Chatham Town (N) - 3rd May 2023
By Josh Cole
The long-awaited day has finally arrived, it’s the DFDS Kent Senior Cup Final where we will take on Chatham Town at Priestfield!
The league season concluded last week where as we were defeated 3-2 by Potters Bar at Hartsdown Park condemning Margate to a 17th place finish in the Isthmian Premier Division.
Chatham have secured the Isthmian South-East league title and promotion into the Isthmian Premier Division before the final game came around, but they didn’t take their foot off the gas as they beat Littlehampton convincingly 4-1 on the final day.
Manager Reece Prestedge is missing several first team players ahead of the final with Ruben Soares-Junior and Fyn Rutherford cup tied, whilst Ade Cole and Taylor Fisher will be missing.
The ‘Gates Road to the Final saw us breeze past Faversham Town in the first round with a 5-0 win away from home. The second round then brought the challenge of Sheppey United to Hartsdown Park where they were brushed aside by the Blues with a 3-0 win. The Quarter-Final continued the good form in the Kent Senior Cup as we took on Cray Valley and dispatched of them 3-0. The Semi-Final saw us face rivals Ramsgate, but we were 3-0 up by the 47th minute, before comfortably strolling to a 3-1 win on a memorable night at Hartsdown Park in front of a crowd of 1481.
Chatham Town started off with a tricky first round tie as they scraped past Ashford United needing penalties to decide the game after it ended 2-2 in 90 minutes. In the second round they shocked Dover Athletic by beating them 2-0 at home, booking their place in the Quarter-Finals. Chatham needed penalties once more to decide a game this time against Corinthian as the 90 minutes ended 1-1. The Semi-Finals saw Chatham take on a struggling Welling United from the National League South and Chatham pounced by beating the Wings 2-0 at home.
This game is all ticket; therefore, supporters must purchase in advance. Supporters still needing to purchase a ticket can do so by clicking here.
If you can’t make it to Priestfield this evening, then you can stay right up to date with all the action on our official Twitter feed @margate_fc from 7pm.
Blues Lift DFDS Kent Senior Cup
Margate lifted the DFDS Kent Senior Cup for the first time since 2005 on Wednesday evening as they overcome Chatham Town on penalties at the Priestfield Stadium.
Manager Reece Prestedge was without talisman Ben Greenhalgh as he awaited the imminent birth of his third child, whilst Ade Cole, Ruben Soares-Junior and Fyn Rutherford all missed out, allowing a start for Margate Youth prospect Henry Young.
Margate started brightly with Harvey Smith looking to get in behind a resolute Chatham back-line, however the Isthmian South-East Champions were keeping Margate at bay until the 16th minute saw a quick break away from a Chatham corner to allow Nathan Wood to fire home and round off a swift Margate move in the 16th minute.
Margate had to be wary of the threat Andy Drury and Danny Kedwell were offering, with Kedwell seeing a strong header well saved by an impressive Daniel Jinadu. Chatham looked to be using Kedwell as their main threat, however the Blues back-line and Jinadu were keeping the former EFL striker quiet as the ‘Gate went in at half-time with a 1-0 lead.
It was Chatham that started much the brighter as former Blues midfielder Jack Evans saw a fierce effort whistle over the bar. Chatham continued to pepper Jinadu with crosses, however the young ‘keeper continued to impress.
With minutes ticking away, Chatham continued to push forward with Callum Peck firing a fierce shot straight at Jinadu. With stoppages in play, the 4th official added seven minutes of additional time. Margate withheld another Chatham onslaught until the 97th minute when a free-kick in the box was headed home by Reece Butler to send the game to penalties.
A perfect four rounds of spot-kicks followed before Kedwell saw his effort saved by Jinadu, leaving Harry Hudson to fire home the winning penalty to spark wild celebrations on the pitch and amongst the Margate fans.