Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
Settled side breeds City confidence
SCEFL round-up
A settled side and confident players are proving the perfect formula for Canterbury City, according to boss Ben Smith. Sam Conlon’s first competitive hat-trick for the club was the inspiration behind Saturday’s 4-0 win at AFC Croydon Athletic. It was City’s fifth successive league win on the road, with Smith now targeting a strong run-in, looking to finish as high as possible and build a platform for next season. Conlon headed in the first two goals in the space of three minutes, before completing his treble in first-half stoppage-time, with Laurence Harvey adding the other. Smith said: “We have fielded the same team and taken our chances and that brings a little bit of extra confidence. “Sam is strong in the air and people are shocked by how far he can jump. He has been frustrated in front of goal this season and I have been saying, ‘stay patient, it will only to be a matter of time before it clicks’ and that’s what happened.” City are ninth in the table with Smith looking to continue the good form with back-to back home wins against Tunbridge Wells on Saturday and Erith & Belvedere next Wednesday. He said: “I want to use what Sevenoaks did last season as the benchmark. They went on an unbeaten run from early February and took that into this season. “Crowborough finished just above us last season on goal difference. I know they have invested heavily but look where they are now. “We have a strong enough squad to do well but would look to strengthen a couple of areas with a little bit of quality.” Whitstable finished with eight men as they went down 3-1 at title contenders Crowborough. Harry Brown, Bola Dawodu and James Morrish were all shown straight red cards, with referee Peter Conn booking seven other players. Craig Thompson put them in front but Sam Carrington then scored twice in two minutes to put Crows ahead, before Town’s afternoon began to unravel with Brown sent off for a challenge on the halfway line. Dawodu and Morrish then followed him to the dressing room in the second half. Tom Pearson wrapped up the points with a late third, condemning Town to a first league defeat since November.