The Venue:
The Staxson Stadium, Broadoak Road, Tunstall, Sittingbourne. ME9 8AG.
By Josh Cole
A HUGE midweek trip for The ‘Gate as we travel to second placed Sittingbourne!
Last time out we lost narrowly away at AFC Croydon. Read the match report from that game by clicking here.
View the full league table by clicking here.
SITTINGBOURNE – THEIR SEASON SO FAR:
The Brickies have had a brilliant season up to this point as they sit second on 73 points from 28 games. They started with two wins, a 5-0 on the league opener against Broadbridge Heath and a 2-4 away win against Farnham Town in the FA Cup preliminary round. A defeat however in their second league game came away at Ramsgate as they lost 4-2.
They bounced back to beat Ashford next, then required a replay but managed to beat Dover Athletic in the FA Cup first qualifying round. Also in the FA Trophy first qualifying round, Sittingbourne beat Sutton Common Rovers, 2-0. Another three points in the league came at home to Phoenix Sports and then another win in the FA Cup came against Lordswood. They did lose in the Velocity Cup second round, crashing out 4-1 at the hands of Erith Town.
In the FA Trophy they cruised past Kingstonian, winning 4-1 but another heavy cup defeat came next, this time in the Kent Senior Cup as they bowed out to Deal, losing 6-1. They were also knocked out of the FA Cup after losing 0-3 to Plymouth Parkway.
But, miraculously, that would be their last defeat, and it was on the 28th of September, so for a whole three months, they are unbeaten. This run has included 16 league wins and three league draws.
Probably the more impressive run has been in the FA Trophy. As a step four team in non-league, they have made it through to the fifth round of the FA Trophy, causing upset after upset and playing some beautiful football. Probably their most notorious win in this competition came against Salisbury when they beat the National League South opponents 2-1 at home.
After that game they won three more times in the league and then won a historical match for their club, beating Southend away 0-1 to progress into the quarter-finals of the FA Trophy, a great feat. Their last three matches have been a win and two draws.
LAST FIVE: SITTINGBOURNE
0-4 Win vs AFC Croydon Athletic, away (League)
0-1 Win vs Southend, away (FA Trophy Fifth Round)
1-1 Draw vs Erith Town, away (League)
1-2 Win vs Steyning Town Community, away (League)
0-0 Draw vs Beckenham Town, home (League)
LAST FIVE: MARGATE
1-2 Loss vs Sevenoaks Town, home (League)
2-3 Win vs Hythe Town, away (League)
2-2 Draw vs Phoenix Sports, home (League)
3-0 Win vs Lancing, home (League)
1-0 Loss vs AFC Croydon, away (League)
STATS COMPARISON IN ALL COMPS:
SITTINGBOURNE:
Matches played: 44
Goals scored: 117
Goals conceded: 45
GD: +72
Clean sheets: 18
MARGATE:
Matches played: 41
Goals scored: 80
Goals conceded: 40
GD: +40
Clean sheets: 16
HEAD-TO-HEAD (all data comes from the Margate FC history website)
Margate: 53 wins
Draws: 19
Sittingbourne: 41 wins
Our history with Sittingbourne dates all the way back to the first meeting in 1914 with 113 games being played from 1914-2012 which was the last meeting. And in that game, Margate won 6-1 at Hartsdown Park in the Kent Senior Cup first round.
UP THE ‘GATE
