Herne Bay: George Kamurasi, Ryan Cooper, Patrick Nzuzi, Laurence Harvey, Phil Starkey, Bola Dawodu, Tushaun Tyreese-Walters (Ryan King-Elliott 61), Danny Lawrence (Joe Nelder 89), Zak Ansah, Bradley Stevenson (Luke Griffiths 69), Keiron Campbell.

When you’ve scored just once in the last three matches (league and cup) and conceded ten in that time, and the visiting opponents were eight points and 11 places above you, and the previous six meetings between the two clubs in Kent had seen four draws and two defeats, there was not much cause for optimism as Guernsey flew into the Kent Vehicles Stadium, Winch’s Field.

Ben Smith: “What a difference a week makes. I sat there last week not really knowing where to go really, who to get rid of, who to change, because there was so much wrong. It was a horrendous sleepless night last Saturday and following on from that some difficult conversations I’ve had to have with people. We worked hard on Tuesday night and put that performance in.” The changes made were more like tinkering but had a massive impact. Patrick Nzuzi made his debut replacing Malachi Robinson at left back with Phil Starkey dropping into the back four instead of George Crimmen which gave an improved solid shape with little gung-ho moments of madness, and Bola Dawodu came in for Ryan King-Elliott in the centre of the park. There was also a start for Keiron Campbell.

Right from the off there was a different feel about Bay’s play as they looked more comfortable and confident than recently and George Kamurasi dealt easily with a couple of the visitor’s half chances. On 13 Charlton Gauvin, wide on the right, squared the ball to the previously prolific Ross Allen but his strike went woefully wide. Herne Bay went straight up the other end and Tushaun Tyreese-Walters played Bradley Stevenson in and he fired past Callum Stanton. There was only one team in it and there were further chances for Bola Dawodu, Stevenson and Patrick Nzuzi but the tie should have been put to bed in the last couple of minutes of the half when firstly Keiron Campbell and then Zak Ansah squandered great opportunities. Guernsey’s leading striker of this season, Will Fazakerley, went down with a bump and dislocated his shoulder, which required a hospital visit to have it put back in place. We wish him well with his recovery.

Within a minute of the restart Tyreese-Walters was brought down in the box by Tom Strawbridge and the lead was increased by Ansah sending Stanton the wrong way. Nine minutes later Dawodu should have made it three but his blast looked more likely to take the heads off those behind the goal than to rattle the net. Just past the hour mark Carlos Canha flicked on and Robbie Legg hooked in from close range, denying Bay a clean sheet. With 15 minutes left on the clock Ansah had the home crowd in raptures with a sublime nutmeg on Tom De La Mare but his shot cannoned off the legs of Stanton. The visitors made substitutions to give themselves more attacking options and attempted to throw the kitchen sink at Bay, but in all honesty looked unlikely to equalise. Two minutes into time added on and this time it was Campbell who showed that a more direct style of play upfront can pay dividends as Tobin (I am not sure which one) bundled him to the floor. Ansah stepped up, Stanton dived the same way as before…the wrong way again. A far, far better performance all round and a much-deserved victory.

Ben Smith continued: “I think 3-1 has flattered them (Guernsey) massively, we created enough in the first half to be more than two goals to the good, so I am really pleased with the performance, and hopefully the boys will start doing that on a more consistent basis They’re (Guernsey) were fourth in the league and everyone was worried about us, and worried about our form, moaning and groaning, but we’ve got that in our locker to put in a performance like that against a team that we have never beaten at home. So hopefully the players get some plaudits for that today, not too many because obviously we need to kick on and get a run of games together; that’s only one game but when people are quick to criticise they’ve got to say well done to the players who have put in a great shift today.”

Man of the Match: Bola Dawodu. As chosen by Kirsty Neal and Danny Parpworth from match sponsors Profile Brickwork Contractors Ltd.