Saturday 2nd March 2024.
Isthmian League Division One South East
Herne Bay 1 Hythe Town 2
Attendance. 536
Herne Bay: Harry Brooks, Frankie Smith, Harrison Pont, Liam Friend, Vance Bola, Gil Carvalho, Scott Heard, Michael Salako, Danny Walder, Theo Osinfolarin, Kane Rowland. Subs not used: Finlay Whitton, Sam Wright, Carter Wilson, Daniel Carrington, Tom Hanfrey.
Scorer: Rowland
Yellow cards: Friend, Rowland, Smith, Pont, Salako
Red cards: Rowland, Friend

With Hythe Town having played five games less than Herne Bay and having the opportunity to sneak into the play-offs if they could pick up enough points from their outstanding matches this was a vital game for Bay in their journey to make the top five. With so many former Winch’s Field favourites in their squad the visitors would have a point to prove.

Steve Lovell: “It’s another difficult game. Since the new year we’ve had a good run but you’re going to have little spells when you’re not on it. We need to pass it a little bit better and get back to our way of playing.”

New signing Vance Bola came in for Archie Burnett (Achilles injury) in the only change to the starting line-up.

I am not normally one to moan about the man in the middle, and maybe without his interventions Bay may still have lost but he certainly played his part in robbing the home fans who had parted with their hard-earned cash to come and watch the match. His decisions were inconsistent and did not favour Herne Bay. In the first half Harry Brooks was unnecessarily clattered into by Jake Embery. No action was taken. A similar second half challenge by Kane Rowland on Jack West-Astuti and it was a red card.

On 82 Bradley Schafer ran into Liam Friend and Friend was sent off. From a Danny Walder free-kick in the 87th minute Aaron Barnes had his arms around Vance Bola in the penalty area preventing him from getting into position (photographic evidence is available). This infringement in the box was ignored. There were many more incidents of questionable challenges which from Hythe went unpunished and when from Bay resulted in free-kicks and often bookings.

Herne Bay went ahead in the second minute from open play. Gil Carvalho released Scott Heard down the left wing and he played the ball into striker Michael Salako within the left-hand side of the penalty area and he put it on a plate for Rowland to place his first time right-footed shot across the keeper to find the bottom far corner from inside the six-yard box.

Bay continued to play the more pleasing football whilst Hythe’s threats were coming from long-balls and set-plays. On the half-hour their equaliser came from a set-piece. Frannie Collin’s free-kick from the right came into the box. Neither Brooks nor Theo Osinfolarin dealt with it and Josh Wisson came in at the far post to bury his downward header.

Five minutes from the break Jack Steventon hurled in a long throw and Liam Smith flicked the ball on at the near-post and it fell to Jake Embery at the back post and he swept his first-time volley towards goal, only for the ball to be flicked in to the bottom corner by Barnes.

The second half continued much in the same vein with Heard and Pont both coming close from open play and Embery and Collin squandering chances. In the 87th Walder’s free-kick was nodded on by Salako with West-Astuti pulling off a fine save whilst Bola was being impeded.

We move on to a trip to Three Bridge, who overtook Bay into fifth place, next Saturday and there will also be the fourth attempt to play the return encounter at Hythe near the end of the month.