Blues Slump To Canvey Defeat

By Dylan Smith

Margate travelled to Canvey Island hoping to extend their unbeaten run to five. Unfortunately, an unchanged side from Tuesday night were unable to produce the same performance. Canvey swept the ‘Gate to the side with a dominant 4-1 win.

The Blues started well within the first 10 minutes, as they looked to continue their recent form. The ball was mainly kept in the Islanders’ final third, but a major chance wouldn’t come into fruition.

The home side found their feet after a quarter of an hour gone. Margate’s possession in their half became very limited. This led to Harry Seaden pulling out an excellent stop to deny the hosts from breaking the deadlock.

Sadly, it would be Canvey who took the lead in the game. A corner was whipped in from the left-hand side, seemingly too high and heading for the sideline, but it would be Rob Girldestone who leapt in the air to head goalwards and despite the defence’s best efforts to clear it, the ball hit the back of the net.

The Blues had it all to do as they emerged from the dressing rooms for the second half. Despite this, Canvey would halt any potential comeback as they would double their lead through a Bradley Sachs goal. Kouassi threaded a lovely ball through the ‘Gate defence, finding the striker who tucked it away comfortably.

The game went from bad to worse as the Islanders would quickly find a third. A free kick was placed at the back post, where Sam Mvemba would tap into the far corner, bringing the ‘Gate back to reality after recent jubilation.

After an hour of pain for the Blues, Fyn Rutherford gave Margate some hope. A ball was lumped long to Steve Cawley who would knock it down to the winger. He took a swing with his left boot, and it arrowed into the bottom corner, giving the ‘Gate a minimal glimmer of a draw.

Canvey killed the game off in the 87th minute with a fourth and final goal. Elliot Ronto was given a ball down the right wing, where he would elegantly place the ball in the bottom left corner past Seaden, to seal a miserable day on the road for Margate.

 We now travel to Hythe on Tuesday as we begin our defence the Kent Senior Cup.

Line-up

Seaden, Hatfull, Johnson, Sterling, Hudson, Vasiliou, Blackman, Cawley, Greenhalgh, Rutherford, Duncanson (Poku 64’)

Unused Subs

Cham, Sutcliffe, Mazzone, Salmon

Goalscorer

Rutherford 64’

Attendance

475 

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