Brown Reflects On Hornchurch Point

Joint Margate Manager Steve Brown believed his side did enough to merit three points after their display at a blustery Hartsdown Park on Tuesday evening.

Reflecting on an entertaining 0-0 draw against AFC Hornchurch, Brown said: 

“We always try to be realistic, Hornchurch did have a couple of opportunities and Louis made a great save in the first half but over the course of the 90 minutes I think we created enough to win the game.”

“We have hit the crossbar, the post and I think their goalkeeper was Man of the Man by a mile. He pulled off a save in the first half which is one of the best saves I have seen this season and in the second he’s made a sharp save to deny Frannie Collin.”

Brown added,

“There is a not a lot more we could have done today to get the win and trying to look at it from an un-bias perspective - and I think any neutral would probably agree – we deserved three points.”

There was plenty of praise reserved for a resilient Hornchurch outfit as Brown continued to dissect the Bostik League encounter.

“As the away side coming down here after a long journey, Hornchurch really came out the blocks and were terrific for the first 25 minutes. That’s how long I think it took us to settle down. Until then, we looked hurried, rushed into mistakes and our passing was a bit off key and it was the first chance that settled everyone down.”

“From that chance, we gained confidence and I thought we were good to go from that. In belting rain and howling wind, the conditions were tough, and I thought the boys managed that really well, especially in the second half.”

Brown drew comparisons to The Gate’s encounter earlier in the campaign against Lewes, where a final clinical moment proved costly.

“When you’ve hit the post, crossbar and seen the number of saves and clearances by them, you enter the final stages of a game with a bit of fear of the pinch and the chance where you could lose points.”

“We had it here earlier in the season against Lewes, when we had this-many-chances and we ended up somehow losing the game 1-0 but you have to trust your players and we do.”

“Even during that spell towards the end, we felt we had our chances. Dave Martin came in at the far post with an effort, there was the fantastic cross that flashed along the goalmouth which Flish was just inches from getting to and George Brown has hit the post.”

Overall, Brown believes Margate’s recent patch of games has shown improvement and a foundation to improve upon.

“We reflect on the chances we missed but take the positives which include a clean sheet. We looked solid, Louis made a good save and we limited them. We are three games now without losing, it’s a clean sheet which is lovely and if you ask me, I think we should be looking at nine points from nine, but we’ve got five which is still something to build on.”

“I like the balance of the side now and we’ve added some experience right through the centre. As you’ve seen from the last three games, what we’ve added is valuable experience, good talkers, good communicators which is what we were lacking.”

Dave Martin made a welcome return to Hartsdown Park and Brown gave some detail into the deal that enabled the popular winger to return over the festive period.

“Situations like Dave’s don’t come around very often. Dave found himself not playing at Eastbourne Borough after making the move during the summer to play in a league higher. It’s not quite worked out and we’ve become the beneficiary of a club looking to get a player fit. Dave is naturally fit so it will not take him long, he came on and looked quite sharp.”

“The deal we have managed to strike with Eastbourne means we can bring a player like Dave in and it is very cost-effective, and we have to thank Jamie Howell and Eastbourne Borough for that.”

“We’ve got him for the month and we will give him as many minutes as we can. Dave has got a trick or two up his sleeve, he’s produced a couple of nutmegs tonight - and as long as he does it up the right end of the pitch and not around the half way line and our half - I’m happy!”

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