Bay lose out in FA Cup

In came new signing George Kamurasi, the fifth different keeper in seven games, Simon Kabamba started at right back in place of Joe Nelder, Chris Saunders and Tushaun Tyreese-Walters replaced Danny Lawrence and Ryan King-Elliott in midfield, and wide was Keiron Campbell in place of Kyron Lightfoot.

The odds were heavily stacked against Herne Bay from progressing; Haringey Borough had to be second in the division above for a reason, but on the balance of play the final score flattered Borough, the difference being that they put away some of their chances and Bay didn’t.

Chris Saunders created the first chance for Herne Bay, followed by Zak Ansah and Tushaun-Tyreese Walters whilst at the other end George Kamurasi was up to the task when Haringey managed a shot on target. Keiron Campbell was inches wide as the half drew to an end and three Borough players were booked within five minutes for whingeing and swearing at the referee. And then with the clock ticking down Kamurasi was finally beaten, Lionel Stone giving the home side the lead.

Ben Smith: “I thought the first half we were good money to be in the match to be fair. It’s having the maturity and composure at the vital time. Conceding just before the break totally turns the game in their favour.”

Kamurasi was at his best early doors in the second period and on 56 Tyreese-Walters was bundled over on the edge of the box and referee Oliver Morris-Sanders, having booked the guilty party just minutes before bottled the decision and Haringey kept 11 players on the pitch. After a mix up in defence Georgios Aresti made it two 20 minutes before the end. Bay’s substitutions rightly sacrificed the defensive options in an attempt to get back into tie and Ricky Freeman’s effort was turned over the bar by Valery Pajetet. The final blow came in the 85th minute when Kamurasi saved Anthony McDonald’s strike but the forward scored from the rebound.

A satisfactory performance from Herne Bay with just the ability to put the ball in the back of the net lacking.

Ben Smith: “I think it was a missed opportunity today. I thought the second half we started the game well and they should have been down to 10 men, the referee didn’t take action, I thought he was soft in that instance and allowed them to get away with it. Five minutes later we capitulate and gift them a goal, a comedy of errors really, which was a real shame because I thought our performance at times deserved better than coming away losing due to errors and obviously the third goal, we were throwing bodies forward at that point and its always going to be open, we had to roll the dice and see if we could get a goal just to see if we could make it a nervy game. We had a couple of chances and didn’t quite take them, and they go up the other end and punish us. I thought George Kamurasi was outstanding in goal today, he certainly didn’t deserve to concede three goals. But there are real positives, they are flying in their league, a league above us, and we’ve come here and given them a run for their money, they have been fortunate to come away winning 3-0. At some stage we have to turn the potential and part performances into 90 minutes.”

Herne Bay: George Kamurasi, Simon Kabamba (Luke Griffiths 78), Gary Sayer, George Crimmen, Stuart West, Chris Saunders (Ryan King-Elliott 74), Tushaun Tyreese-Walters, Jordan Johnson-Palmer, Zak Ansah, Ricky Freeman (Bola Dawodu 77), Keiron Campbell.