Staines Town 4-1 Margate - it was men against boys, admits relegated Yorath

Saturday 25th April 2009

STAINES TOWN 4-1 MARGATE

Ryman Premier League

Saturday 25th April 2009

Mike Green reports from Wheatsheaf Park

RELEGATION is decided over a 42 game season, but Margate meekly surrendered any chance of Ryman Premier League survival with quite possibly one of their worst defensive displays of a disappointing season.

The Gate travelled to Wheatsheaf Park to face the league runners-up, knowing that defeat would confirm them finishing in the bottom four of the division - yet the travelling Blue and White army arrived with hope that Terry Yorath's side could indeed win away from Hartsdown Park for the first time on a Saturday since the end of November.

Sadly, this hope had been both dented and shattered before ten past three, courtesy of some woeful defending as Margate handed the play-off bound home side two of the easiest goals that they've scored all season.

Sadly, this set the tone and it was only after the introduction of Aaron Quain that the visitors posed any threat going forward.

However, by now Margate's hope of survival had all but been extinguished.

As the final whistle blew, the only hope that the Gate had came courtesy of Team Bath's resignation from Blue Square South, which held a survival route for the best placed side who finished fourth from bottom in either the Ryman Premier, British Gas Business Premier or the Unibond Premier.

However, the Gate's survival hopes were denied shortly before five o'clock when news of Whitby Town's 3-0 win over Ilkeston Town in the Unibond filtered through to this particular corner of Middlesex.

Whitby's triumph left themselves and Margate with the same number of points from 42 games and both sides had an identical goal-difference but the problem was for Yorath's men was that the northerners had scored five goals more, thus confirming that Margate would follow Thanet rivals Ramsgate to Ryman One South for next season.

The manner of Margate's decline at Wheatsheaf Park would have been of particular hurt to Yorath and his assistant Neville Southall (both of whom made their name as international stoppers).

Adopting the same defensive formation that had proved to effective against Sutton United seven days earlier, Margate were a goal down inside six minutes when Jack Haverson tangled with Leroy Griffiths and the defender's challenge gave referee Mr Lymer little choice than to point to the spot and Dean Thomas duly sent Pat Mullin the wrong way to give Margate the nightmare start they dreaded.

It got worse for Yorath's men just four minutes later when some shambolic defending from a corner allowed Richard Butler to bundle the ball home from a yard out.

Haverson almost redeemed himself on 13 minutes but from an Aaron Lacy long throw, the defender's header went straight at the goalkeeper.

Margate's fate was all but sealed on the half-hour when Mark Caulson's shot was spilled by Mullin and Butler was on hand, again, to net the gift - this time the Staines striker was all of three yards out!

Butler duly completed his hat-trick on 54 minutes, when a corner from the right quite simply wasn't dealt with and Butler, this time two yards out, accepted arguably the easiest hat-trick of his career.

The introduction of Quain for the last 32 minutes at least inspired some fight-back from the visitors' but they only had Kenny Pratt’s tenth goal of the season to show for their increased efforts.

And as it turned out, one more goal would have saved them from relegation.

But as someone once said, after 42 games the league table does not lie and now except for any administrative savings across the pyramid, Margate will be a Ryman One South club in August.

After the game, a despondent Yorath, speaking to BBC Radio Kent, was bitterly disappointed with the outcome.

"We started off slow and we got slower," he said. "The boys just weren't at the races today. We were 3-0 down in about (thirty) minutes and deservedly so.

"I just think, as I've said many times before, we need to get a team and they've got to grow up quickly.

"Today was back to men against boys and unfortunately we were the boys."

And on his side's relegation to Ryman One South, Yorath needs to build a side that can clinch promotion, although it took Dover Athletic three seasons to bounce back.

"I just feel a load of emotions really because things like budgets come into it for next season," he said.

"We'll probably be in a different division next season so what I'll be prepared to spend on the budget we'll probably be cut, so that means we're looking at new players, and players at the club at the moment, maybe their contracts will be cut.

"The good thing about the situation is the players here playing at the club like playing at the club; they like it here. I'm not sure any of them want to go anyway."

Staines Town: Louis Wells, Jake Newton, Danny Gordon (David Sargent 68), Chris Watters (Howard Newton 68), Richard Butler, Andre Scarlett, Marc Cumberbatch, Dean Thomas (Elliot Onochie 68), Darti Brown, Mark Caulson, Leroy Griffiths.

Subs: Gareth Risbridger, Scott Taylor.

Goals: Dean Thomas 6 (pen), Richard Butler 10, 30, 54

Booked: Dean Thomas 31, Howard Newton 89

Margate: Pat Mullin, Kieran Morris, Curtis Robinson, Jack Haverson, Dan Young, Luke Wheatley (Joe Taylor 59), Aaron Lacy (Aaron Quain 58), Wayne Wilson, Joe Healy, Kenny Pratt, Dan Stubbs.

Subs: James Gregory, Roberto Corbishley, Gavin Wright.

Goal: Kenny Pratt 89

Attendance: 384

Referee: Mr Colin Lymer (Mayford, Surrey)

Assistants: Mr Richard Hailstone (Ash, Hampshire) & Mr Jim Paterson (Camberley, Surrey)