Blues Defeated On New Years Day

By Riley Finch

It was Folkestone who extended their new year celebrations as a quick-fire David Smith brace was enough to take the Derby Day spoils in a hard fought match at Hartsdown Park.

Captain Harry Hudson gave away a penalty seventeen-minutes into the match after his effort at clearing the ball was deemed to have caught an Invicta player., much to the disbelief of both the fans and players at Hartsdown Park.

Smith cooly dispatched his pen, sending Harry Seaden the wrong way, to give the away side an early lead.

Just five-minutes later, Seaden couldn’t get a firm enough hand to deny Smith’s clever header from creeping in at the far post after a wicked cross and our rivals doubled their lead.

Having conceded two in quick succession, the Gate were keen to respond quickly.

Archie Johnson almost provided the answer we were looking for but his effort went just wide after Steve Cawley found him at the back-post with a searching cross.

At half-time, it was clear that Margate needed something to help them find that extra gear after struggling to get a foothold in the first-half.

Mark Stimson’s double substitution twenty-minutes from full-time saw the introduction of young Vinnie Bowman and new signing Taner Dogan.

With the pair on, the Gate applied late pressure to the visitors which seemed as though it could provide a late comeback.

Sadly it simply wasn’t our day.

The best chance of all fell to Tyrone Sterling with his powerful header blocked off the line by a Folkestone head to deny us a way back into the contest.

Despite a resilient late charge by Margate, Folkestone stood firm to secure a much needed three-points.

The win leapfrogs our opponents above us in the table, leaving Margate in a difficult position just one point above the relegation zone.

Margate limited our rivals to few chances despite conceding twice and produced a resilient last twenty-minutes to try and claw one back.

Our next match will be another tough test as travel to the infamous Enclosed Ground of Whitehawk this Saturday at 3PM.

Margate: Harry Seaden, Archie Johnson, Godfrey Poku (Taner Dogan 71'), Tyrone Sterling, Harry Hudson, Rohdell Gordon (Vinnie Bowman 72'), Steve Cawley, Ellis Ashworth, Ben Greenhalgh, Fyn Rutherford, Lewis Knight

Unused Subs: Reece Hobbs, Leo Mazzone, Joshua Tobin

Attendance: 557

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