chatham051116

Match Reports by Tony Rickson
29th October 2016
Ryman League Div 1 South
Guernsey 2 Sittingbourne 1, att 677
Sittingbourne’s international career has yet to
take off after failing again to bring anything
home from the annual trip to Guernsey.
And that was disappointing, as Guernsey were
a different proposition to the three previous
years they’d been there and were short of players
because of injuries and seemed short of
confidence after a string of poor results.
Sittingbourne will point to a controversial 63rd
minute decision when they were awarded a
penalty and then had it taken away as the key
moment in their defeat.
But to be honest it wasn’t that great a performance,
although there are huge mitigating factors
in that for any bunch of players facing the
14-hour round trip required to play a match in
the Channel Islands.
This time there were no flight delays but it’s still
an early start, a long day, and lots of hanging
around – arriving at a ground two-and-a-half
hours before kick-off is hardly an ideal preparation.
Without the injured Hicham Akhazzan and Josh
Wisson, Sittingbourne recalled Danny Rumbol,
Sam Welch and Ricky Gundry into the team
that lost well in defeat at Tonbridge in the week
in the League Cup.
Guernsey, with only two wins behind them all
season, and with a teenage goalkeeper in for
their injured experienced first choice, made
plenty of mistakes in what turned out to be quite
a sloppy first half. They seemingly got caught
between playing it out from the back and hitting
it long and conceded possession in dangerous
areas. But Sittingbourne, who started slowly but
then began to build some momentum in the
middle of the half, couldn’t quite take advantage
of the half-chances on offer.
By far the closest they came was when Tom
Carlse got in a powerful header from a Gundry
cross in the 35th minute but it hit the inside of
the post and rolled across the goal before being
scrambled clear.
At the other end, Simon Overland made a couple
of impressive early saves and then Guernsey
hit the bar twice in 10 minutes, once just
shaving the top of it but the second time full on
after Overland had advanced from his line and
McGrath lobbed him.
Just when it looked as if the half would finish
goalless and both managers could have a
chance to re-programme their players,
Guernsey took the lead a minute into added
time. A clever diagonal pass split the defence
for Rihoy to comfortably score with a first
time shot.
The lead did wonders for Guernsey’s confidence
and in the second half they cut out the
mistakes and defended much better as Sittingbourne
began to wind up some pressure.
They looked certain to equalise on 63 minutes
when the assistant referee signalled a penalty
for a foul on Carlse and the referee seemed to
point to the spot.
Most of the Guernsey team, not to mention the
670-odd home fans in a crowd of 677, complained
bitterly and the referee eventually consulted
his assistant and reversed the decision.
It had been one of those challenges that outside
the area would have been a free-kick nine
times out of ten. Carlse dummied to go one
way, then turned to go the other, and collided
with a defender who had stood his ground.
If the referee deemed Carlse had dived, which
the crowd decided was the case and booed him
for the rest of the game, then presumably he
was wrong not to show him a yellow card for
simulation. It was all very strange.
For quite a lot of possession, Sittingbourne didn’t
create too much after that with Guernsey
happy to break out occasionally. And with Overland
limping badly after a 57th minute injury,
they got a second – their second goal of the
match in time added on – when sub De La
Mere was nicely set up, Sittingbourne manager
Nick Davis adamant a foul had been missed in
the build-up.
At least Sittingbourne kept going though it wasn’t
too much consolation when they finally
scored, in the fifth minute of added time, Steven
Ita, always their most dangerous attacking
threat, striking a low shot from outside the area
which was deflected past his own wrong-footed
keeper by a defender.
So back home via the return flight to Gatwick
after a third successive defeat on Guernsey. A
day out to remember, but not really for footballing
reasons on this occasion.
Sittingbourne: Simon Overland, Sam Welch,
Conrad Lee, Danny Rumbol (Yellow card) (Dan
Tanner, 85 min), Jono Richardson, Joe Loft
(Yellow card) (Jack Steventon, 79 min), Steven
Ita, Stefan Wright, Jordan Gallacher (Tom
Brunt, 75 min), Ricky Gundry, Tom Carlse.