Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
Two off as City make losing start on road
CORINTHIAN CANTERBURY
Canterbury City boss Simon Pettit was pleased with his side’s performance, despite their Southern Counties East League opener at Corinthian on Saturday ending in defeat.
City could count themselves unlucky not to have earned a point from the game, with two questionable sendings-off to blame for the reverse, according to Pettit.
He said: “If we’d have kept 11 on the field we’d have steamrollered them. I’d go mad at the players if I thought they had let us down or lost discipline but personally I don’t think either one should have been sent off.
“As far as the determination and the spirit are concerned, I can’t fault the players one bit. I was happy with them.
“Nobody expected us to get anything there against a team tipped to be right up there but it looked more like it would be 1-1 than 2-0 until they got the second in the last five minutes.”
City left-back Danny Atkins earned a booking for a needless foul inside four minutes while Shaun Brown saw an effort blocked on the line soon after. Anthony Woodward blocked a shot at the other end before the hosts’ pressure told just after the half-hour when City failed to clear amid a scramble from a corner and Jack Pallen diverted high into the net from close range.
City were reduced to 10 four minutes before the break when Atkins received a second booking for an off-the-ball altercation with Alfie May.
Despite being a man short, City began the second half on top and Brown shot wide and James Gregory headed a good chance of an equaliser straight at keeper Richard Stroud before City were reduced to nine when Sam Baker received a straight red for an attempted block tackle on 51 minutes.
Corinthian pressed second but couldn’t for a
turn pressure into chances, with May firing over and Brett Mills saving another shot from the forward.
Josh James rattled the City bar with a powerful shot but the killer second arrived from the spot just five minutes from time from Ryan Johnson after a foul by Anthony Woodward.
There was still time for Mills to superbly deny the hosts a third while Brown was denied a consolation by Stroud. City: Mills, Gregory, Atkins, Woodward, Baker, Bagley, Cornhill, Smith (Adams 51mins), Pettit (Munday), Dalton (Reed 41mins), Brown. Subs not used: Moore, Shearing. Attendance: 54.