Harvey Points Bagger

Faversham Town (1) 1
Harvey 31

Herne Bay (0) 0

Attendance: 206

Ryman Isthmian League Division One (South)
Tuesday 4th February 2014.
(at Salters Lane)

by Peter Guise

The Lilywhites maintained their interest in the Ryman One (South) play offs with this win over East Kent rivals Herne Bay thanks to a 31st minute strike from former Bay ‘skipper Luke Harvey. Played in bitter conditions with a gusty wind that threatened to loosen the Salters Lane stands’ roof, the only element that was missing was torrential rain, the sort that had clearly, recently, turned the playing surface into a puggy mess.

Both sides struggled to play anything resembling football in the testing conditions with Herne Bay over hitting their diagonal passes that were sent scooting out of play with monotonous frequency. Playing into the gusting wind in the first 45, Faversham broke with speed, mostly moving the ball forward at low level across the increasingly cut up surface. It was to pay dividends in the 31st minute when Luke Harvey, relishing the opportunity to perform against his former club powered through the close attention of three Herne Bay defenders to strike a shot from the left hand angle of the penalty area that deflected into the net off the base of Delo’s right hand upright. Bay responded, attempting to use the wind to their advantage and might have had better luck with efforts from both Hasler and Nelder that rocketed goalwards only to be thwarted by the prevailing conditions.

After the turnaround, Town faced the same ‘with the wind’ challenges. Faversham were to lose the services of their goalscorer when Harvey, chasing after a wind assisted pass down the left, pulled up with a hamstring injury. Herne Bay had learnt the lessons of the first 45 and now playing neater football pressed for an equaliser. Stuart King unleashed a thunderbolt 10 minutes from time that cannoned off the chest of Town ‘keeper Simon Overland. With the clock running down the Lilywhites held on for three valuable points in their quest to reach the play offs for the second successive season. Herne Bay, meanwhile, have stumbled to their fourth consecutive defeat.

Herne Bay: Jack Delo, Michael Turner, Gary Sayer, Danny Walder, Connor Sanders, Joe Kennett, Sam Hasler, Joe Nelder, Stuart King, Danny Lawrence, Dean Grant.

Substitutes: Nathan Eastwood, Kane Phillip, George Benner, Jordan Casey, James Turner