Herne Bay 3-1 Lordswood

Bay then retaliated the best way league leaders can – by taking the lead. 

The hard working David Crofts won the ball in midfield, allowing Darren Marsden to play the ball through for Byron Walker, and the former Chatham Town and Dover Athletic winger beat keeper Ryan Burridge with a low drive from the edge of the box.
 
Stung into life Lordswood deservedly levelled on the half hour.  Richard Styles played the pass of the match – a driven sixty yard cross field ball to the far post where Matt McHugh arriving late buried the ball past Eason into the left corner to equalise. 

The leaders though were only pegged back for 90 seconds – even if their second goal did contain a huge amount of good fortune! 

Crofts headed a clearance back into the Lordswood box and as it fell to King, he took a swipe at the ball, which only succeeded in going square where Marsden was waiting to tap the ball into empty net. 

Now whether Marsden meant to shoot or to pass is open to conjecture – but the result meant that the League Leaders were back in front.
 
The difference between top and lower reaches of the league was then highlighted perfectly in a ninety second spell just before half time. 

A great ball from Adam Hooper down the left side released Denness, and the striker raced clear despite the attentions of Steve Hansen who had already been booked. 

Denness held off the challenge to fire in a shot that Eason couldn’t hold and the Bay keeper was relieved to see Tom Bryant on hand to hack the ball off of the goal line.  

Almost within seconds King showed at the other end why he is the division’s top scorer as he held off the challenges of three defenders and a fortunate ricochet to give Burridge no chance from 20 yards to net his 14^th goal of a very productive season. 
 
Within seconds of the restart, Lordswood should have been given the chance to get back into the game as Denness was clearly impeded by Bryant, though referee and assistant both thought otherwise much to the dismay of the Lordswood following in the 220 crowd. 

Referee Hamett then again failed to make any friends from the Medway Towns as after Walker and Berkhauer clashed, with the Bay striker clearly seen to kick out, the official “only” lectured the striker without issuing a card.  Walker almost added insult to injury on 65 minutes.  With the visitors gamely pushing to get back into the game, he was released down the left, and his pace took him away from the defence.  Unselfishly he then laid the ball square to King (who looked suspiciously offside) only for Burridge to make a brilliant double block to keep his side in the game. 
 
The game now was moving from end to end despite it seemed the efforts Mr Hamett who was now suffering from some innocuous early cautions by taking leniency to the extreme. 

The main benefactor was Hansen, who was incredibly lucky not to be shown a card (after being booked in the opening 10 minutes for a clumsy challenge) for a foul on the hard working Steve Elliott, which “almost sent the Lordswood striker into the front row of the stand”. 

From the resulting free kick, substitute Rob Norman brought the best out of Eason with a low drive, which the keeper did very well to turn around the post. 

And from the resulting corner Styles perhaps should have done better with a header that glanced wide of the left post.
 
Meanwhile at the other end, the visitors defence was beginning to stretch almost to breaking point, and Lordswood were indebted to keeper Burridge for three last saves that kept the scoreline at 3-1 – two from the luckless King and the third from one of his own players who in attempting to clear the ball only succeeded in almost scoring in the top corner – until Burridge's intervention that is.
 
Lordswood’s day was summed up in the last minute with the dismissal of Nick Berkhauer.  The central defender (who also had received an unnecessary early yellow card) was correctly cautioned as he blatantly obstructed Marsden as he charged forward, but to suffer an early dismissal for a petty early caution seemed a touch unfair, especially in light of some of the “tackles” that Mr Hamett had previously allowed to go unpunished by cards!
 
Not that Herne Bay will give anything but passing sympathy to their opponents as these three points, along with Hythe Town and Beckenham Town both dropping unexpected points, now mean that Halsey’s side have a cushion at the top of the Kent League that they may well keep until May. 

For Lillis and Lordswood on the other hand, signs are encouraging that their lowly league position could well soon be a thing of the past – especially when you consider that they have now played the divisions top three home and away. 
 
The only way it would appear for both of these two sides, who provided a fine spectacle of Kent League football this Bank Holiday Monday afternoon, is up!
 
Herne Bay: Dan Eason, Simon Brown, Toby Ashmore, Tom Bryant, Steve Hansen, David Crofts, Dan Lawrence, Darren Marsden, Stuart King (James Turner 86), Byron Walker, Sam Brennan (Nathan Eastwood 51).
Subs: Joe Nelder, Ben Brown, Karl Williams.

Goals: Byron Walker 22, Darren Marsden 32, Stuart King 35

Booked: Steve Hansen 9, Toby Ashmore 62, James Turner 89
 
Lordswood: Ryan Burridge, Adam Ling, Adam Hooper, Nick Berkhauer, Wes Hammond, Marc Morrison (Rob Norman 44), Matt McHugh, Peter Huggens, Rob Denness, Richard Styles, Steve Elliott.
Subs: Dan Dellaney, Dominic Elmes, George Hayes, Luke Wallond

Goal:  Matt McHugh 30

Booked: Nick Berkhauer 6, Marc Morrison 24, Peter Huggens 63, Steve Elliott 81

Sent Off: Nick Berkhauer 89
 
Attendance 220
Referee: Mr N Hamett
Assistants: Mr W Mearns & Mr R Ayling