Encouraging signs for Kennington manager Dan Scorer after Faversham fightback and Challenge Cup progress
05:00, 23 August 2024
Boss Dan Scorer feels Kennington are on the right track after an encouraging week.
Ton picked up their first point of the season in Southern Counties East after fighting back from 2-0 down at title favourites Faversham, Fin Dent with both goals.
And they backed up their midweek efforts with a Challenge Cup victory against Hollands & Blair on Saturday.
Ton won the second-round clash 8-7 on penalties after a 1-1 draw that saw Kyron Lightfoot’s opener cancelled out.
“I was really pleased with the performance at Faversham,” said Scorer.
“We battled superbly well in the first half and then in the second half I was over the moon because we stepped it up another notch and showed what our capabilities are against arguably the league’s strongest side.
“It gave us a little bit of belief and confidence coming into the game against Hollands & Blair, another side that have got all the resources to do well this year.
“We played them for the third year in a row in the Challenge Cup and all three games have gone to penalties.
“Again, it’s a game I feel personally we had enough chances to win in 90 minutes.
“There are pleasing signs that we’re doing the right things, we’re creating opportunities and we are looking stronger defensively.
“At this point last year it was a real concern just how frail we looked defensively.
“We have conceded goals in the early part of the season but we’re looking a lot stronger in all areas of the pitch and that’s full credit to the squad.
“We’ve added seven or eight new faces and they’ve been a breath of fresh air.
“We’ve got a young, energetic side and it’s important we integrate them slowly and bed them in to what we’re trying to do because it is a big ask to throw all these young lads in at once.”
Kennington host Loxwood in the FA Vase first qualifying round on Saturday (3pm).
“We’ve never played Loxwood before so we don’t really know what to expect too much,” said Scorer.
“They lost to Margate in the FA Cup at the weekend but something we didn’t probably do well enough last year was really focus on ourselves and try to improve week upon week.
“So our full focus on Saturday is on us continuing to do what we’ve been doing well, not being too concerned about what we’re coming up against.
“We know if we do our jobs right and perform how we know we’re capable of performing it will be a tough game for anyone.”
The Vase game is followed by a local derby at home to Lydd Town on Tuesday night (7.45pm).
“They did the double over us last year and there’s always extended rivalries,” said Scorer.
“We’ve lost Ryan Philpott, our top goalscorer, to Lydd this year as well.
“They’re under new management with Scott Porter leaving so we don’t know too much about them.
“Again, we’re not concerned about what they’re doing, we’re not focused on what they look like or who they’ve got, we’re just focused on us continuing to do what we’ve been doing well.”
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