Herne Bay will be hoping to secure their first victory of the Isthmian League Premier Division season on Tuesday evening when they travel to face Haringey Borough.

Ben Smith’s side looked like they were going to claim at least a point at the weekend, but a late goal from Quentin Monville saw them suffer a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Potters Bar Town.

The Bay started brightly in boiling temperatures but were unable to break down a stubborn Scholars defence, with both sides entering the half time break level.

Marcel Barrington saw his effort strike the post midway through the second period, before Potters Bar missed chances of their own to take control of the game.

With time running out, Monville’s close range finish in the 89th minute saw the hosts take the lead as Herne Bay stared defeat in the face.

And despite showing signs of promise throughout, the visitors were unable to start their season on a positive note, returning home empty handed.

The Opposition

Our hosts on Tuesday were established in 1973 by a merger of Edmonton and Haringey Borough (formerly Wood Green Town) and was initially named Edmonton & Haringey. The new club took Edmonton's place in Division One of the Athenian League and adopted their current name after finishing bottom of the division in 1975–76.

Currently based at the CVS Van Hire Stadium, Haringey Borough enjoyed a successful start to the 90s, won the London Senior Cup. In 1995 they were renamed Tufnell Park, taking the name of one of the clubs that had merged to form Edmonton, but reverted to the Haringey Borough name the following year.

At the end of the 2011/12 season, the Borough were transferred to the Essex Senior League, where their Coles Park tenants Greenhouse London also played. The 2014–15 season saw the club win the Essex Senior League, earning promotion to Division One North of the Isthmian League.

After an unsuccessful play-off campaign at the end of the 2016/17 season, Haringey managed to go one better the following season, beating Canvey Island 3-1 in the final to secure promotion to the Premier Division, and have played in that league since.

They began their 2022/23 season with a narrow 2-1 loss at the hands of last season’s play-off runners-up Bishops Stortford.

Key Players

Rakim Richards (Defender) - Rakim is a versatile player who signed for Haringey Borough back in 2010 and most usually can be found in a defensive role. However, he is equally at home in midfield and has, on occasion, proved to be a threat in the opposition penalty area. He is the club captain and the man who scored Borough’s opening goal of the 22/23 season.

Kaylen Hinds (Forward) – A graduate of the famed Arsenal academy system, Kaylen is a man who at one time played his football in the Bundesliga for VFL Wolfsburg and Greuther Furth II. At 24 years of age, he is the kind of signing that gets fans excited for the season ahead. His scoring could be the difference for Haringey this season.

Johnny Ashman (Midfielder) - Wideman Ashman is a new addition to this Haringey Borough team, having featured for East Thurrock United. Last season, he went on to make 46 appearances and score ten goals for his former club - including one against Borough last September. He previously played for Barking, Clapton, Aveley, Witham Town and Cheshunt.

Pre-Match comments

Speaking after Sunday afternoon’s defeat to Potters Bar, Ben Smith spoke about the need to learn from such an agonizing defeat.

“We need to take that feeling of disappointment and frustration and learn from it,” said Smith.

“We can’t be conceding goals like that. We have defended pretty well today (Sunday) and then we lost to a scrappy goal, so that is something we have got to learn from.

“Every game is going to be different. They (Potters Bar Town) were very direct but Haringey are going to be different so we will have to adapt.”

You can watch the full interview after the Potters Bar loss by following the link below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nU1D0xfElhA

Last time we met

We last faced Haringey Borough in the cup during the abandoned 2019/20 season, a game which finished 3-0 in favour of the Borough, with the goals coming from Lionel Stone, Georgios Aresti, and Anthony McDonald.