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Kent FC suffer defeat.

A frustrating afternoon for Kent culminated in a 6-2 away defeat to Chipstead.

The opening exchanges saw Kent begin brightly, passing the ball neatly between midfield and attack making light work of the opposition. However their play faltered when it mattered most, with indecisiveness, timidity and over elaboration preventing any explicit goal threat.

Building on their early momentum Kent pressed forward. Right back Jacob Barnes was consistently linking well with Stefan Wolf, allowing the full back to surpass his midfield counterpart. One such move enabled him to cut the ball back from the by-line to Danny Smith, whose left footed shot was tipped over by the Chipstead keeper.

This attacking mentality proved to be Kent’s downfall as Chipstead found opportunity to catch Kent on the counter. A midfield pass split the Kent full back and centre back causing confusion and enabling the Chipstead midfielder to cross to his striker who, unmarked and six yards from goal, couldn’t fail to score.

Kent continued to show commitment to attack however, it was this mentality which led to the second Chipstead goal, as sloppy and casual play on the edge of the Kent penalty area allowed the Chipstead striker to intercept a pass and skip through on goal unchallenged..

Chipstead now began altering their play to a more direct pursuit putting pressure on a nervy Kent defence. Their tenacity was rewarded with a third goal as pressure on a Kent defender prevented him from making a clearance, and again the Kent keeper was left helpless in a one-on-one situation.

A half-time scoreline 3-0 left Kent starkly aware of the challenge that lay ahead. Adopting a more attacking 4-3-3 formation Kent began to spread the play to the two wide forwards at the earliest opportunity, allowing them to go head to head with the Chipstead full-backs.

Ato Okai was easily beating his man, and intelligent play between him and Alex Nelson created a chance for Julian Messent, who remained calm in front of goal to secure the goal his efforts deserved.

Buoyed by this promising start Kent continued to apply pressure relentlessly, and it wasn’t long before they had their second goal. A neat exchange between Danny Smith and Alex Nelson left two Chipstead defenders for dead, and the latter’s low drive from 18 yards gave Kent real hope.

A now nervous Chipstead defence began to lose composure allowing Kent’s midfield to press forward exploiting space left by Chipstead’s over zealous defending. One such incident led to Simon Woodward bursting through from midfield, only to be scythed down in the penalty area. The referee however, chose not to award the penalty.

Ten minutes later he did, albeit at the other end. A rare Chipstead attack led to their attacker positioning himself intelligently between the defender and the ball making a foul inevitable; 4-2. Kent were left with only one option now which was to attack unremittingly in the hope of salvaging something from the game.

This allowed Chipstead more opportunities to break. Their fifth goal was born of a momentary loss of concentration as a seemingly simple headed flick on was pounced upon by the impressive Chipstead striker who unselfishly squared in front of goal for a teammate to finish easily.

A sixth soon followed as a weary, outnumbered Kent defence allowed a Chipstead substitute to sneak through, and again the finish was exemplary.

A deflated Kent then saw out the remainder of the game in a disappointing fashion, seemingly bereft of creative endeavour. Ultimately Kent defeated themselves through attacking profligacy and defensive naivety which they must iron out if they are to succeed.

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