get a weak shot away after King-Elliot lofted the ball over, but the keeper was more than equal to the attempt.
Minutes later and Faversham had a faint shout for a penalty after a player was felled in the box. The half-hearted appeal was swiftly rejected by the referee and play resumed.
Greenwich began to ask questions of the opposition defence when a ball over the top found top scorer Jack Barham, The 26-goal man beat the keeper to the ball but it forced him wide and his resulting strike was agonizingly the wrong side of the post.
Golden Gloves
The Boro’s near miss appeared to rile Faversham into life, as they broke straight down the other end of the pitch. Harry Stannard and Jordan Wright forced a sensational double save from Borough shot-stopper Michael McEntergart, who covered a lot of ground to deny the visiting team.
Greenwich finally took the lead with 15 minutes remaining, when Barham picked up the ball on the halfway line and advanced with a piercing run at the Lilywhites’ defence. He found King-Elliot whose resulting cross found Dembele, and the number 20 couldn’t miss as he tapped the ball home to give Paul Barnes’ team the lead.
The home side showed resilience and were able hang on for all three points. This result means Greenwich remain in fourth place, whilst Faversham dropped below Ramsgate to 19th.
Greenwich XI: McEntergart, Paul, Carlse, Fitzsimons, McLean, Barham, Pritchard ©, Corne, King-Elliot(Fuseini), Dembele(Dukali), Delgrado-Hibbert(Ekpiteda)
Subs: Dukali, Fuseini, Mcgeehan, Ekpiteda, Gregory