Kentish Express Ashford & District
Lye: We were rubbish
NO EXCUSES AFTER TWO SENT OFF IN DEFEAT THAT ENDED UNITED’S 12-GAME WINNING RUN
Danny Lye didn’t mince his words, describing Ashford United’s performance in the shock 1-0 defeat at Bearsted on Saturday as rubbish.
The player-boss refused to use the dismissals of goalkeeper George Kamurasi and skipper Stuart West as an excuse for the poor display, which ended a 12-match winning sequence since their last loss, by the same score at Sheppey United on Boxing Day.
He also shied away from blaming London referee Hossain Tavakkoli, despite describing his performance in the Southern Counties East League match as weak.
Lye said: “It all comes down to the fact we didn’t play. We were rubbish and didn’t turn up for the first 45 minutes.
“It’s the worst we have played for as long as I can remember and I didn’t see it coming.
“It was disappointing because I have been singing the boys’ praises in the last few weeks, saying how well they had been playing. We huffed and puffed but Bearsted did a job on us.”
Keeper Kamurasi was sent off for deliberate handball, while West was given his marching orders for two bookings. It was the skipper’s second sending-off in four games.
Lye said: “There was a bit of miscommunication between George and (defender) Pat Kingwell.
“I thought the ball hit his stomach with his hand down by his side. Bearsted called for it, we thought it was harsh but that’s football.
“Stuart’s first booking for dissent was idiotic but his second yellow was harsh. Once you have been booked, though, you are going to be in trouble.”
United are paying the price for the poor discipline and Lye has moved quickly to sign cover for West’s absence, with the double capture of experienced pair Joe Vines and Richard Avery. He has also lodged two seven-day approaches for goalkeepers to replace Kamurasi.
West started a two-game ban when United visited Sevenoaks Town in the first leg of the Macron SCEL Challenge Cup, semi-final, last night (Wednesday), following his
‘It’s the worst we have played for as long as I can remember and I didn’t see it coming’
sending-off at Cray last month, which also rules him out of the home league match against AFC Croydon Athletic on Saturday.
He is available for the home game against Hollands & Blair on Tuesday (7.45pm) before another ban, for three matches, means he misses the League and League Cup second leg meetings with Sevenoaks at the end of the month and the top-two clash at home to Crowborough on April 1.
Kamurasi will be banned for two games – which sidelines him for the two games against Sevenoaks.