Rory Smith’s first half goal proved to be not enough as Herne Bay fell to a 2-1 defeat to Bishop’s Stortford in the Third Round Qualifying stage of the Isuzu FA Trophy.

Smith edged the Bay ahead early in the first half with a strike which, via a slight deflection, left the visiting ‘keeper with little chance of stopping it.

Matthew Johnson levelled things up for Bishop’s moments later, rising highest to head the ball home from Darren Foxley’s left-wing cross.

Foxley got in on the act to give the visitors the lead shortly after the restart, with the midfielder slotting home from a tight angle.

And despite some late pressure from the Bay, they were unable to find an equaliser as Bishop’s held on to progress to the next round.

With Tushaun Walters starting for the Bay, following his loan move from Maidstone United, the Bay started brightly, with TT keeping the Bishop’s defence in its toes.

One man who was looking to continue his good run of form was Smith and in the third minute, only an excellent defensive block denied the forward a shot on goal.

Approaching the tenth minute, Ben Smith’s side were looking to put their FA Cup exit behind them and but for another heroic defensive challenge, Kieron Campbell might well have opened the scoring for the hosts.

It seemed that the Bay were not far away from breaching the Bishop’s defence and with 18 minutes on the clock, they did just that when Smith burst into space before rifling his shot past Jack Giddens, via a slight deflection, and into the back of the net.

The visitors, who sit atop the Isthmian League Premier Division table responded well to going behind and only four minutes later they managed to level things up. Rising highest to meet Foxley’s dangerous ball into the Bay box, Johnson directed his header through a crowded penalty area and past Jordan Perrin.

In what was proving to be a tightly contested first 45 minutes, the momentum continued to swing both ways, with KC once again being denied a goal, this time by Giddens two minutes after the visitors’ equaliser.

Wanting to make a good impression on his return to the club, TT was a constant thorn in the fullback’s side and having skinned him alive on the half hour mark, he crossed the ball into the danger zone, only to see it dribble across the goal mouth before eventually being cleared.

Despite being put under pressure, the visitors were still a force to be reckoned with at the other end of the pitch. In the 34th minute, they had a golden opportunity to take the lead when Frankie Merrifield was played through on goal, with just Laurence Harvey to beat.

However, the Bay centre back, making his first league start of the season, put in a terrific last-gasp challenge as the forward looked to round him, winning the ball and stopping the attack in its tracks.

With half time fast approaching, both sides were doing their utmost to carry the advantage into the break. The best of which fell the way of Smith who, having rose highest to meet KC’s cross, saw his glancing header sail wide.

A fast start to the second half would have been on the wish list of both managers but on this occasion, it was Bishop’s Stortford who managed to make the early breakthrough.

With 50 minutes on the clock, Merrifield threaded the ball through to Foxley, with the referee playing advantage following a foul in the centre circle. The midfielder made no mistake when slotting the ball home from a tight angle.

Despite now trailing, the Bay kept plugging away, with Bode Anidugbe a shoe size away from getting to a through ball, before KC saw his goalbound shot deflect off a blue shirt to take it off target.

Approaching the final 15 minutes, Bishop’s were looking to put the game to bed, only to find Perrin in top form, with the shot-stopper making several fine save to give Smith’s side a fighting chance.

However, the men in blue kept fighting, knowing that one goal would force the game to a penalty shootout. Several dangerous free kicks were awarded to the Bay in the final ten minutes, but TT found Giddens was more than a match for his efforts.

Minutes after Helge Orome headed Chris Edwards’ cross wide, the Bay had a glorious opportunity to square things up when the ball sat up beautifully for Mason Saunders-Henry in the 88th minute, who was brought on moments earlier.

His first-time shot would have no doubt hit the target at the very least, but a fantastic block from one of the Bishop’s defenders added to the hosts frustrations.

There was still enough time for one last chance for the Bay when Saunders-Henry was on the receiving end of another cross into the visiting box, but he couldn’t quite adjust to the delivery and his header drifted off target.

Full Time: Herne Bay 1 Bishop’s Stortford 2

Herne Bay Starting XI: Jordan Perrin, Chris Edwards, Jack Parter, Laurence Harvey, Daniel Johnson, Tushaun Walters, Rory Smith (Kymani Thomas 74’), Kieron Campbell (Mason Saunders-Henry 74’), Bode Anidugbe, Mike West (Marcel Barrington 63’), Helge Orome

Unused Subs: Hamilton Antonio, Eddie Allsopp, Monty Saunders, Euan Bunn