Badshot Lea 1, Cobham 0

NEW boss Gavin Smith got his managerial reign off to the perfect start on Saturday as his Badshot Lea side saw off the feisty challenge of Cobham to pick up three welcome points at Krooner Park.

A goal 15 minutes from time from substitute Reece Connolly was enough to see off Cobham, who ended an eventful game with nine men after two late dismissals.

“It was good to get the points but it had nothing to do with us,” said Smith, who was taking charge for the first time alongside Dave Ford.

“We had a good training session on Thursday where the attitude of the lads was superb and they took that into Saturday’s game.”

Former Aldershot Town striker Connolly latched onto a clever through ball from Mac Ford in the 75th minute before coolly rounding the keeper and scoring from a tight angle to not only seal the points but erase the memories of Lea’s 5-0 thumping at the hands of Cobham in November.

“It was a bit of a scrappy game,” admitted Smith, “but we got our rewards for our hard work in the end.

“It’s always difficult when you are down at the bottom because confidence is low, and you could see that a little bit, but the players worked hard which is the most important thing.

“The rest of it will come if we just show the right attitude and work hard. We have got some good players who, when their confidence grows, will show what they can do.”

Connolly had only been on the pitch for seven minutes when he scored the winner, having replaced Jack May, but it capped a frenetic 10 minutes in which the visitors had two players sent off.

Cobham were reduced to 10 men two minutes before Connolly’s introduction after a series of niggling infringements resulted in a second yellow card while a straight red was brandished moments after the winning goal for foul and abusive language.

“They ended the game with nine men and we showed we are still lacking a little bit in confidence because if the other team goes down to nine when you’re up the top of the league you probably go on and win 3-0.

“But those things will come, we just need to get the results and get some confidence going.”

The win still leaves Lea perilously placed in the bottom two of the Premier Division of the Combined Counties League as they look to retain their top-flight status ahead of a move to a new ground next season, but they are only three points off 11th place in a competitive league.

“It’s really tight,” said Smith. “It’s a funny league. Two teams at the top are running away with it, then there’s another small group, and then a whole load of teams who with a couple of wins can end up in eighth place. It’s a really tight league for 13 or 14 teams.”

The experience of goalscorer Connolly looks like being a key factor for Smith in a happy squad as Lea look to quickly charge up the table and ease the pressure in the new year.

“It was a good finish. He’s got that because he’s played at a good level. He’s got qualities that we need and will be an asset,” he said.

“There’s a really good team spirit there already. The lads all seem to be together, which is the important thing. You can’t build that quickly so it’s important that it’s there already. It’s hard to build team spirit if you’ve got a disjointed dressing room but the lads all know each other and get on well.

“If we can keep the sessions going, keep everyone at training, put the occasional friendly on and keep people interested and keep building then hopefully we can start picking up the results.”

Badshot Lea: Clement, Pound, Bonsu, Flanighan, Francis, Blake, Close (Blackie 80), Herbert, Ford (Pilgrim 88), Thripp, May (Connolly). Subs (not used): Atkinson, Francis.

* On Saturday, Badshot Lea travel to west London to face Southall in the Premier Division of the Combined Counties League (kick-off 3pm).