Match Report – Kennington 7-0 Shoreham
Sunday 11th October
Buildbase F.A. Vase 2nd Qualifying Round
Kennington 7-0 Shoreham
Match Report by Charlie Bradford – published at Non League Chronicles
Given it was a ground within the SCEFL that I had not done previously (albeit a bracketed SCEFL ground what with it being Ashford United’s ground) today’s obvious choice of fixture for me was Kennington V Shoreham in the Buildbase F.A. Vase 2nd Qualifying Round, and even more so when knowing my pals Paul, Eddie, Simon and Jim were also attending.
The ground itself was decent with a very wide main stand across one side of the 3G pitch, covered standing behind both goals, and open standing on far side.
With Kennington top of the Southern Counties East League Division One, and Shoreham 7th in the Southern Combination Division One, the form of both sides suggested a good game
Kennington got off to a perfect start on three minutes when a long throw in from the left wing found the head of Gary Lockyer who headed the ball home from around 12 yards out.
Barely 7 minutes later, Kennington would go 2-0 up when Kennington’s goalkeeper Joe Mant went route one and Gary Lockyer found himself in beyond the defensive line as a result, neatly lobbing Shoreham’s goalkeeper from the edge of the box and finding the back of the net.
Shoreham’s only real significant chance of the first half came in the 19th minute when they had a long throw in flicked on to their number 11 who poked his shot wide from 12 yards out.
After Charlie Owen went for a lobbed effort from the edge of the box go just wide, Kennington eventually got their third when Ryan Philpott found a bit of space at the edge of the box and went for a lobbed shot which landed beautifully into the top right hand corner, giving the Shoreham goalkeeper no chance.
HT: 3-0.
Coming from the seaside, it could be said Shoreham were all at sea!
Kennington continued to stick their foot to the pedal and should have scored a fourth a few minutes into the second half when Charlie Owen got played in down the left and his shot was charged down by Shorehams goalkeeper. The ball then fell to Ryan Philpott who somehow missed the target when the goal was gaping.
Ryan Philpott however would make up for this around a minute later when the ball bounced in front of him from 20 yards out and he caught out Shoreham’s goalkeeper by catching him off of his line and lobbing him for a superb finish.
After Gary Lockyer forced a good save out of Shoreham’s goalkeeper when unleashing a shot from 20 yards out, Kennington eventually hit five in the 73rd minute when Gary Clarke was played through and he slid in to win the ball ahead of Shoreham’s goalkeeper, with the ball running beyond Shoreham’s goalkeeper to leave Clarke with an empty net in which to tap the ball home.
8 minutes later, Kennington helped themselves to a sixth when Callum Peck done well to take the ball to the by-line before producing a low deflected cross towards Gary Lockyer, who completed his hat-trick when the ball looped up for him to head home as a result of the aforementioned deflection.
Kennington hit seventh heaven in the 83rd minute when Callum Peck cut in off of the left flank and produced a cracking strike from 25 yards out into the top left hand corner. Shoreham’s goalkeeper got a finger tip to the shot but the sheer force of the shot was just too good, as was the placement. Definitely the best of the 7 goals, and the last of them.
FT: 7-0. Kennington look every bit title contenders, whereas Shoreham were poor and were torn apart.
MOTM: Gary Lockyer (Kennington) for getting a hat-trick.
Admission – £6
Programme – £1.50
Attendance – 192