Cray Wanderers go into a crucial match against Leatherhead on the back of another gut-wrenching defeat to Corinthian Casuals on Saturday. Here Grant Basey gives his thoughts on the game.
Pics: Jon Hilliger/www.hilligerpix.com
Hello Grant. Another tough result for us on Saturday losing to Corinthian Casuals so late in the game. It was another game I felt we deserved a point at least from. What were your thoughts on the game?
BROMLEY, GREATER LONDON, ENGLAND – JANUARY 12: Cray Wanderers’s Manager, Grant Basey gives his players instructions during the The Pitching In Isthmian Premier League match between Cray Wanderers and Bognor Regis Town at Hayes Lane on January 12, 2022 in Bromley, Greater London, England . (Photo: © Jon Hilliger / HilligerPix)
It was another frustrating day for us. I felt in spells we dominated the ball yet again and there were some very good patterns of play. I thought at 1-0 up we should have had a penalty straight after, I watched it back on the video and it was a stonewall penalty all day long. However we never got it and that is the game sometimes. Those are key moments when you are down at the bottom and you need a bit of luck and we don’t seem to be getting that.
Once again though we have switched off and conceded a poor goal two minutes from time which goes back to game management. There are just two minutes to go and we are trying to be too cute with the ball and it is just frustrating because for large spells of the game we were very good and dominant.
I thought during the first half we played well and came up against another goalkeeper in good form but took the lead with a well worked goal from a corner scored by Jamie Yila and if we go in at half time 1-0 up I thought that would give us confidence but we conceded just on the stroke of half time.
For me once again it boils down to game management. When you go 1-0 up a couple of minutes before halftime, you need to manage the game up to the break, get behind the ball, be secure and concentrate fully but we switch off yet again and Corinthian Casuals score. That has been the story since I’ve been here. I haven’t seen any of the games before I arrived but I’m led to believe this has been the case for an extended period of time. The goals we are conceding are poor, there is no real quality in terms of the opposition opening us up or putting one in the top corner. It has come from us switching off, and in a game of such small margins if you don’t do your job then teams will punish you and that is what’s happening.
Especially just before half time when you need to be secure and concentrating when you are ahead you need to see out the half. Some of our players need to take ownership and responsibility because that is not good enough as this has been going on for a long time and boils down to people not doing the right things. That is why we are where we are.
I thought there were some good performances, Cameron Brodie, Tom Hanfrey, Kasim Aidoo amongst them and Luca Albon looks like a quality addition to the team on the evidence of his first two games.
BROMLEY, GREATER LONDON, ENGLAND – JANUARY 12: Cray Wanderers’s Luca Albon finds himself in space on the top of the area during the The Pitching In Isthmian Premier League match between Cray Wanderers and Bognor Regis Town at Hayes Lane on January 12, 2022 in Bromley, Greater London, England . (Photo: © Jon Hilliger / HilligerPix)
Listen, it is hard sometimes when you lose a game especially late on to focus on the positives during a match so whichever way you dress it up we need to be better. There were positives of course. I’ll go away and watch the video, see what we did well and didn’t do well and it is my job to try and get a reaction leading into a crucial game against Leatherhead who will be working hard themselves to get out of danger.
