Sittingbourne v Chatham Town Match day programme 12th December 2015

Match Reports
By Tony Rickson
8th December 2015
Ryman League Div 1 South
Sittingbourne Herne Bay , att 102
Yet another 2-1 defeat, and yet another bitter
disappointment for Sittingbourne after
looking so good for much of this Kent derby.
It’s not too optimistic to say that this rejigged
Sittingbourne side are improving, but
the results don’t show it yet as another
three points went begging.
Once more the energy levels and commitment
were good, but two more second half
goals were conceded as Sittingbourne
failed to hang on to a deserved half-time
lead.
This was a 13th successive league defeat
for Sittingbourne and it meant Herne Bay
have done the double over them this season
on their way to
mounting a serious play-off challenge.
Sittingbourne made three changes to the
team that lost at Molesey on Saturday –
yes, that was 2-1, too. Vincente Mansanet
came in for his debut in goal in place of Adam
Molloy, and Stefan Wright and Steven
Ita
were recalled instead of Hicham Akhazzan
and Miles Cornwell. Up front, recent signing
Jordan Wells was making his home debut.
Sittingbourne made a positive start against
a Herne Bay team who had kept a clean
sheet for an impressive six games before
this.
George Crimmen headed narrowly wide
from an early Tom Brunt corner and Josh
Wisson, who had an excellent first half,
forced a decent save from
Delo from at least 20 yards out. At the other
end Bay had few chances though Cutts did
hit the bar and
Mansanet had to tip a goalbound header
over his own bar.
Sittingbourne’s first half enterprise brought
them a deserved lead on 38 minutes when
Wisson crossed from the left and Ita forced
home the ball at the far post at his second
attempt.
So that was Bay’s proud record of not conceding
in more than 1,000 minutes blown,
and by a player who was with them until a
couple of weeks ago. For Ita it was his second
close range goal in four days.
Sittingbourne had just about edged the first
half but Herne Bay emerged a more determined
side for the second half and seemed
to be helped along
by a whole succession of refereeing decisions
that somehow always went their way.
With Billy French enjoying a good game in
defence, Sittingbourne looked hard to
breach but Bay equalised midway through
the half when a long diagonal ball from the
left was driven in at the far post by Williams.
And within four minutes they’d won it. A
quick burst down the right ended with a
cross whipped in for ex-Sittingbourne striker
Mark Lovell to score an excellent winner
with a powerful header.
Sittingbourne rallied, just as at Molesey on
Saturday, and forced a couple of mad
scrambles in front of the Bay goal, but the
closest they came was when Wisson powered
in a low drive that bounced out off the
post.
Credit to Bay for the way they managed the
game and turned it round, but poor old Sittingbourne
just can’t get a break at the moment.
Their season doesn’t reach the halfway
point until Saturday, so there’s still plenty of
time to mount a recovery from third bottom.
This was another performance when they
weren’t at all bad, but they just weren’t quite
good enough to get something out of the
game.
Sittingbourne: Mansanet, Brunt Lee
French, Crimmen, Richardson, Wright
(Hughes 77 mins), Wisson, Wells (Cornwell
72 mins), Bankole, Ita (Akhazzan 67 mins)