Hythe Town 2-2 Herne Bay - Title rivals settle for a draw

Saturday 04th September 2010

HYTHE TOWN 2-2 HERNE BAY
Safety Net Associates Kent League
Saturday 4th September 2010
Stephen McCartney reports from Reachfields Stadium

HERNE BAY remain at the Kent League summit - despite throwing away an early two-goal lead - but both managers felt both sides deserved a point as they both impressed the largest crowd in the league this season.

A crowd of 318 were rewarded by a game of football that was much better than what is usually served up in the Kent League. In fact both coastal clubs deserve to be competing in the Ryman League - as was the quality put on show at a sun-kissed Reachfields Stadium today.

Leaders Herne Bay drew first blood, however, racing into a two goal lead within 19 minutes as both Steve Hanson and Dan Lawrence converted two Simon Moore corners.

But former Folkestone Invicta striker Brendon Cass netted his fifth goal in Hythe colours just 46 seconds after the home side conceded their second goal, before skipper Dave Cook insured honours were even when headed home a second half equaliser.

But Herne Bay finished the game with ten-men after substitute Aaron Firth - who could have snatched the visitors at the death - was shown a straight red card by referee Mr David Smart, who was refereeing his first game in the Kent League.

Hythe manager Scott Porter was clearly the happier of the two rival managers, who are expected to contest the Kent League title race.

“Happier, yes, obviously because we were 2-0 down,” Porter told www.kentishfootball.co.uk after he emerged from the corridor beneath the main stand.

“I’d be annoyed if we were 2-0 up and they came back into the game and I’m sure Simon is.

“But we had a bad spell first 15-20 minutes, we were not at the races. We spoke about it Thursday and we spoke about it today, with Kingy (Stuart King) and (Byron) Walker, you’ve got to get tight, you can’t give them time and the lad down the right (Lawrence), you can’t give these quality players time to turn.

“You drill it into players but as soon as they go over that white line you can’t do an awful lot about it and obviously it showed with the goals they scored during the first 20 minutes.

“It took a while and I thing is we didn’t deserve the (first) goal but then we came into the game and I thought we had a few more chances and their keeper pulled off a few more saves than our keeper but it was a typical top-of-the-table clash, you see that with the good crowd. There was a lot of pressure on players and the game was played at a high tempo.

“I give all credit to my lads for coming back from 2-0 down against a very good side and it shows we’ve got a lot of character, a lot of belief. I was well chuffed, but I thought we could’ve nicked it so you look at those other things - a draw was a fair result.”

On the other side of the coin, however, Herne Bay boss Simon Halsey was obviously disappointed.

“Disappointed with the fact that we’ve come here and we’ve gone 2-0 up and just disappointed with the first goal,” he told www.kentishfootball.co.uk.

“With the first goal, it’s come from not clearing our lines properly, we let the ball bounce and to be fair Tom Bryant’s cleared it and it’s taken a deflection of their player and it’s gone into their path and Brendon Cass’s a goalscorer - it’s a great finish!

“So yes disappointed, but to take four points out of six against two, what I class as very strong, very physical sides, I’m quite pleased .

“I did say to the boys, the target was, with me as a manager, I wanted six points out of six, but I said to them let’s take four out of six and I’d be a happy manager.”

Despite a tight opening ten minutes, it was third-placed Hythe Town that created the game’s first chance.

Cook flicked the ball into Cass’s path and he swept the ball to his right for Gary Mickelborough, whose right-footed drive was excellently beaten out by Herne Bay goalkeeper Steve Northwood.

But Herne Bay went up the other end and scored twice within four minutes, following two Simon Moore corners, from both flanks.

Herne Bay’s first goal came in the 15th minute when right-back Moore’s out-swinging corner from the right was met by a bullet header by big central defender Hanson at the near post, which screamed over a number of players to crash into the top far corner.

Herne Bay doubled their lead - just 268 seconds later - this time following Moore’s corner from the left.

Goalkeeper Kieron Mann punched the ball away from inside a crowded penalty area and Stuart King cut the ball back for Lawrence to smash a right-footed drive past the keeper from 25-yards out.

Cass, who has scored a number of important goals during his career, clawed Hythe back into the game - just 46 seconds after Bay’s second.

Full credit must go to his strike partner Craig Thompson, who, despite taking a knock for his troubles, set up Cass, who clinically swept the ball into the bottom left-hand corner with his right-foot, leaving Northwood flat footed.

In what was a high-tempo start, Herne Bay came so close to increasing their lead when in the 27th minute Lawrence (who should be playing in the Ryman League) floated in a cross from the right for central midfielder Michael Jenner to send a diving header sailing just past the far post.

Hythe created a hat-trick of good chances after the half-an-hour mark.

Herne Bay were giving treatment to central defender Tom Bryant by the time Lee Winfield whipped in a corner from the right, only for the unmarked Cook to power his header over from six-yards.

Northwood, who was probably at fault for Hythe’s opening goal, made amends in the 36th minute when he tipped Thompson’s swept shot around his near post after the striker was played in by an excellent through ball from Mickelborough.

Hythe should have scored again - following another Winfield corner from the right - but a towering left-back Mark Bond planted his header over - immediately after Toby Ashmore came off the bench for the visitors to replace the injured Bryant.

Sadly, the second half wasn’t as good as the first.

Mann made his first save inside the opening seven minutes of the second half when he comfortably saved from King at the near post - the Herne Bay striker immediately rolling over in agony following Gavin Ransley’s lunge as he managed to get his shot away from an acute angle.

Northwood twice thwarted Cass as the ball trickled to the Hythe striker inside the box, but the 33-year-old keeper bravely saved at the striker’s feet.

Hythe midfielder Ronnie Dolan hit a shot on the run with his left-foot, but this was never going to trouble Northwood, who made a routine save.

But Hythe - on the balance of play - deservedly gained a point in the 68th minute.

Herne Bay failed to clear Winfield’s free-kick from the left touch-line and the ball was played out to Pat Kingwell (who came up from the back) down the right hand side and he sent over an excellent cross with his left-foot, which was met by a towering header from Cook, which sailed across Northwood and caressed the far post before finding the net.

But Herne Bay almost snatched victory, just five seconds before the start of time added on.

Lawrence’s mazy run from inside his own half wasn’t ended by a back-tracking Hythe defence and following King’s lay-off, substitute Firth blasted a right-footed drive agonisingly over the crossbar from a central position from the edge of the box.

But Firth was shown a straight red card by the Maidstone based referee for raising his arms towards Cook and had to be dragged off the pitch by his team-mate Rhys Lawson - who also had to prevent Firth from storming towards his intended victim seconds after the final whistle.

Reflecting on the red-card incident, Halsey said: “I’m disappointed with the red card but not so disappointed with him because one it weren’t an elbow. The fella’s come and stuffed his face in his face and Firthy just pushed him away, around the side of the head. It’s not a clenched fist or anything. He’s pushed him away and it was a bit of a weak card from the ref.

“I thought up until then the ref hadn’t done bad! Aain I do question the Kent League. It’s his first game in the Kent League and he’s put in a game of this calibre - it’s Hythe-versus-Herne Bay! Everyone knows it’s a big game, even this early in the season. It’s a big game - but that’s the Kent League!”

Porter was also disappointed with the men in black.

Sounding like Arsene Wenger, when asked about the flashpoint, Porter said: “I didn’t see it at all. I didn’t see nothing!”

He added: “I thought the referee missed a lot today personally, things like Cass got stood on, the linesman down our side, it wasn’t worth it him being here, but we’re not here to speak about that!”

Porter admitted his players “switched off” during the opening 20 minutes - but he praised Cass for getting them back into the game.

“We just switched off,” he bemoaned. “We talk about these things we do in training and when people don’t take things on board and they get caught out it’s so frustrating and people will learn from that and they will learn from it pretty quick if we want to move on.

“Obviously going 2-0 down you think what are we going to do from here. Forty-six seconds later you’re back in the game and that’s football and that’s why we’re here and that’s why we love it so much.

“That’s why Brendon’s here. That’s why I signed him because the fella scores goals. That’s what we missed last year and it’s proved with the goals he’s scored already. He’s been a great signing and he’s a good lad.”

Halsey, meanwhile, was pleased that many hours spent on the training ground, actually paid off today.

“That is a plus, that has been coming,” he explained. “Against Deal the other night we did put in some great deliveries, not just from set-pieces and corners, and we got nothing and today, great, great header Steve Hanson’s got, so pleased things that we are working on are coming off. We do score a lot of goals from open play and we don’t score enough from set-pieces so in that respect, yes, very pleased.”

Hythe Town: Kieron Mann, Greg Smith, Mark Bond, Pat Kingwell, Gavin Ransley, Ronnie Dolan, Dave Cook, Lee Winfield (Michael Yianni 86), Craig Thompson (Gary Lockyer 73), Brendon Cass, Gary Mickelborough (Damian Abel 56).
Subs: John Walker, Ollie French.

Goals: Brendon Cass 20, Dave Cook 68

Booked: Gavin Ransley 40, Lee Winfield 52

Herne Bay: Steve Northwood, Simon Moore, Jamie Maxted, Tom Bryant (Toby Ashmore 36), Michael Jenner, Dan Lawrence, Nathan Eastwood, Stuart King, Byron Walker (Aaron Firth 80) Michael Turner (Rhys Lawson 57).
Subs: David Crofts, Simon Brown.

Goals: Steve Hanson 15, Dan Lawrence 19

Sent Off: Aaron Firth 90

Attendance: 318
Referee: Mr David Smart (Maidstone)
Assistants: Mr Stephen Cole (Borough Green) & Mr John Quirke (Maidstone)