Herne Bay (A) - 14th July 2023
Written by Josh Cole
Tonight sees us hit the road for our first away game of the 2023/24 season as we make the short trip to Herne Bay for a friendly under the lights on a Friday Night!
The ‘Gate cruised to a 4-0 win over SCEFL 1 side Canterbury City on Tuesday evening with goals from George Lamb (2’), Rory Sutcliffe (10’) and Harvey Smith x2 (47’, 90’).
You can watch a full interview with manager Reece Prestedge on GATEtv by clicking here.
Margate have played two pre-season games so far, firstly a 3-3 draw against Deal Town at Hartsdown Park, before Tuesday night’s 4-0 win over Canterbury City. Ahead of the clash, new Margate defender Tyrone Sterling said he is “buzzing” to continue the pre-season schedule and is expecting a tough game against Steve Lovell’s side.
You can watch the full interview with Sterling on GATEtv by clicking here.
Our opponents tonight have played three pre-season games so far winning all three games, firstly beating Lordswood 4-2, then Canterbury City 5-0, and most recently Lewisham Borough 2-1. Herne Bay were relegated from the Isthmian Premier Division last season meaning they now play in the Isthmian South-East. Lovell has had a summer rebuild on his hands and has overhauled the Bay squad ready to challenge for a return to the Isthmian Premier Division.
Blues fans can expect to see at least one familiar face in the home sides squad this evening after they signed former ‘Gate midfielder Jack Richards in the summer.
Kick-off is 7:45pm, however if you can’t be there then you can stay right up to date on our official Twitter feed @margate_fc from 7:15pm.
STADIUM ADDRESS
MBS Stadium
Herne Bay
Kent
CT6 5SG
Bay Beat Blues
Margate fell to their first defeat of pre-season as they were beaten 2-1 by an organised Herne Bay side at the MBS Stadium on Friday evening.
The ‘Gate named just two trialists in the starting eleven as they looked to increase the player’s workload ahead of our Isthmian Premier Division opener against Whitehawk on Saturday 12th August 2023.
It was the Blues that started on the front foot as Phil Roberts was released through on goal, only to see his effort smack off the base of the post in the opening five minutes. Margate were looking positive and saw another effort from a trialist skim narrowly wide of the post.
Herne Bay took the lead in the 29th minute as former ‘Gate midfielder Archie Burrnett slid the ball through to Gil Carvalho who rounded Damian Niemczycki before firing the ball into an empty net.
The hosts were buoyed by the goal and almost doubled their lead as Harrison Pont headed a goalwards effort which went inches wide.
Herne Bay started the second half on the front foot as Carvalho ran through one on one before he was denied superbly by Niemczycki.
Despite the hosts positive start to the second half, Margate drew level with a fantastic team move as Harry Hudson collected the ball before spinning past his defender and calmly slotting past Josh Bexon to level the scores in the 55th minute.
With a constant amount of substitutes in the second half, the game fell into a bit of a lull until the 75th minute when Herne Bay were awarded a penalty after George Lamb mistimed his challenge in the box, giving the hosts the chance to re-take the lead.
After picking himself up from the challenge, Maagbe dusted himself down and slotted the penalty into the bottom corner to put the Bay back in front with a little under fifteen minutes remaining.
Harvey Smith almost rescued a draw for the Blues as he saw a last minute header go agonizingly wide of the post as Margate suffered their first defeat of pre-season.
We are back in action on Tuesday evening as we welcome National League South side Dartford to Hartsdown Park for a 7:45pm kick-off.
Tickets for this game can be purchased by clicking here.
Goalscorer
Harry Hudson 55’