Match Preview

Match Sponsor : Herne Bay Loyal Supporters - Lest We Forget
Match Ball Sponsor : Sam Robson

On Saturday 2nd November we have the Herne Bay FC Remembrance Day in aid of the Royal British Legion Poppy Day appeal.

In 2017 we raised £131.58 and last year we smashed that with £804.31 going into the charity’s coffers. Surely that can’t be surpassed this year, or can it?

The match is sponsored by Herne Bay Loyal Supporters and we ask that as many fans as possible donate £10 (as circumstances allow) to this worthy cause. The club has kindly agreed that all the sponsorship money will go to The Royal British Legion Poppy Day Appeal. Many thanks to Stuart Fitchie.

Match Preview by Steve Barton

On Saturday 2nd November 2019 Herne Bay FC will remember the members of the armed forces who gave their lives in the line of duty. This year we welcome East Grinstead Town on this special day.

East Grinstead Town Football Club was formed on May 8, 1890 although it was another ten years before they played their first competitive matches as founder members of the Mid Sussex Football League. In those early days the club played in blue and white with the town's coat of arms on the breast pocket. It was some years before they adopted their current colours of amber and black and were nicknamed 'The Wasps,' both of which survive to this day. The Wasps were original members of the Sussex County League when it was founded in 1920. A succession of promotions and relegations was the norm since the Second World War until taking the Second Division title in 2007/08 by 18 points and firmly cementing themselves with a place in the First Division.

At the end of the 2013/14 season they gained promotion from the Sussex County League as runners-up after finishing 17 points adrift of Champions East Preston and two points ahead of third placed Littlehampton Town.

The Wasps ended their first season at Step 4 in the bottom three but were reprieved from relegation and had struggled since and with reorganisation of the football pyramid they were installed in the Isthmian League Division One South East for 2018/19 when they recorded their best ever finish of 13th place.

Of the 10 Isthmian League encounters between the two sides East Grinstead have won just once with five victories for Herne Bay and four draws. There was also a 1-0 win for Bay in the FA Cup at Winch’s Field in August 2016.

The Wasps currently sit on the bottom of the league table with three draws and six defeats from their nine games. Herne Bay are 10 places and 10 points above.

The return fixture is in Sussex on Saturday 29th February 2020.