Kennington boss Dan Scorer sees Jordan Griffin score the winning penalty against Hollands & Blair in the Challenge Cup after missing the decisive kick against them last season
05:00, 03 November 2023
There was redemption for Kennington and Jordan Griffin in the Challenge Cup on Tuesday night.
Griffin missed the decisive spot-kick as Ton lost on penalties to Hollands & Blair in last season’s semi-final.
So it was fitting he should score the winner against the same opponents this season as Dan Scorer’s side triumphed 5-4 in a shoot-out following a 3-3 second-round draw at Homelands.
Goals from Liam Whiting and Tom Scorer gave the hosts a two-goal lead but cup holders Blair hit back to lead 3-2 through Harvey Welford’s double and Dean Grant.
Billy Somerville won and scored a penalty to take the tie the distance and it was Ton’s night, with stand-in keeper Stefan Lawrence saving twice in the shoot-out.
“It was a great night for everyone,” said Ton boss Scorer.
“A bit of a rollercoaster of emotions, going 2-0 up, looking confident, looking comfortable, and then conceding two goals in the space of two minutes just before half-time.
“It certainly changed the half-time team-talk.
“Going behind we showed tremendous character to pull ourselves back into the game and take it to penalties.
“We missed our first two penalties, and then Stefan Lawrence, who’s stepped up in goal again with Joe Mant away, has done brilliantly to pull us back into the tie and give us an opportunity to win the shoot-out which we did.
“It was a chance for redemption for us, certainly after losing to Hollands & Blair in the semi-final on penalties last year.
“It was quite fitting that Jordan Griffin, the player that missed the penalty last year, scored the winner.
“While it’s not quite a semi-final, it still had that nice feeling about it.”
The cup success completed a good week for Kennington after picking up their first Southern Counties East Premier Division win of the season.
They beat Stansfeld 3-0 at Homelands with goals from Ryan Philpott, Mo Cham and Finn Dent and are only one point adrift at the bottom, with two games in hand.
Scorer’s men are reaping the benefits of being back at their home ground after starting the season with 14 successive away games while the new 3G pitch was installed.
“Having the ability to get on the pitch and train, I always said was going to make a massive difference,” said Scorer.
“Being able to utilise the space more than anything, having the pitch available to us, has meant we’ve been able to work on shape, work on patterns, work on our press and Saturday was a nice convincing win for us.
“When you’re searching for that first league win, I don’t really think anyone cares how you get it.
“But it was nice winning in a convincing manner as well because that’s something that we’ve been working hard to achieve.
“We’ve certainly had our fair share of games where we’ve dominated, and had a lot of the possession, but we’ve let ourselves down in key moments.”
Kennington are struggling with injuries, with Scorer thanking those who have stepped in to help out.
They include ex-captain Rob Greenfield and Challenge Cup goalscorer Somerville.
“We’ve got an injury list as long as my arm,” said Scorer.
“So Saturday and Tuesday, both games have been a race against the clock to get a squad out.
“We signed four players on in the last week, players that I know are only going to be coming in really to help me for that one game.
“I can’t thank them enough for their help, and all those boys have stepped on to the pitch and done a fantastic job.
“On Tuesday, we had Rob Greenfield, our former captain, who’s in his mid-30s now, he came in and was unbelievable.
“He showed so much composure and that level of leadership that we had years ago.
“And Billy Somerville is a player who I’ve admired for years and should certainly be playing at the level we’re at but he’s enjoying his football in the Kent County League.
“He came on and changed the game for us immediately, won himself a penalty, scored a penalty and brought us back into the game.
“All-round it’s been a nice, positive week.
“It’s been stressful trying to ring round and get players to help me out but we’ve come away with two great results.
“Hopefully it’s a big step in the right direction for us and things are looking a lot more positive.”
Kennington visit Erith Town tomorrow (3pm).
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