Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
Boyne sees positives in defeat
Canterbury player-coach Craig Boyne said his team need to work on their concentration in matches after they lost 5-0 on Saturday.
They played their first match in the Men’s Premier Division after a two-month break from the fixture schedule at home to Reading.
Despite the result, Boyne believes there are positives his side can still take from the match.
He said: “On paper it was disappointing but the actual performance was good. We were 1-0 down at half-time and we had been unlucky.
“We were still creating chances in the second half but we had a couple of cards and it blew up towards the end.
“I’m not happy that we conceded five goals and that’s something we have addressed. We should not have to score six goals to be able to win a game.
“We are going to work on our cardio fitness. Players need to be accountable for it and make sure we are always switched on.
“Being 3-0 down with 10 minutes to go against a good team we need to be switched on. There are still plenty of positives we can take.”
The teams were level until Ben Francis scored the opening goal after 30 minutes to give Reading a 1-0 lead going into half-time.
Richard Mantell scored twice and Lee Morton and Edward Carlson scored one each to give the visitors the win.
Tom Bean was then shown a yellow card for Canterbury after 66 minutes.
Sunday’s defeat keeps Canterbury bottom of the table after 11 games although they are level on points with Sevenoaks immediately above them.
They face a tough test on Sunday when they travel to Surbiton, who are flying high at the top of the table.
Boyne added: “Surbiton only beat Sevenoaks 3-1 last weekend and we are aware that they can step up.
“For us there is no pressure on the game and I’m looking forward to it.”
‘We were 1-0 down at half-time and we had been unlucky’