Canterbury City boss Clive Cook has paid tribute to two long-serving members of the club’s backroom staff.

Kitman Kerry Harris and goalkeeper coach Ada Gower have been praised by the manager for their commitment to helping the side behind-the-scenes.

This includes carrying out jobs beyond their specific roles in order to aid the club’s progress under Cook.

Cook said: “I want to give a mention to Kerry Harris and Ada Gower.

“They’ve been at the club together for a long time, they are what non-league football clubs need.

“They’re brilliant, they do everything, they never say no, they’re relentless.

“They’re fantastic for the boys and the unsung heroes at the club.”

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City came from behind twice as they drew 2-2 with Bearsted at the weekend, with Cook’s men seemingly made to pay for missed opportunities.

He added: “It was two points dropped. It was probably the best first half we’ve had all season, I think they got out their half twice and one of those was a bad mistake.

“We were totally dominant barring little patches in the game, we just didn’t take our chances.

“You speak about it, it would probably be worse if you aren’t creating the chances in the first place. This league is a tough league, I haven’t seen a poor side yet.”

Summer arrival James Morrish, who has been out with a back problem, also got 65 minutes under his belt as Canterbury lost 2-0 in a friendly with Folkestone Invicta on Tuesday night.

The game also gave Cook a chance to experiment with several youngsters.

“That went down well, we played very well in that game,” said Cook.

“They (Folkestone) had most of their first team players involved, they scored a penalty and then a fantastic goal.

“We kept the ball and passed well, we put in a shift. There was no point in just turning up, I said to the players it was part of our development.

“We had a couple of youngsters in there as well who I'm looking at and they did very well, I had two trialists as well.”

City host Erith Town on Saturday looking to reclaim second place in the SCEFL Premier Division.

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