Blustery Draw Cements 9th Place

Herne Bay (1) 1
Lovell 20

Guernsey (0) 1
McGrath 85

at Winch’s Field

Ryman Isthmian League Division One (South)
Saturday 18th April 2015.

Attendance: 247

by Ray Kelly

(photo credit: Steve Barton – Lovell scores the opener.)

Herne Bay entertained Guernsey in the final home League game of the season, although the match finished all square at 1-1 it turned out to be a cracking game.

"Today was definitely two points dropped, it was an outstanding performance”, said Herne Bay manager Sam Denly, “I’d like to see the stats for shots on goal, we’ve dominated the game, we had enough chances to win the game but a points a point and it cements ninth position”.

Herne Bay dominated the first half and went in 1-0 up at half time but a late goal from Guernsey gave them a share of the spoils.

Herne Bay hit the ground running at the start of the game and as early as the 2nd. minute Mark Lovell fired over from the edge of the Guernsey box. A minute later Guernsey’s Alex le Prevost had to clear his lines after a snap shot from Sam Hasler. On 5 minutes the visiting keeper Chris Tardif had to be on his toes , saving well from Sam Hasler after Michael Turner forced a corner.

Guernsey’s first chance fell in the 10th. minute when Dominic Heaume forced his way through the Bay defence but he was ushered away to safety by Liam Quinn. For the next 10 minutes the Bay attacked at will but poor finishing from Joe Nelder and Sam Hasler, both blazing over when well placed, prevented any score. On 20 minutes following a free kick in our own half,Joe Nelder latched on to the ball and crossed into a crowded area to find Mark Lovell rammed the ball home to put the Bay 1-0 up.

Within a minute Jack Delo produced a great save to prevent Guernsey ‘s Ryan Zico Black from equalising. The Bay almost doubled the lead when Danny Spiller crossed a good ball the Dan Bent who ‘s shot was blocked by Alex Le Provost, this effort would have burst the net. Herne Bay restricted the Guernsey side to the occasional counter attack for the rest of the half but the Bay were to rue the 6 or 7 chances that flew over the bar during the first 45 minutes.

Herne Bay started the second half in the same vein with Joe Nelder and Mark Lovell both going close for the Bay. On 50 minutes Jack Delo and Tam De la Mare clashed in the air when both going for the ball, Tam had to leave the field injured and was replaced by Jason Winch. in the 55th minute Guernsey’s prolific scored Ross Allen let himself down when missing an easy chance with his head from 6yards, over the bar. Guernsey started to get into the game as the second half wore on but Liam Quinn and Gary Sayer remained solid in the heart of the Bay defence.

A series of changes were made in the 65/69 minutes with Guernsey replacing Matt Loaring with Josh Steel and Simon Geall making way for Jacques Isabelle. Manager Sam Denly also replaced Danny Spiller and Mark Lovell for Steven Ita and Jordan Casey.
For the last 15 minutes further chances fell to Steven Ita only to be foiled by the good goal keeping of Chris Tardif. In the 85th. minute Guernsey equalised following a corner with Mark McGrath stubbing in from close range.

A minute later Steven Ita was again thwarted by Chris Tardif, tipping the ball over the bar.
The final score 1-1. This game was a credit to both sides considering the hard and bumpy conditions and it must be said the traveling Guernsey fans were also a credit to their club.

“It’s been a very good season, flirting with the play offs for the last few months and we deserve to be ninth and with a bit of luck we could have been higher”, said Denly, “the conversations about next season started a while ago now, we’ve got a good team here, I don’t want to lose anyone, maybe we can bring one or two in, but the plan is to keep everyone, everyone’s almost committed for next season. We’re probably a year ahead of where we wanted to be, I’ve always said this was a four year plan. We will be expected to kick on next year but it’s not going to be easy, potentially, we can become a victim of our own success, we’ve had a fantastic season and next year anything below ninth would be viewed as a failure, but we’ll see”.

Bay ‘keeper Jack Delo, meanwhile, is celebrating 4 clean sheets in five games in March, that odd game out was the 1-0 reverse at the hands of champions elect Burgess Hill Town; surely he must be in line for the Golden Gloves Award!

Herne Bay: Jack Delo, Michael Turner, Gary Sayer, Dan Johnson, Liam Quinn, Dan Bent, Danny Walder, Danny Spiller (Steven Ita 71), Joe Nelder (Harry Brown 89), Mark Lovell (Jordan Casey 71), Sam Hasler.

Subs Not Used: James Turner, Nathan Eastwood.

Herne Bay Man of the Match: Joe Nelder

Referee: Dan Bonneywell Assistants: Jason Down & Ryan Whitaker