K’s Drop Two Points at VCD Athletic
Kingstonian’s 2015 got off to a disappointing start with a 1-1 draw at VCD Athletic that was a case of two points dropped rather than one cliché gained. On an afternoon where the majority of chatter centred around off the field issues, Kingstonian looked to be in control throughout the entire game, up until the host’s late equaliser.
On a cold, windy New Year’s Day in Kent, Tommy Williams’ side started well. Early forages forward found space behind the VCD full backs, and when the ball broke to Josh Casey his third minute shot bounced back off the post. At the other end, Orlando Smith came close to opening the scoring, but his shot from the edge of the area whistled wide.
For Kingstonian, Jesse Darko’s first league start was a lively one, his running and energy caused problems all afternoon long, twice he went close to scoring but couldn’t find the target. Kingstonian’s other standout was Daniel Sweeney in the middle of the park. The midfielder’s running from deep was a constant threat, and while his early header flashed over, when the ball broke to him just before half time, he slammed it home from ten yards to give Ks the lead. Despite this, Tommy Williams cut an angry figure at half time after his side were denied a penalty following Payne’s handball when contesting a header with Elvis Hammond.
The second half continued to see Kingstonian dominate possession, but failed to create any clear cut chances. Aaron Goode and Sweeney both tested home goalkeeper Nick Blue from distance, but despite Blue’s unorthodox style, he was never really troubled as Kingstonian failed to carve open the home defense.
Their first half annoyance at the referee was extended as another handball, this time following Casey’s goalbound shot wasn’t punished. As such, despite never forcing Rob Tolfrey into meaningful action, VCD’s 81st equaliser came as no real surprise. After Ks over-committed, Leigh Bremner led the hosts on the break, slipping in Mohamed Eisa, whose shot took two deflections, wrong-footing Tolfrey and sneaking inside the near post. In fact, it was VCD who came closest to grabbing a winner, but Bremner’s late shot only found the side netting.
Match report by Jamie Cutteridge.
