Whilst Whitstable are the renowned rivals of Herne Bay,writes Steve Barton, there is always something special for me about a game against Folkestone. It might be the 250 mile round evening journey that I made from Portsmouth in 1998 to watch the thrilling 1-1 draw in the season when we won the league only to see Folkestone moving up to the Southern League Southern Section, or it may be that I reside there for most of the week.

We lost 2-1 to a team that are odds-on to make the play-offs, the display was solid and on another day we might have got something out of it. So the Ryman League South results between the two clubs are: Played 4, Herne Bay won 2, Invicta won 2, goals for 6, goals against 6. A pretty good record methinks against a side playing-off for promotion two seasons in a row.

Waterlogged ground, wind blew roof off stand, fog, trees on the pitch, floodlight failure are just a few of the reasons that matches have been postponed / abandoned this season (and still no frost or snow). Now we have a new one – minibus broke down! The charabanc due to bring the Seven Acre & Sidcup Under 21s to the North Kent Coast failed. Flurries of phone calls were made to arrange alternative transport to no avail. The Peter Guise guide to rearranging fixtures for obscure reasons will be available on Amazon soon.

It was another disappointing result on Saturday as we lost 2-1 at home to Chipstead and missed the chance to leapfrog them in the league. It was a display that we have seen often this season at Winch’s Field, as a team that we were more than capable of beating took their chances whilst the Bay squandered theirs and despite the usual last 10 minute barrage on the opposition goal the points slipped away.

One thing for certain is that the lads in Blue and White are giving their best and are as frustrated as the fans are that their honesty, passion and commitment is not turning into more points. We now face 12 matches in a little over a month, eight of them at home, and many of them winnable if we play the way we can. There is pressure enough on the management and players as they strive to reach the mid-table goal and the fans must get behind the boys even when a pass or two goes astray. Everyone who pays their money is entitled to their opinion but to berate the team for 90 minutes and then add more when they have lost is beyond comprehension and self-defeating.

Even the most amateur trick cyclist will tell you that if you tell a child often enough that they are naughty then they will behave in a naughty way. How about applauding the good play and accepting that mistakes will be made. As Jack Delo said to a dissenting fan on Saturday after the match “If we were perfect then we would be playing at a higher level”.

This is not a case of looking through rose-tinted spectacles but more one of supporting your team through thick and thin, win or lose. Come on you Bay!

Barry McCracken made his annual pilgrimage from Scotland to the Field of Dreams. Barry, twice winner this season of the 50/50 draw, was quick to sign up his wife Kia to this fund-raising initiative. Are you a member? If not, why not?

Herne Bay Under 18s went out with a whimper in the Kent Youth Cup semi-final losing 2-0 to Welling United at Winch’s Field. This was the 14th Cup game of the season for Ben Smith’s charges and they still have the John Ullmann Memorial Trophy quarter-final to play. Meanwhile in the League there have been just five games in little under seven months, the last being on 15th December 2013! Bay are in 7th place with enough games in hand to easily walk away with the title but with 15 matches still to play in the coming weeks this is a big ask. So far the last scheduled fixture is on 18th May 2014, nearly a month after the Ryman League will have finished.

The Under 21s followed Wednesday’s postponement with another on Sunday, this time because Lewisham Borough were not able to raise a team. Surely at this time of the season with so many matches requiring rearrangement this match should have been awarded to the Bay as a walk-over!

The Ladies were due to play at home to Ebbsfleet United Reserves but the visitors withdrew from the league. Cue emails and checking the rule book. Our girls were one point behind Long Lane and had only managed a draw with Ebbsfleet earlier this season so if the Northfleet based side’s record was expunged Bay would be two points clear at the top of the table. When the uncertainty cleared the news was not good. Ebbsfleet had played 75% of their fixtures so their results would not be deleted. Herne Bay and the rest of the Fleets’ future opponents were given all three points but not any additional goal difference. Long Lane beat Prince of Wales 5-2 to stay a point above the Bay with three games left.

The Managerial / Player merry-go-round had so far this season has involved the Sussex and Surrey sides but various permutations have been thrown up following the news that former Bay manager Simon Halsey left Lordswood with ex-Whitstable Town Assistant and one time Herne Bay manager Jason Lillis returning to take the reins at the Chatham-based side.

The rumour mill has it that names that we recognise, Tom Bryant, Rhys Lawson and Calum McGeehan have all left Lordswood in support of Halsey. Returning to the Lords are Mark Murison, Peter Huggens, Wes Hammond, Imran Englefield, Ryan Royston, Richard Styles and Rob Norman. In addition Hooper and Cook moved back from the Oystermen to Lordswood. As one Town supporter commented on their supporters’ forum “Eases our wage bill!!!”

Across the River Wantsum, Ramsgate appointed former Faversham Town and Whitstable Town manager Justin Luchford as manager. Invicta’s young striker Johan Ter Horst will join Hull City for a reported £30,000 at the end of the season, Whitstable Town’s Scott Heard has been on trial with Chesterfield and Hythe Town continue their search for a new Chairman.

The Ryman League transfer window finishes at the end of March and the last seven day approaches will be flying around.

Joe Nelder will serve the second of his two match ban, for showing dissent by word and / or action, against Three Bridges, Danny Walder and Jordan Casey are one yellow card away from a suspension.

Last week Herne Bay were in 46th place in the Pitchero ranking for football websites, a great rise from the previous places of around 90/100. I am sure this is due to some great marketing from someone on Facebook. Well done to that person, continue your great work, you deserve a trophy.

The last week of March is expected to start on a showery note, accompanied by blustery winds. The showers could be heavy and thundery at times, particularly across northwestern areas, with even a wintry element possible to the hills of Scotland, Northern Ireland and northern England. There will also be some brighter interludes though, especially across eastern areas that are likely to see the best of any sunshine. Perhaps the most salient feature of the weather early in this period will be the cooler feel relative to the recent past.

Tuesday 25th March 2014. Three Bridges home. League. 7.45pm kick-off
Thursday 27th March 2014. U 18s Folkestone Invicta away. League. 7.45pm kick-off
Saturday 29th March 2014. Horsham away. League. 3.00pm kick-off.
Sunday 30th March 2014. Ladies. Anchorians 2nds home (Bell Meadow). 2.00pm kick-off.

At this time of the year fixtures change quickly with the weather and cup commitments, make sure you visit the club’s website. www.pitchero.com/clubs/hernebay for up-to-date details and all the latest news.