Gate Miss Out On Points At Stortford

By Tommy Park

Margate narrowly missed out on points in the 1-0 away loss to Bishops Stortford.

The Blues were looking to secure points this Saturday and consolidate their position in the league after their win against Merstham. However the game would prove to be a battle and Margate would be unable to take home any points.

This match was heated right from the off and both teams were fighting for control of the midfield in an attempt to establish a foundation from which to form an attack. The first half was very back and forth with both sides coming close to getting ahead.

Margate came very close just 13 minutes in, with some great tiki taka football between Thompson and Bola slotting the ball into Bessey-Saldanha who just skewed his shot wide. The Blues were again showing real promise on the attack driving into the attacking third with more close chances in the first half coming from Thompson and Bola.

Neither side could quite get ahead despite some close calls and at half time the score would be 0-0.

The second half starts and both teams are stuck in right away but in the 47th minute the hosts take the lead with a long ball that finds Cass who knocks it on first time and the ball falls to Merrifield who slots it home.

Despite conceding Margate didn't let up or let their heads drop, they kept on the attack with Vance Bola trying to drive forwards and force a chance.

53 minutes in and Margate would come excruciatingly close when a shot is cleared off the line by Giddens but falls to Greenhalgh who attempts an audacious chip from 35 yards but it comes down off the bar dropping to Bessey-Saldanha who just puts the ball over.

Bishops would also have some close chances in the second half but the Margate back line was keeping them from scoring another, a few shots made it past the defence but Ohman was there to collect them.

Margate would come close just one more time before the end of the match when Bessey-Saldanha broke down the left wing and cut inside but his shot just curled round the post.

Going into the final minutes of the game the Blues could not quite break through and the game ended 1-0.

Margate XI: Pat Ohman, Ryan Palmer, Joe Anderson, Montel Agyemang, Lewis Knight, Ben Swift(c), James Bessey-Saldanha, Sam Blackman, Daniel Thompson, Vance Bola, Ben Greenhalgh

Subs: Jake Embery(62), Owen Kallmeier, Bivesh Gurung(75),Harrison Hatfull(80), George Lamb