Hollands & Blair set to play Corinthian in Southern Counties East Premier Division after wins over VCD Athletic and Kennington
05:00, 14 September 2023
Hollands & Blair are up and running, with two wins and eight goals in a week, but there was still disappointment after their midweek victory.
Blair followed up Saturday’s 4-2 win over VCD Athletic with a 4-3 triumph over Kennington - in a game they led 3-0 after an hour.
Manager Scott Porter was angered by the way his team let their opponents back into the contest on Tuesday night after doing so many things right in the attacking third.
“I wasn’t happy afterwards at all,” said Porter. “I’ve told them exactly what I thought.
“To be 3-0 up and out of sight and then to concede the goals we conceded, yes we made a couple of substitutions, but the manner we conceded goals was not good.
“That spoilt a good evening because the four goals we scored were top drawer, great finishes, well worked, back to front, the movement of Dean Grant and of Sam Stace, Alfie Giles, Tom Walmsley it was up there.
“We’ll take the positives, definitely take the negatives out of it, and I wouldn’t want many games like that this season.”
Alfie Giles’ 25-yard strike put them ahead after just four minutes, and they bossed the first half, leading 1-0. Sam Stace started and ended another move to make it 2-0 before Giles slipped weekend hat-trick hero Dean Grant in for their third on 60 minutes.
Kennington came into it at three-down and Tom Scorer headed in from a corner with 10 minutes left. When Walmsley fired in from the edge of the box on 85 minutes that should have been it.
But Ton made it interesting for the neutral as Ryan Philpott had space to finish and was there again in the sixth-minute of stoppage-time to make Blair sweat. In the end, the hosts were grateful to hear the final whistle.
“The desire and heart to not concede wasn’t good enough,” said Porter.
“Another five minutes out there and anything could have happened.”
As disappointing as that last half hour was, Blair are much better off now than they were a week ago, sitting bottom of the with a single point and smarting from a 5-0 loss to Lordswood.
The win at home to VCD was much-needed. Grant and Giles scored either side of a goal from the visitors to lead 2-1 at the break. Influential striker Grant struck twice more after the turnaround.
Porter said: “Dean Grant has made a massive difference, his movement, his intelligence, bringing others in to play, we have to keep working with that but we just have to stop conceding crap goals!
“Sam Stace was brilliant (on Tuesday), he’s scored another good goal, Alfie Giles has got a cracker and Tom Walmsley deserved his goal.
“At the end of the day we were bottom of the table going into the weekend, we have picked it up, took maximum points and scored eight goals, so there are a lot of positives to take.
“To get two wins on the trot is massive.”
Porter’s men are away to Corinthian this Saturday, a side who sit third in the table with 19 goals from seven games. They won 4-3 themselves on Tuesday night, away to Erith Town. From 3-0 down, they hit back to win and scored twice in stoppage-time.
The Blair boss said: “In this league, anyone can beat anyone, it is a tough league, I have been in it long enough, it doesn’t matter if you are top, bottom or middle, it is anyone’s game.”
Latest news
Features
Most popular
- 1
Boy, 16, found safe after going missing nine days ago
- 2
‘This rat-run bridge isn’t wide enough - someone will be killed soon’
- 3
Only shop in village to shut this week as ‘devastated’ couple leave Kent
17 - 4
A-road shut in both directions after water main bursts
- 5
Bomb disposal truck spotted in town centre