Crows boss begins to believe in the impossible (From The Argus)

Crows boss begins to believe in the impossible

10:00am Monday 15th March 2010 in

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DAVE ADAMS is finally admitting he could pull off what some called the impossible.

Crowborough were bottom of the table and certainties for relegation when Adams was appointed player-manager at the end of January.

But eight wins and a draw from his nine games in charge has lifted Crows to 11th in the table and nine points clear of the relegation zone.

What is more remarkable is that Adams has not signed a single player and has instead essentially worked with last year’s youth team.

Their latest success was a 2-1 win at home to second-placed Chichester on Saturday after strikes from Tom Saunders and Sam Reid saw them come from behind to snatch the points.

Crows have played more games than any of the other teams fighting relegation, which is why Adams has so far been playing down their chances of survival.

After beating Chi, he said: “I have a figure in my mind in terms of how many points we need. We are edging closer to the number but there is a real belief in the team that they are going to stay up.

“They have that winning mentality and they feel they can get three points against whoever they play.”

It was a good day for Ringmer, Lingfield and East Grinstead in the fight for survival.

Ringmer thumped St Francis Rangers 5-0 with goals from Darren Lok (two), Jo Tubon, Joe Dryer and Mark Price.

Joint-boss Bob Munnery said: “St Francis were not at their best and it was a good time to play them. We have not lost in six games now and we could have had eight or nine. What people mustn’t forget, though, is we still have another point to be deducted from our total so we can’t rest on our laurels.”

Lingfield jumped two places after a third successive win, this time a 3-1 defeat of Pagham who remain in the bottom three. Top scorer Andy Dalhouse, Simon Wallace and Eddie Keboah got the goals.

East Grinstead won the clash of the bottom two when they beat Mile Oak 3-1 despite having Luke Piscina sent off for foul and abusive language. Goals from Piscina, Dave Gellatly and debutant Lucas Mann decided the contest.

New boss Tony Beckingham said: “It was a vital win. If we had been beaten I could not see us clawing our way out of it.”

Hailsham and Arundel are hovering above the danger zone. Goals from Andy Brown and Lewis Hamilton gave Selsey a 2-1 win at Hailsham while Hassocks were 4-1 winners at Arundel thanks to strikes from Dan Jacques, Nathan Miles, Anthony Hibbert (penalty) and Phil Gault. Jack Simpson also saved a penalty for Dave John’s side.

Whitehawk moved further clear at the top despite having to settle for their third goalless draw in eight days.

Hawks, who also beat Pagham in that period, have opened up a three-point gap following a stalemate at Crawley Down, coupled with Chichester’s defeat.

Both sides had chances with Sam Crabb hitting the post for Hawks and the Anvils’ Nick Sullivan being denied by a fine save from Lloyd Anderson.

Hawks joint-manager Darren Freeman said: “Every game is going to be a cup final for us. Everyone seems to raise their game against Whitehawk and we have got to deal with that.”

Crawley Down boss Darren Guirey, whose team lost 8-1 in the reverse fixture, said: “We matched them in every department.”

Peacehaven stay third after a 2-0 win at Wick thanks to early goals from Tom Levitt and a Clive Snell penalty.

Boss Brian Dennis was delighted with Eastbourne United’s 2-0 win over Redhill with Brad Manton and substitute Shane Saunders, with a 30-yard belter, on target.

Dennis said: “There was a real desire to win and we got back to the way we were playing in November when we were team of the month.”

Three Bridges made it six clean sheets on the trot after a 3-0 win at home to Shoreham thanks to George Hillier, Joel O’Hara and Andy Howard.