Season Review - September Edition

By Ryan Day

Margate started September in a similar way that they finished the month of August as they fell to a frustrating 1-0 home defeat to a Lewes side that were expected like the Blues to be pushing at the right end of the table come the end of the season. A crowd of 479 saw the Blues fall to a defeat that left them falling towards the middle of the pack in the Bostik Premier League.

A week later the ‘Gate kick-started their Emirates FA Cup campaign in the 1st qualifying round as they welcomed Horndean to Hartsdown Park. Despite two divisions separating the sides, Margate made tough work of progressing as Joe Taylor bagged twice combined with another Frannie Collin strike earning Margate a 3-2 win and a place in the 2nd qualifying round of the competition.

The victory did come at a cost however with exciting new signing Alex Brown forced to leave the field of play due to injury. Scans later in the month revealed Brown had torn his ACL and would miss the rest of the season. A bitter blow for Brown and his team-mates following the buzz around his signing just a few weeks earlier.

Fresh from their progression in the Emirates FA Cup, Brown and Sandmann took their side to high flyers Worthing who sat proudly top of the Bostik Premier. 905 supporters watched on as Margate grabbed an impressive 1-0 win thanks to Joe Taylor's header in the second half to send the Blues faithful home happy from Sussex. Also making their debut in this fixture was former Reading and Middlesbrough striker Leroy Lita who came off the bench after Blues skipper James Rogers went off injured.

Tuesday 18th September saw a youthful Margate side managed by U23’s Manager Paul Robinson exit the Velocity Trophy at the first hurdle as they lost 2-0 to Bostik South Central side Tooting & Mitcham.

Four days later and the Blues were set for a 2nd qualifying round fixture in the Emirates FA Cup as they travelled to Essex to face National League South high flyers Concord Rangers managed by Sammy Moore and Jack Midson, who had overseen Margate’s downfall in the competition the season before whilst in charge at Leatherhead. It was the National League side that came out on top as Margate were beat 2-0 thanks to goals from former AFC Wimbledon striker Midson, ending the ‘Gate’s brief appearance in this seasons Emirates FA Cup.

The last Saturday of September saw Margate welcome newly promoted Haringey Borough to Hartsdown Park with Margate looking to avoid a third straight defeat in all competitions. The visitors started former ‘Gate keeper Valery Pajetat who enjoyed a successful return to Hartsdown Park as his new side ran out 1-0 winners in front of a disappointed crowd of 530 who had still only seen their side win once at Hartsdown Park in the league by the end of September.

September was generally a disappointing month for the Blues as they lost four games from the six played which included defeats in two cup competitions, a win over Horndean in the FA Cup and three league points away at Worthing just a small success of the month as the Blues were cheered on by 2,627 supporters during the month with Joe Taylor being recognised by the ‘Gate supporters having netted three times throughout the month.

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