Jamie Coyle took charge of his first Margate game as the Blues were narrowly defeated 1-0 by National League South Dover Athletic at Hartsdown Park.
On a sun drenched afternoon, Coyle fielded two different elevens as he saw his new team in action for the first time. Margate fans got to see all but three new signings in action with Norman Wabo, David Adewoju and Finn O’Mara who were unavailable.
The game started with Margate moving the ball well in the opening 10 minutes, however they were unable to force Mitch Walker into a save.
The visitors took the lead in the 13th minute as Rolando Onu rose highest at the back post to put the visitors ahead.
The visitors started to show some dominance and almost made it 2-0 in the 25th minute as Will Thomas retreated to clear an effort of the line as Margate looked to prevent falling further behind.
Half-time saw both sides make several changes to their line-ups which seemed to subdue the fixture even more so in the searing heat.
With few chances for either side the game petered out to a quiet finish as the ‘Gate got minutes in the bank ahead of the 2026/27 season.
Margate squad: Collins, Ossai, Boulton, Hever, Thomas, Hatton, Chambers, Splatt, Schafer, Hand, Russell, Belboda, Trialist, Dalton, Garande, McIntyre, Husthwaite, Trialist, Duo, Sithole, Trialist, Oluwatimilehin
Attendance: 355
