Marcel Barrington bagged a brace on his return to the side but it proved not enough as Enfield Town ran out 4-2 winners at the Queen Elizabeth II Stadium.

Lyle Della-Verde gave the hosts the lead within six minutes, curling a free-kick into the top corner beyond debutant Josh Strizovic.

Barrington soon levelled things up with a well-taken strike, firing the ball into the top corner after the hosts failed to deal with a Bay corner.

A Che Krabbendam own goal and another Della-Verde free-kick handed Enfield a two-goal advantage, before Barrington reduced their lead to one midway through the second half.
However, Lewis Knight scored a fourth for the hosts soon after as the Towners saw out the rest of the game to secure all three points.

Looking to freshen things up, Bay boss Ben Smith made a number of changes to his side, putting Strizovic (who joined on loan from Dagenham & Redbridge) between the sticks, while Jason Banton (most recently at Sittingbourne) started in midfield and Briggs Ojemen (formerly of Leatherhead) took his place on the bench.

However, with only six minutes on the clock, the men in yellow were dealt a blow when Della-Verde handed Enfield Town an early lead, bending his free-kick beyond the reach of the young shot-stopper and into the top corner.

Going behind so early on was not ideal but the reaction was not far off what Smith would have been looking for. In the tenth minute, Tushaun Walters was a whisker away from levelling things up but his angled shot dribbled agonisingly wide of the bottom corner.

The Bay were looking dangerous when they pushed forward into the Enfield half and with 15 minutes played, only a smart save from home ‘keeper Nathan McDonald denied Kieron Campbell a fifth goal of the season.

However, there was nothing McDonald could do moments later when Barrington, who was making his return to the starting eleven following an injury, hammered the ball into the top corner from inside the area after the hosts had failed to deal with a corner kick.

The former Cray Valley PM striker looked in the mood to make the best of his return and in the 28th minute he was played clean through on goal. With only McDonald to beat, Marcel was left frustrated to see the Enfield shot-stopper make a fantastic save, one which kept the scores level.

The Towners certainly made the most of that save as only two minutes later, the re-took the lead when a dangerous ball into the box was accidentally turned home by Krabbendam, who was stretching to keep the ball from finding the white shirt just behind him.

Wanting to make amends, Krabbendam set about testing the home defence and with 32 minutes played, having received a weighted pass from Rory Smith, he took aim at the Enfield goal, only to fire narrowly over.

In what was proving to be an end-to-end kind of game, the hosts were gifted a glorious chance to score a third when the referee pointed to the spot after a foul inside the Bay box.

Stepping up to take it, Jake Cass was left with his head in his hands when he saw his effort sail well wide, with Strizovic having guessed the right way anyway.

With half time fast approaching, and having received something of a let-off following that penalty miss, the Bay looked to try and grab a goal just before the half time break.

Played into a dangerous position by Banton, KC forced a tremendous save out of McDonald, only for the ‘keeper to parry the ball right back to the winger.

However, inside a crowded penalty area, Campbell’s follow up effort was off target, clearing the crossbar having been struck from the edge of the six-yard box.

The men in yellow came out of the blocks firing and with just two minutes played, Bode Anidugbe was the next man to try his luck but once again, McDonald was on hand to frustrate the visitors with another reaction save.

And much like the first half, the Bay were punished for not taking chances when with 55 minutes on the clock, Della-Verde put another dangerous free-kick into the back of the net, this time picking out the bottom corner.

A few nervy moments were to follow as the Bay tried what they could to avoid conceding a fourth. However, they were handed a lifeline in the 60th minute when Barrington bullied the Enfield defender into a mistake before collecting the ball, charging forward, and firing across the ‘keeper and into the back of the net.

Hopes of an epic comeback had risen to the surface but just as soon as they had come about, they were soon snuffed out when Knight, a new loan signing from Margate, turned the ball home from close range in the 63rd minute to restore the Towners two-goal lead.

Following a number of substitutions, Smith’s side tried what they could to get back into the game, with Mason Saunders-Henry a whisker away from catching McDonald off his line, only for the Enfield number one to collect the ball just in time.

Jake Embery, brought on in the 68th minute, will count himself unlucky to have not bagged himself his first goal since returning to the club when is goalbound effort was blocked in the 78th minute, having done well to work himself into a shooting position.

With time fast running out, the Bay were throwing the preverbal kitchen sink at the Enfield goal, with Barrington proving to be a real nuisance for the home defence.

Great work from the powerful striker in the 85th minute allowed for Ojemen to take aim from just inside the box, only to see McDonald get his body behind the ball.

But despite pressing until the very end, the Bay were unable to break through that back line, with Enfield holding on to claim all three points.

Full time: Enfield Town 4 Herne Bay 2

Herne Bay Starting XI: Josh Strizovic, Troy Williams, Che Krabbendam, Laurence Harvey, Dan Johnson, Bode Anidugbe, Jason Banton (Jake Embery 68’), Rory Smith (Briggs Ojemen 46’), Marcel Barrington, Tushaun Walters (Mason Saunders-Henry 71’), Kieron Campbell.

Unused Subs: Eddie Allsopp, Kymani Thomas