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At the Back

At the Back

sam surbey23 Jan 2019 - 10:17
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Steve Barton writes....

At the back

Only Faversham Town and Greenwich Borough have conceded more league goals than Herne Bay this season but when you consider the disruption that has been caused by injuries then perhaps it does not come as a surprise. The leakage has certainly been reduced since the middle of December when Bay were 4-0 down at home to East Grinstead within 24 minutes and were bottom of the table, eight points away from safety. The steadying of the ship, along with the goals going in at the other end, over the last four matches (nine points from 12), with Ben Gorham and Danny Rumbol the central defensive partnership in three of them.

In the victory over play-off chasers Hythe it was Connor Wilkins who stood alongside Rumbol, with Gorham injured. Wilkins has been Mr. Versatile this campaign playing in several positions all over the park and the very next game he was in the right place to score the winner at Sittingbourne, and it was not the first time that he had scored a winning goal. He is another of John and Jermaine’s protégés and was part of the successful Bearsted Under 18’s who won the Kent Youth League Under 18 South in 2014/15 before moving to Sittingbourne. He won the Kent FA Under 18 Youth Cup, beating Dover Athletic 4-2, the Kent Youth League Under 18 Premier Division South and runners-up in the Isthmian League Development South in 2016/17. Connor made his 50th league and cup appearance away at Guernsey and is just two away from 50 league appearances. He has scored five times (four league and one cup), three of them the winning goal and when Wilkins scores Herne Bay win – all five times!

Ben Gorham started with VCD Athletic and then played for Canterbury City for two and a half seasons. He made his debut, with a Man of the Match performance, at home to Hythe Town. Sam Denly said: “Ben Gorham was outstanding and looked comfortable and assured. He is a good signing – big and strong, good in the air and enjoys the ball at his feet which is the way we like to play. I am not going to judge him on one game, though but the early signs are good.” He moved to Sittingbourne in the summer of 2017 and made 27 league and 8 cup appearances for the Brickies, scoring 3 goals. By January 2018 Gorham was back at Winch’s Field. John Embery said: “We felt we needed another defender and someone who would not make mistakes. Ben was at Herne Bay last season and we’ve been keeping an eye on how he has been doing. I’m hoping it will be a signing that will help the club and the team. He is a defender first and a footballer second. We have got a lot of good footballers in the side who like to play and maybe don’t put it out of play when they should.” He was lured away by promises during the summer of 2018 to Hythe Town and when those promises didn’t materialise, he was back at Herne Bay without having played for the Cannons. He made his 50th league and cup appearance for Bay, away at Phoenix Sports, in the Kent Senior Cup and eleven days later made his 50th league appearance, at home to Greenwich Borough. He has suffered with an ankle injury this season and is now up to 66 appearances (59+1 league and 6 cup) and his ghosting in at the far post for corners and free-kicks has seen him score four times (2 league and 2 cup).

Danny Rumbol never leaves anything on the pitch in his central defensive role. He was part of the Chatham Town Under 16s who were runners-up in the Kent FA Under 16 Youth Cup in 2014. He then joined the Darlington and Embery revolution moving onto Bearsted at Under 18 level and then to Sittingbourne. He won the Kent FA Under 18 Youth Cup, beating Dover Athletic 4-2, the Kent Youth League Under 18 Premier Division South and runners-up in the Isthmian League Development South. Rumbol is two games away from his 50th appearance for Herne Bay having played in 31+6 league and 10+1 cup games. He has scored three goals – all with his head.

Since making his Herne Bay debut on 08/12/2018 in the superb win at them down the road, Ole Bankole has played the midfield holding role sitting in front of the back line and has made five league and one cup appearance.

At the beginning of the season John Embery said: “We have brought in some experienced defenders, which is what we felt the squad needed. We have added James White, Nick Reeves and Matt Fry who are all centre-halves.” All three have suffered with injuries.

Matt Fry was Born in Longfield and was the product of Gravesend and Northfleet youth teams and he joined West Ham at aged 11 and captained the Under 18 team in 2008 before signing his first professional contract in 2009. He has also played for Gillingham, Charlton Athletic, Bradford City, Concord Rangers, Dartford, Chelmsford City, Eastleigh, Braintree Town and York City before retiring from professional football on medical advice. He has made 6 league and 2 cup appearances.

Formerly with Millwall Youth, James White has appeared in 6+3 league and 6 cup matches and scored one goal.

Nick Reeves has VCD Athletic, Hythe Town, Cray Wanderers, Maidstone United, Sittingbourne, Dartford and Leatherhead on his CV. Reeves made his debut, away at Faversham Town in the season’s opener in August but was carried off. He came back at the end of October for the FA Trophy First Qualifying Round win against Witham Town and made his last appearance a week later at home to VCD Athletic.

The defence has been shored up, Simon Overland is solid, the midfield are marauding and the strikers are on fire. Off the bottom of the table and looking up at those above us, there is every cause for optimism.

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