Back
A Disheartening End to the 24/25 Season
Match reports following our last two matches of the season
Herne Bay’s 2024/25 Season came to an uninspiring conclusion with back-to-back defeats to Deal Town at home on Easter Bank Holiday Monday and Steyning Town on Saturday, 26th April.
Following a solid 2023/24 in which we finished 8th, there was plenty of hope up until the middle of October, including some fantastic Cup performances and a reasonable number of League victories. A horrible run saw us struggling at the bottom of the table for a long time, and a managerial change of James Collins coming in for Steve Lovell saw an improvement in results and survival from relegation.
By the end of the Easter Holiday period, we found ourselves managerless after Collins resigned following the Deal Town match and we headed to Steyning Town. A summary of these matches follows.
Herne Bay 0 –
Deal Town 3 – Hennessey (19’), T Chapman (Hatcher (90+3’)
Att. 729
Isthmian South-East
Monday 21th April 2025
Herne Bay: Plumley, Osinfolarin, Saunders, Ndozid, Friend, Christie, Reid (Oluwasemo 46’), E Smith (Henderson 79’), Salako, Rowland (Lartice 46’), Haysman (Heard 46’)
Subs Unused: Roberts
Yellow Cards: Henderson (86’), Christie (90+3’)
Referee: Simon Cutler
The Easter Bank Holiday Monday clash against Deal Town was one to forget for Herne Bay. Despite encouragement from Bay’s second-largest home league crowd of the season, 729, the team struggled to find cohesion on the pitch.
There was little excitement, if any, going forward for Herne Bay, and Deal Town took the lead in the 19th minute when a simple cross across the 6-yard box was turned in by Wes Hennessey. Liam Friend came to the rescue after Theo Osinfolarin lost possession, and from the corner, Josh Vincent headed over.
The relief was fleeting when Tom Chapman scored Deal’s second. Initially, Kie Plumley had made a great save from his brother Ben’s point-blank effort, but it couldn’t be held, and the follow-up was put in the back of the net.
Bay reacted with three half-time substitutions, and yet there wasn’t much more than a couple of half-chances. Osinfolarin attempted to lob the Deal keeper, and Ethan Smith stretched to reach a header but it went wide after a cross from Jamie Lartice was palmed away by Malloy.
During time added on, former Bay player, Archie Hatcher, curled a 25-yard free-kick around the Bay wall to finish the scoring.
The result was not only a blow to the team’s morale but also marked the end of James Collins’ short tenure as manager.
Steyning Town 4 – Barnes (7’ pen), Shooman (23’,57’,89’)
Herne Bay 0 –
Att. tbc
Isthmian South-East
Saturday 26th April 2025
Herne Bay: Earle, Hillier (Roberts 82’), Saunders, E Smith (Ndozid 66’), Henderson, Christie, Osinfolarin, Heard, Salako, Haysman (Bowman 76’), Lartice (Rowland 46’)
Subs Unused: Friend
Yellow Cards: None
Referee: Adrian Harris
In the post-match discussions, you could understand the disappointment of the eighty Herne Bay supporters who had travelled by coach and car to the final game of the season against already relegated Steyning Town.
Admittedly, Bay had been depleted by an injury crisis, with Josh Reid, Dan Carrington, Myles Judd, Skye Salmon, Artem Kuchkov and Frankie Smith all unavailable. To add to that, Liam Friend was named as team manager and chose to watch from the sidelines. However, to fail to score for the 19th time this season in the League, and lose 4-0, was well below the standards expected by the supporters.
An early chance for Theo Osinfolarin, which produced an excellent save from Nathan Stroomberg-Clarke, low to his right to tip the ball around the upright, was undoubtedly the highlight of the match for Bay.
Seven minutes into the game, Bay’s inexperienced defence was left exposed, and a rash challenge resulted in a penalty which Jack Barnes thumped home past Harley Earle.
Michael Salako tried to add to his goal tally of 23 for the season when he got on the end of a long through ball, but his high shot was pushed around the post for a corner. He also saw a header comfortably saved.
In the 23rd minute, Bay conceded their second goal. The defence was easily split by a long ball which left Harry Shooman clear through, and he lifted the ball over Earle, who was back-tracking but unable to get enough of a touch on it to stop it going in. Before the half-time break, Ealre touched over a drive from the edge of the box from Danny Horwick.
Bay again lost possession too easily, and an accurate cross was volleyed in by Shooman - his second of the game and Steyning’s third. A goalmouth scramble denied Osinfolarin and Kane Rowland from pulling a goal back, but it would have been too little, too late anyway.
The afternoon was rounded off when Barnes provided a cross to Shoosmith to complete his hat-trick and rub more salt into Bay’s wounds.
With just over two months until pre-season, this is a pivotal moment for the club to reset and refocus. The challenges of the past season have highlighted the need for a clearer identity, a more structured approach to realising our vision, and a renewed commitment to reaching our ambitions. This period must be used effectively to address these areas, ensuring the team is physically, mentally, and strategically prepared for the journey ahead.