We don't want Herne Bay to walk away with it, says Tunbridge Wells' boss Martin Larkin

The three remaining Kent club’s in The FA Carlsberg Vase are searching for improvement when it comes to their league performances, writes Stephen McCartney.


Herne Bay, Tunbridge Wells and VCD Athletic all booked their places in the last 64 of The FA Carlsberg Vase with victories over Winchester City, Chichester City and Blackfield & Langley respectively yesterday and will be in the hat for tomorrow’s Third Round draw.

A resilient Herne Bay pulled off a brilliant result by beating 2004 winners Winchester City 3-1 at Winch’s Field.

Herne Bay took an eleventh minute lead through Tom Parker’s first goal of the season, a 25-yard left-footed drive that nestled into the bottom right-hand corner, before Guy Butters’ side levelled just four minutes later when Charlie Smeeton steered home from eight-yards after Tom Dunford’s free-kick stuck the post.

Byron Walker gave Herne Bay the lead when his eighth goal of the season came from the penalty spot just ten minutes before the break, before direct Winchester piled on the pressure during the second half but Herne Bay held firm with defenders Jamie Maxted and James Campbell immense and substitute Michael Turner scored a third six minutes into stoppage time to send Herne Bay through 3-1.

Table-topping Herne Bay received some good news yesterday with news that Michael Smissen’s fourteenth goal of the season wasn’t enough for second-placed Canterbury City, as they crashed to a 3-1 defeat at Beckenham Town.

Canterbury remain four points behind Herne Bay, but they have played four games more than their landlords.

Herne Bay can ditch their pretty trademark passing game and compete when teams get in their faces – a good ingredient to have if Halsey is to turn his back-to-back runners up over the finishing line in first place next April.

Halsey said: “Team’s also win league’s by having a mixture of it really.  A bit of dog, being able to play football and we can mix it up.  That’s how far we’ve come in two and a half years’.”

Herne Bay travel to fifth-placed side Fisher next Saturday and Halsey said: “I love going to Fisher.  The pitch is good.  I like the people who are there now, Steve Firkins and Billy Walton so we’ve got a great bit of banter between us but at three o’clock they will be my enemy and we’ll be going there to do a job and hopefully get the points – as they will be!

“Win, lose or draw, we both respect each other and hopefully it will be a great game.”

The Third Round of The FA Carlsberg Vase, meanwhile, comes around the following Saturday, 3^rd December, but Halsey insisted his side will be focused for their trip to Champion Hill.

“Absolutely!  Our next game is the next important part of our club so we must stay focused,” he said.

“The Vase is an added bonus but first and foremost we have to go to Fisher.”

Another Wessex League side, Blackfield & Langley also crashed out as VCD Athletic sealed a 3-2 win in Hampshire.

Aiden Pursglove, Michael McKenna and James Duckworth scored for the Crayford based side against the unknown quantity.

VCD Athletic return to league action when Corinthian visit Oakwood on Tuesday night and Vickers’ manager Ricky Bennett wants to claim three points.

Vickers presently lie in sixth place in the table, with 20 points from ten games and Bennett, 42, searches for more consistency from his young side.

“A bit up and down really,” he said.  “Overall, if we look at it over the points ratio compared than last season we’re in front so we’re doing better than last year.

“I’d rather be higher in the table.  A couple of defeats, fair enough, one was deserved and one not as far as I’m concerned.

“We’ve had some decent Cup games, which has slowed our league run a bit but we’re ticking along, but we’re doing ok, but we could be doing better.

Tunbridge Wells needed extra time to send Sussex County League strugglers Chichester City out of The FA Carlsberg Vase, but the Kent side took advantage of home comforts at Culverden Stadium, by winning 4-1.

Perry Spackman, a central defender turned emergency forward, gave the Wells an early lead, but goals in extra time from Drew Crush and two from Andy McMath sent The Wells through.

But domestically Tunbridge Wells dropped to fourth place in the Kent League table, ten points behind Herne Bay.

“We’re really happy, especially in the last month or so,” said manager Martin Larkin.

“We’ve had a good start to the year and we’ve been decimated through to injuries and suspensions.  The injuries have come at the same place – we’ve got no fit centre forwards at the club at the moment so we’re all fighting to maintain the league position.

“We’re really proud of that as a group.  We’ve all worked really hard together to make sure we’re able to do that.”

Tunbridge Wells inflicted Erith Town’s first home defeat of the season eight days’ ago and Larkin wants his side to build on their league form when basement side Greenwich Borough visit Culverden Stadium next Saturday.

“The win last Saturday at Erith Town was very pleasing,” said Larkin. “They’re a good outfit as well.  We want to improve on it and maintain it.  We’re not just going to sit back and enjoy it. We want to go higher in that league.”

Larkin admitted that Herne Bay are the side to beat.

He said:  “Everyone in the league wants teams to put pressure on Herne Bay.  We can only do that by winning games.  We don’t want Herne Bay to walk away with it. 

“Herne Bay are semi-showing the way to do that they’re not losing games.  By their own admission they’re not playing well but they’re winning.”

But Larkin said team’s don’t become successful overnight.

“It takes three or four years’ of planning and building,” he said.  “You look at Hythe, they certainly challenged for two or three years’ before they won it.  Herne Bay have been there or there abouts for the last couple of years’ and with more luck they could have won it last year so it’s a case of taking three or four years’ to plan and build the structure off the pitch is as important as the structure on the pitch.”

Visit Herne Bay’s website: www.hernebayfc.net  

Visit VCD Athletic’s website: www.vcdathletic.co.uk  

Visit Tunbridge Wells’ website: www.tunbridgewellsfc.co.uk