A Night To Forget In Sussex

By Riley Finch

It was a night to forget in Sussex with Hastings putting four past Margate in a damming defeat at The Pilot Field.

The 'Gate were caught totally off guard by the hosts blistering start, with Davide Rodari unmarked in the box to prod the ball home less than a minute from kick-off. Hastings took advantage of their early lead, refusing to give up momentum and giving Margate a torrid time at the back, dominating proceedings.

It looked like a second goal was almost certainly coming before the half-time whistle and 41-minutes in, Hastings came close with Margate surviving a goal mouth scramble.

The ball was then cleared right back to Hastings who relentlessly started another wave of attacks, in which Rodari easily slots home for his second, beating Seaden at his near post.

At half-time it was clear that a reaction was needed, and whatever Mark Stimson had said during his team talk, clearly had an effect. We looked a different side coming out off the break, with Steve Cawley coming close after a clever move with Kadell Daniel and substitute Vinnie Bowman was inches away from getting us back into the contest.

Higher tempo, tidy passes, playing in behind, it seemed as though a goal was near which would spark the comeback.

Sadly it wasn’t to be and John Ufuah beat the offside trap to slot past Seaden one on one to kill the game off completely. Kian Moynes made sure to add further salt to the wounds with a fourth goal deep into stoppage time.

Did we deserve to lose on the night, over the course of two halves you would argue so, but the final scoreline was unfair on us to say the least.

Though a baptism of fire for them, Kadell Daniel and Archie Panyi performed well on their debuts, with Stimson keen to see more of what the pair can do in the coming games. Yaser Kasim and Dominic Vose also continue to integrate themselves into the side after signing just a few days ago.

Stimson was clear post match that once again new signings could be on their way at Hartsdown Park as he looks to turn our fortunes around. Our next game is against Dulwich Hamlet back at Hartsdown Park as we look to get things back on track after two tough games down in Sussex.

Margate: Harry Seaden, Archie Johnson, Yaser Kasim, Tyrone Sterling, Harry Hudson, Dominic Vose, Steve Cawley, Kadell Daniel, Ben Greenhalgh, Archie Panyi, Ryan Lowe (Vinnie Bowman 73')

Unused Subs: Taner Dogan, Fyn Rutherford, Reece Hobbs, Rory Sutcliffe

Attendance: 885

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