Herne Bay will be looking to put Saturday’s defeat to Hornchurch behind them when they face relegation rivals Kingstonian at Tooting & Mitcham United’s Imperial Fields.

Kevin Watson’s side had been enjoying a positive run of form following the 2-1 win against Brightlingsea regent and the 1-1 draw against near neighbours Margate.

However, against a promotion-chasing Hornchurch side, that run came undone as the Urchins ran out 5-1 winners.

Ellis Brown and Sam Higgins both scored for the hosts before the half hour mark as the Bay struggled to get going.

Barrington pulled a goal back from the penalty spot, following a trip on Rory Smith just inside the home penalty area.

Former Folkestone Invicta forward Ade Yusuff restored Hornchurch’s two-goal lead just before the break to give Kevin Watson’s side a mountain to climb.

Higgins scored his second of the game with 60 minutes on the clock to give the Urchins a 4-1 lead, before completing his hattrick three minutes from time to send the Bay packing.

The Opposition

The Kingstonian club came into being in 1919 because of the merger between Kingston Town FC and Old Kingstonians FC. However, the club can trace its origins even further back and celebrated its centenary in 1985; the reason for this is that one of its forerunners, Kingston & Surbiton YMCA FC played its first match on a ground in Bushy Park in November 1885.

Kingstonian started life in the Athenian League, a competition that it won in both seasons 1923/24 and 1925/26, playing its home matches at a brand-new ground in Richmond Road that remained its home until 1988.

In 1929 the Kingstonians accepted an invitation to join the Isthmian League as a replacement for the Civil Service FC and remained in that league until 1998.

At the beginning of the 1997-98 season, the club appointed Geoff Chapple as manager, who brought about a change of fortunes for the club. In his first season, he took the club to the Isthmian League Premier Division Championship.

In the following season, their first in the Football Conference, the club finished a creditable 8th, but they capped it all off by winning the FA Trophy at Wembley in May 1999 with a 1-0 victory over Forest Green Rovers.

The following season 1999/2000, in the last FA Trophy Final between the famous Twin Towers, the K's retained their title with an exciting 3-2 win over Kettering Town, giving Chapple his 5th FA Trophy Final win in seven seasons (the other three with Woking). The club also reached their highest position of 5th in the Conference.

Fast forward to today, following several years dotted with successes and struggles, Kingstonian are a side that managed to finish in 10th place last season, 17 points behind Cheshunt in the final play-off place. From the 42 games that they played, they developed a record of 17 wins, eight draws, 17 losses, scoring 68 goals but conceding 71 for a goal difference of -3.

Opposition So Far

Currently, our hosts on Wednesday have had a disappointing season, finding themselves sat 18th in the Isthmian League Premier Division table after six wins, eight draws, and 16 losses from their 30 completed league games, scoring 30 goals but conceding 54.

Recently, they have experienced a change in management, with Simon Lane appointed to the role of First Team Manager on February 9, 2023. After back-to-back losses to Aveley and Hastings United, Lane’s side put in an impressive performance to beat Bognor Regis Town 4-2, with the goals coming courtesy of Imran Kayani’s double, plus solo efforts from Alex MacAllister and Ibrahim Jalloh.

Key Players

Isaiah Jones (Defender): A former Southampton junior who joined Forest Green Rovers in 2018. He made two appearances for the club in the EFL Trophy before a loan spell with Cirencester Town before spending most of last season with Chesham United. Isaiah joined Kingstonian in the summer of 2022.

Robert Tolfrey (Goalkeeper): Kingstonian’s record appearance maker, Rob broke Micky Preston’s record of 557 appearances in September 2021 and is fast approaching the 600 mark. He started his career with Crawley Town before spending one season with Whyteleafe before securing a move to Horsham.

In 2009, Rob moved to Kingstonian and has been the undisputed number one ever since. Supporters’ Player of the Year on numerous occasions, he received a testimonial match in 2015 and was a vital part of Kingstonian’s wonderful FA Cup run to the Second Round in April 2022.

Sean Bonnett-Johnson (Midfielder): Originally joined Kingstonian in December 2015 and was part of the K’s League Cup Final victory over Faversham Town in 2016. A widely travelled player who has also played for the likes of Billericay Town, Merstham, Braintree Town and Dundee, Sean played the 2021-22 season with FC Romania and re-joined the K’s in the summer of 2022.

Last time we met

We last faced Kingstonian earlier on in the season on August 27 at Ramsgate’s WW Martin Community Stadium. On that occasion, Tyrese Owen’s late goal cancelled out Chris Edwards’ opener as the Bay were held to a 1-1 draw.

Edwards put the Bay ahead midway through the first half with a long-range strike that left the visiting ‘keeper rooted to the spot.

Kieron Campbell, now of Faversham Town, almost doubled our advantage just before the break with a strike which whistled just wide of the top right corner.

The hosts threw everything they had at Ben Smith’s side in the second half, with Bay shot-stopper Jordan Perrin making a series of fine saves to maintain the lead.

However, there was nothing he could do late on as Owen headed home from a Kingstonian free-kick, earning the visitors a share of the spoils.

Ticket News

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