Jones relieved of his duties as Billericay lose to Margate for first time

Margate at last won a Ryman Premier League game against Billericay Town - at the fifth attempt yesterday -  a result that cost Matt Jones his job with the Essex club.

It was a game of two halves as the biting wind favoured the home side in the first half and Margate in the second.

However, the difference between the sides was the fact that Margate were able to take advantage, whereas the Essex hosts profligacy and Scott Chalmers-Stevens brilliance in goal prevented Billericay doing likewise.

In the end, all that separated the two sides was a scrambled second half James Pinnock goal.

Although there were impressive performances from Kieran Morris, Ryan Peters and Ryan Martin in particular, as well as Chalmers-Stevens, Margate’s young central partnership of Louis Smith and Dan Young was reunited and also played well.

Margate’s sixth win of the season eases them up into seventh place in the table, taking their run of form to just one defeat in six league games.

If only Robin Trott’s side held on last week, surrendering a 3-1 lead at home to Maidstone United before going down 4-3 in a Hartsdown Park thriller.

Billericay, meanwhile, do have games in hand, but are firmly anchored in the bottom two - a result that cost manager Matt Jones his job.

A statement issued by the Essex club today said: "Matt Jones has been relieved of his duties as first team manager with immediate effect.

"Jason Broom and Grant Gordon will jointly undertake the position of caretaker manager."

Remember, it was Billericay Town that defeated Folkestone Invicta in the fourth and final qualifying round of the FA Cup this season to earn a home first round tie against Swansea City.

Reflecting on the game, a delighted Trott was pleased that his side took their chance to clinch the points.

“To be fair, it was a tight game - could have gone either way,” he told www.margate-fc.com.

“It was a bit of a scrambled goal, but it was because we put the pressure on.”

And the manager, who watched the game from the sidelines, signed out two players for their impressive displays.

“I thought Kieran (Morris) had a great game as well, in centre midfield. He’s come on loads; massive will to win from Kieran, he chases lost causes.

And he added: ““Scott (Chalmers-Stevens) made some great saves in the first half.

“There was a few (shots) on target that looked like going in and Scott’s just pulled them out. Massive improvement with Scott – coming out of his box. That’s the game he needed to improve on to push himself forward. He’s made big steps to improve his game.”

Article courtesy of www.margate-fc.com