After two promising displays against Hastings and Holland & Blair, Herne Bay had home comforts again against Ramsgate. This time, however, it was the first round of the county cup.

Herne Bay faced an early set back as Tom took a very heavy blow to the ankle, while making a brave challenge, and could not continue. His replacement, Ralph, was immediately called into action, diverting the ball out for a corner while under pressure.

Chances were few and far between for both sides in the first half as a tactical chess match broke out, with both sides defending stoutly. Blake curled a free kick over after Freddie was taken out on the edge of the box before Blake returned the favour, with Freddie curling his effort wide.

Herne Bay were starting to push their opponents back, with Henry volleying wide after Theo’s deep cross was headed out. Henry got another effort away from distance that was well held. Freddie was chopped down again and this time Finn’s free kick was a fraction over the bar. At the other end, Ralph was marshalling the back line well, organising and cajoling his team mates to narrow the distances between them and shut the away team out.

With the half drawling to a close, Danny, deep on the left flank, battled well against two opponents and came away with the ball, despite a stray arm in the face. The ball broke to Henry and his slide-rule pass was perfectly into Sammy’s stride. The striker advanced on goal, held off his man, and tucked home his finish confidently to give the home side the lead at the break. 1-0.

The competitive levels went up a notch in the second half, and despite Ralph’s organisation, Ramsgate started to push Herne Bay back. A corner from the away side was met by one of their players and bounced down dangerously in the six yard box before Theo hooked the ball over his own bar to clear the danger. The resulting corner was volleyed over.

Alfie and Kai were brought on to add some extra bite in front of the back three and they duly set about their tasks like a couple of terriers, snapping into tackles and denying their opponents time and space to create. Alongside them, Charlie was beginning to dictate play himself, first drawing a smart stop from the keeper with a long range effort before dancing down the flank, drawing players and tackles to him before cleverly winning a corner.

Matteo was next to come on, making his long awaited return from injury, and immediately in the thick of things, winning two big headers and snapping into tackles before driving down the touchline to release pressure.

The away side were beginning to lose their composure. After already seeing one player given a yellow card for a wild tackle from behind on Freddie in the first half, a melee broke out in the Ramsgate penalty area after Freddie was again taken out twice without punishment; a consequence of Ramsgate’s uncompromising approach to the skipper’s direct runs. The referee, in boots brighter than many of the players, surprisingly decided to keep his cards in his pocket.

With time ticking down, Herne Bay dropped into a low block and focussed on denying space for the away team. Callum was only really called into action once to bravely block at a corner, a testament to a phenomenal display of organisation and commitment from each player to protect the clean sheet. Danny had a swerving effort saved before heading a Charlie free kick over as the game closed out with a place in the next round secured. An astute tactical plan from the coaching team, executed well by this fast-developing side; the coaches were cleared delighted by the level of professionalism displayed by the boys.

Goal Scorer

Sammy Lee-Chibnall 1x