Bowers & Pitsea (H) - 16th April 2022
Margate will look to put the disappointment of their Velocity Trophy final defeat behind them on Saturday as they welcome Bowers & Pitsea to Hartsdown Park in the Isthmian Premier Division.
The ‘Gate suffered a 4-0 defeat at the hands of Horsham on Wednesday evening to finish runners up, but will look to use this game as a chance to finish the season as strong as possible.
They welcome a Bowers & Pitsea side to Hartsdown Park who are also looking to bounce back from a cup final defeat, as they were beaten by Billericay Town on Tuesday in the Essex Senior Cup final.
The Bowers arrive at Hartsdown Park all but safe from relegation, despite just one win in their last eight games in all competitions. Their last win came against relegation threatened Cray Wanderers in a 4-3 thriller.
Nine points separate them from the drop zone, but with only three to play, it is likely they will remain an Isthmian Premier Division side next season.
When these two sides met at the Len Salmon just two days after New Year’s Day, it was the Blues who ran out 4-2 winners, with now departed striker Dan Thompson grabbing a 90th minute brace to win the game in a frantic finish on the day.
The last time these two sides met at Hartsdown Park was March 2020, just two weeks before the season was cut short due to a Covid nationwide lockdown. On that day a late Elliott Reeves strike secured Margate a 1-0 win.
Kick-off at Hartsdown Park is 3pm, however don’t forget to join us from 1:30pm as we host an Easter Egg Hunt, with 200 Easter Eggs to be found.
If you can’t join us, then you can keep right up to date on the clubs official Twitter feed @margate_fc from 2:30pm.
'Gate Defeat Bowers At HDP
Margate bounced back from their Velocity Trophy Final defeat, as they overcome Bowers & Pitsea 3-2 at Hartsdown Park on Saturday afternoon.
Manager Jay Saunders decision to bring Benas Vaivada back into the startling eleven was justified within the opening three minutes as James Bessey Saldanha took advantage of some poor Bowers & Pitsea defending, to run clear and cross the ball for Vaivada who slotted the ‘Gate into an early lead.
The visitors weren’t behind for long though as Mitchell Gilbey unleashed an incredible strike to beat Ben Bridle-Card, to level the scores at 1-1 in the 18th minute.
Gilbey almost put the visitors ahead moments later as he saw his volleyed effort well held by Bridle-Card, as the Blues looked to avoid falling behind in the glorious spring sunshine.
Not to be outdone on his 30th birthday, Ben Greenhalgh unleashed his own incredible effort from 25 yards as Margate restored the lead in the 32nd minute.
The response from the visitors once again was almost immediately as Bridle-Card made a good save from one effort, before Alex Bentley curled the follow up inches wide.
The Blues effectively put the game to bed in the 64th minute as again the visitors failed to clear their lines, allowing Bessey-Saldanha to get in on the goalscoring act, and give the Blues a 3-1 advantage.
They weren’t to have it all their own way though and there was a tense final 12 minutes on the cards for the Blues as Michael Ademiluyi latched onto a Bridle-Card block to poke home and reduce the arrears to just one.
Margate saw out the final 12 minutes, despite some half chances for the visitors. The win moves them up to 8th in the Isthmian Premier Division with two games remaining.
MARGATE: Bridle-Card, Lema, Anderson (Hatfull 62’), Agyemang, Knight, Swift, Bessey-Saldanha (Soyemi-Olalade 79’), Odaudu, Feyi (Bola 70’), Greenhalgh, Vaivada
Subs not used: Colmer, Rutherford
Margate Goalscorers
Benas Vaivada 3’
Ben Greenhalgh 32’
James Bessey-Saldanha 64’
Margate Man of the Match
Benas Vaivada
Attendance
372