Blues Suffer Final Day Defeat

Report by Josh Cole 

Margate suffered a final day defeat as they were beaten by Potters Bar Town 3-2 at Hartsdown Park on Saturday afternoon.

Reece Prestedge named three changes from the win over Ramsgate in the Kent Senior Cup Semi-Final as Fyn Rutherford and Ruben Soares-Junior returned to starting line-up after they were ineligible for the Semi-Final, they replaced Harrison Hatfull and Ben Greenhalgh and Adeyinka Cole started over Sam Blackman who picked up an injury to his leg.

The game started slow with the only action inside the first ten minutes being Chingoka going down holding his head. He was able to carry on and Margate began to impose themselves on the Potters Bar defence but were unable to break the deadlock.

Shortly after, Potters Bar came out unscathed from the Margate attacks, they sprung an unlikely chance which ended up with the ball falling to Dowridge inside the box and he fired the ball into the bottom corner to make it 1-0 in the 18th minute. Just a minute later Margate would level the game through in-form striker Harvey Smith after Nathan Wood superbly found Smith by lifting the ball over the Potters Bar centre backs and Smith deftly chipped the ball over the keeper to make it 1-1.

Margate would almost make it two straight away as Soares-Junior got an opportunity from a free kick however it just went wide. Potters Bar would restore their lead after Ken Feyi was brought down in the box by Yaser Kasim giving the visitors a penalty in the 25th minute. The former Blues striker stepped up and calmly put the ball into the bottom left corner to make it 2-1. Straight from kick-off Ade Cole saw the keeper way off his line and took his chance to try an outrageous attempt from the halfway line which needed the keeper to touch it over the bar.

Potters Bar would only have the lead for four minutes before they were pegged back again by Smith, who grabbed his second of the game after Rutherford pulled the ball to the back post where Smith tapped the ball into the open net for 2-2.

Margate would get one more clear-cut chance before the break as Sinn’Kaye Christie had a header at the back post however it came off the top of the crossbar and the score stayed level.

The second half would start how the first half ended with Margate on the attack and within a minute Harvey Smith tried to take it round the goalkeeper, but his touch was just too heavy, and it went out for a goal kick.

Margate would gift the visitors a third goal and the lead in the 63rd minute after Soares-Junior played an under-hit pass into space on the edge of the Margate box which Feyi was able to pounce on and take it round Jinadu before the shot rolled past Hudson who tried to stop the ball from going in on the line.

Margate would control the game again coming forward but were creating no real opportunities until the 77th minute when Soares-Junior found Wood in the box, but he was denied by a great save from Hoti. The final chance for Margate to equalise would come in the 89th minute when Greenhalgh found Smith with a low cross just on the six-yard box however Smith lifted his shot over the bar, squandering the chance for his hat-trick and for Margate to rescue a point.

The game would finish 3-2 to the visitors, a frustrating loss for Margate at home in front of the fans for the final game of the season.

MARGATE XI: Jinadu, Kasim, Christie, Hudson, Cole (Young 69’), Smith, Wood, Barton (Parkinson 85’), Ojemen, Rutherford (Greenhalgh 68’), Soares-Junior.

Subs not used: Emmanuel Oke, Rory Sutcliffe

Margate Man of the Match

Harvey Smith

Attendance

543

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