Practice making perfect Canterbury men

“We’ve taken none from Oxted out of a possible six so we need to focus on the rest of our games and hope that they drop some points.

“Every team in this competition has made an upset win or loss. Hopefully we overtake Southgate at the very least and then pip Oxted.”

Whilst happy to see his players execute their training ground efforts, coach Boyne was less pleased with the manner in which the visitors were able to get back into the game.

Having cruised to a threegoal lead, Canterbury conceded twice in two second-half minutes to set up a nervy ending.

Teague Marcano then hit a superb fourth for the hosts, before Old Loughtonians responded with their third of the contest.

“It was disappointing that we dropped our assertiveness in the game and let them come back,” Boyne said.

“We gave a couple of sloppy goals away and let them come back 3-2, 4-2, 4-3.”

“I think it’s a little bit of mental fitness for us, because physically the boys are really good but there was just that lapse of concentration a couple of times.

“That’s all it takes at this kind of level for the other team to put a couple of goals in.

“For us, the theme this week is nailing out the consistency of the basics.

“Making sure we make the connections with our passes and when we’re receiving, so definitely on that side of things we’re looking at solidifying our defence.”

Boyne, meanwhile, put his side’s strong form down to both familiarity among the players and improved fitness.

He added: “Part of it is that the boys have been playing together now for half a season, which is big for our youngsters.”

“The other factor is that we’re mid-way through the second term of school for these guys so they’ve been full on training which is paying dividends. The older guys have also just been getting used to each other as well.”

Canterbury went ahead in the 18th minute through an expertly-taken penalty corner from Tom Bean, who had seen his early effort saved by goalkeeper Fred Whitfield.

A fine passing move ending in Will Mead doubling Canterbury’s lead just before the interval when he fired home on the rebound.

It became three after 37 minutes as Boyne converted a penalty flick after Bean had been fouled whilst winding up to take a shot.

Having been in the ascendancy, Canterbury proceeded to concede two in two minutes as Old Loughtonians threatened to produce an unlikely comeback.

Marcano was then on hand to quash lingering nerves when he made it 4-2 with an exceptional solo goal. n Canterbury continue their league campaign at home to Richmond on Saturday (4pm) and on Sunday host Old Cranleighans in the quarterfinals of the Tier 1 England Championships.

The winners will face either Chichester or Cheltenham in the last four.

The other quarter-final ties are City of Peterborough v Oxford Hawks and Bowdon v Leeds n A Michael Farrer brace also helped the men’s 2nds towards a 3-2 win away to Teddington 2nds, whilst the Pilgrims beat Marden Russets 1sts 4-1 to move three points behind fourth-placed Gillingham Anchorians.

Injuries and illness didn’t hinder Canterbury’s third team as they moved one point behind leaders Blackheath & Elthamians 2 with a 4-3 win over Ashford 2nds.

Chris Ellis scored the winner five minutes before the end to grab his brace and settle what had proven a tight contest.

A 7-2 win over Blackheath & Elthamians 3rds moved Canterbury 4ths six points behind second-placed Herne Bay 2nds, who have played one more game.

Further down in Division 2, Canterbury Millers registered three points for the eighth time this season with a 4-3 win over Sevenoaks 4thss, a game in which Barry Thomas scored a hat-trick.

The 5thss mounted a second half comeback in Open Premier B to overturn a 2-0 deficit at the break in a draw against Holcombe 4ths.

Elsewhere, Canterbury Squires beat Cliftonville 2 1-0 in Open Division 1, whilst the Friars were beaten 3-2 by Gillingham Anchorians 4ths in Open Division 3.

The Friars will face two of the top three sides in their bid to evade relegation over their final three games of the season.

Challenge Cup Semi-final first leg Fixtures: Monday:

v Chatham. Tuesday: Corinthian v Fisher.

ACS JOMA KENT COUNTY LEAGUE Premier Division Staplehurst ... 24 16 5 3 55 28 53 Borden Vill .... 24 14 5 5 49 32 47 Peckham ...... 23 14 2 7 72 35 44 Bromleians ... 23 13 4 6 79 42 43 Hawkinge ..... 23 12 4 7 70 44 40 N Romney..... 21 12 1 8 42 32 37 Fav Strike ..... 22 11 3 8 52 54 36 Otford Utd..... 22 10 4 8 37 38 34 Tudor Sports . 21 9 5 7 32 29 32 Kings Hill ...... 19 9 2 8 37 33 29 Fleetdown..... 24 7 8 9 32 37 29 Crockenhill ... 24 5 2 17 44 87 17 Farnboro OB . 19 3 6 10 24 41 15 Bexley .......... 20 5 1 14 24 58 15 Metrogas ...... 21 4 1 16 37 64 13 Stansfeld ...... 20 3 3 14 32 64 12

Division 1 Central & East

K Sports Res. 13 10 2 1 27 11 32 Wateringbry.. 16 10 2 4 40 26 32 Hollands Res. 16 8 3 5 34 21 27 Guru Nanak .. 16 8 3 5 35 31 27 Cuxton 91..... 17 8 2 7 43 43 26 Lydd Res....... 15 7 3 5 38 40 21 Roch City ...... 16 6 2 8 28 30 20 L’wood Res ... 17 6 2 9 36 48 17 Burgess H..... 15 4 2 9 29 40 14 Margate Sp... 13 3 3 7 22 28 12 R’gate Res.... 18 3 2 13 32 46 10

Division 2 Central & East

Ashford......... 14 11 1 2 61 19 33 Rusthall Res.. 16 8 3 5 57 25 27 Snodland R ... 16 7 6 3 36 18 27 W Farleigh .... 13 7 1 5 28 22 22 Bearsted R.... 13 7 1 5 29 26 22 Southboro..... 13 6 1 6 30 20 19 M’gate Sp R.. 15 6 2 7 47 32 17 Punjab Res ... 15 5 3 7 38 38 17 Fvrshm Res .. 10 4 2 4 34 19 14 Ton Invicta .... 17 0 0 17 7148 0

Division 3 Central & East

Sturry ........... 15 13 0 2 94 15 39 Roch City R... 13 11 1 1 61 20 34 Deal Tn Rgr... 15 11 0 4 54 30 33 Tenterden ..... 15 9 1 5 66 31 28 Larkfield ....... 16 6 1 9 38 43 19 Cant City Uni. 14 5 4 5 25 32 19 Univ of Kent .. 12 5 0 7 30 52 12 N Romney R.. 16 4 1 11 36 64 10 S’hurst Res... 12 2 2 8 25 50 8 Paddock W.... 14 0 0 14 7 99 -1 Results: Premier Division: Crockenhill 2 Otford Utd 3, Fleetdown Utd 2 Metrogas 0, Peckham Town 4 Kings Hill 2, Staplehurst 1 Borden Village 2. Division 1 Central & East: Hollands & Blair Res 1 Wateringbury 2, Lydd Res 3 Guru Nanak 2, Ramsgate Res 0 Burgess Hodgson 1, Rochester City 2 K Sports Res 1. Division 2 Central & East: Bearsted Res 2 Margate Sports Res 1, Rusthall Res 0 Ashford 4. Division 3 Central & East: Paddock Wood 0 Canterbury City Univ 1, Rochester City Res 10 Univ of Kent 1, Tenterden 3 Deal Town Rangers 0. Bill Manklow Inter-regional Challenge Cup: Chipstead 4 Club Langley 1, Farnborough OBG 2 Margate Sports 1, Hawkinge 2 Stansfeld 1, New Romney 4 Tudor Sports 0. Eastern Section Les Leckie Cup: Faversham Res 1 Sturry 2. Fixtures: Premier Division: