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Town beat ?Bay? 2-1

Town beat ?Bay? 2-1

Steve Marshall

Town beat ?Bay? 2-1 (pictures) Whitstable Town 2 Herne Bay 1 The 8^th minute goal prodded in by Steve Marshall owed much to the good work of young Stuart King who was convinced the ball had beaten ?Bay? keeper Sebastian Burton before Marshall claimed it. King, like all good strikers was desperate to claim the goal but rightly it was chalked up to his strike partner although young King, until the beginning of this season a Herne Bay player was fully praised by his teammates. At one nil up and their back to the wind Whitstable knocked the ball about with some style, the visitors at that stage were not in the game and the only debate in the crowd was how long before Town notched another. Both Marshall and King missed chances, Burton pulling off a great save from Town skipper

Part of the 367 crowd at the Belmont

Marco Perona who thought he had scored with a low drive.Herne Bay found a way back through an error by the seasons signing so; far young Josh Maine who instead of finding row z when under pressure from Simon Brown was dispossessed, only a wonderful save from Whitstable keeper Fewell kept out a thunderbolt shot from Richard Dimmock the visitor?s striker. This brief spell gave the visitors renewed hope and the remainder of the half was a much more even affair although Whitstable left the field at the interval the better side in most areas of the pitch.

Half Time: Whitstable Town 1 v Herne Bay 0

Herne Bay?s manager Jason Lillis must have ranted in the dressing rooms during the break as his side started with more intent. Whitstable however still had the upper edge with more chances although Whitstable keeper Fewell gradually had to play a greater part in the game. There were chances for both sides, Fewell saving again from the burly Dimmock, Burton at the other end saving from King, Perona and Jake Gess who all looked a threat.The games defining moment for the home side came in the 53^rd minute when Mickey Lane who had enjoyed a good first half prowling the sidelines latched onto a great ball down the wing. Lane took the ball in his stride hitting a curling cross first time tantalisingly swinging away from keeper Burton but inviting the onrushing Marshall who dived full length to score a gaol good enough to grace any Premiership club. Both Town supporters and the players roared their delight at the quality of the goal and for a while the visitors were really on the back foot. Dimmock however woke the

Whitstable's Josh Maine wins header

367 crowd with a great strike, which again Fewell was equal to. He could do little to keep out Simon Browns strike from close in after Whitstable looked a little vulnerable in defence instead of clearing their lines. At 2-1 the game became a bit frantic, the visitors hit the post as they threw everyone forward in an effort to salvage a point from the game. Andy Constable replaced Marshall; Constable was into the pace of the game at once but still missed two guilt edged chances in the last five minutes. Gess was replaced by Lee Jones who came on to warm applause last played in the Kent League when he broke his leg against the Bay at the Belmont, he almost scored with the last kick of the game. On a typical pacey run his fierce shot hitting just the wrong side of the netting, which would have made for a storybook ending.

It was not to be as Whitstable played out the rest of the game to record a third Kent League win in a row with the prospect of a mouth-watering return fixture to look forward to in December.