Herne Bay will be looking to avoid a third successive defeat on Saturday when relegation rivals Bowers & Pitsea visit the MBS Stadium.

Kevin Watson’s side started strongly, with Tushaun Walters and Kymani Thomas narrowly off target.

Cray forced their way ahead through Danny Bassett, who fired home from the edge of the six-yard box.

Tom Derry doubled the hosts lead late in the second half, before Jalen Jones put the game to bed not long after with a towering header.

And the Bay were left to return home empty handed, suffering their second successive defeat.

The Opposition

Saturday’s visitors began life in an old wooden cricket pavilion in 1947 on the site of what is now Pitsea Market.

After the war years, many new sporting clubs sprang up. One such club was Bowers United, started by Bert Salmon, who played at Gun Meadow, Pitsea, in the Thurrock & Thameside Combination. He was to be joined a few years later by his brother Len Salmon, who passed away.

Bowers United won the Essex Senior League title and the Essex Senior League cup in 1998/99 under Tony Cross and were also runners up in the Harry Fisher Trophy.

They won the Don Douglas Trophy for top scorer with David Hope as well as the secretary of the year award.

Season 2004/05 saw a new name on the footballing map when Bowers United took Pitsea Football clubs name to produce Bowers & Pitsea Football Club.

Improvements to the ground and surrounding area as well as the Social Club helped Bowers & Pitsea Football Club to achieve their goal when Rob Small was appointed manager in 2014/15. In his first season, he took the club to runners up in the league as well as winning the Essex Senior League Challenge Cup.

In season 2015/16, Small topped his haul from the previous season by winning the Essex Senior League Championship, getting to the quarter finals of the Essex Senior Cup but more impressively, reaching the semi-finals of the FA Vase where they narrowly beaten by eventual winners Morpeth Town 2-1.

They then went on to achieve one of their goals by reaching the Rymans League, then called the BetVictor Isthmian League, finishing their first season in sixth place, just three points outside the playoff positions.

Last season was a tough one for our hosts, who finished up 16th out of 22, just nine points above the final relegation place with a record of 12 wins, nine draws, and 21 losses, scoring 54 goals but conceding 72.

Opposition Season So Far

Currently, Bowers & Pitsea find themselves embroiled in a fiercely competitive battle to break free of the relegation zone. At the time of writing this, Saturday’s visitors sit 20th in the Isthmian League Premier Division table after three wins, eight draws, and ten losses from the 21 games that they have played, scoring 22 goals while conceding 37.

Key Players

Billy Knott (Midfield) – Billy is a player with top level experience under his belt, having progressed through the West Ham United, Chelsea, and Sunderland academies. The tough tackling midfielder has racked up just under 250 career appearances, most of which came in the Football League for the likes of Bradford City, Gillingham, and Port Vale to name a few.

Mobolaji Dawodu (Midfield) – Bola is best described as a box-to-box midfielder, good in the air. Was with James at Faversham last year before moving to Herne Bay where he clinched promotion via the play offs. Also counts Canterbury City among his former clubs.

Julian Gibson (Defender) – Energetic full back who likes to get up and down, equally capable of playing on either side. Julian joins Bowers & Pitsea following a successful spell out in America. He was on trial at Walsall in the summer before heading to Essex.

Last time we met

The last time we faced Bowers & Pitsea was earlier this season on August 21, 2022. On that occasion, strikes from Duane Ofori-Acheampong and Bola Dawodu condemned the Bay to a narrow 2-1 defeat.

Ofori-Acheampong handed the hosts the lead after only 13 minutes, firing home from the centre of the Bay penalty area.

Hassan Jalloh extended his recent run of good form immediately after, with his deflected shot leaving the home ‘keeper with no chance.

Bola edged Bowers & Pitsea ahead midway through the second half, before Ofori-Acheampong was shown a straight red card moments later for a challenge on Jack Parter.

However, the Bay were unable to find a way back into the game, returning home empty handed.

Ticket News

Adults: £12
Concession: £7
Junior (12-17): £5
Under 12s: £2

You can buy your tickets digitally by following the link below.

https://hernebayfc.ktckts.com/event/her2223h13/herne-bay-v-bowers-pitsea