Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
Bay extend unbeaten run
Ryman League
Herne Bay have now gone five matches without defeat following a 1-1 home draw against strugglers Three Bridges on Tuesday night.
However, they will be disappointed to have missed out on a vital victory, having led for so long.
Connor Sanders put them in front after 26 minutes, an advantage they held until six minutes from time, when Devon Fender grabbed the West Sussex visitors a point.
Sanders scored with a low finish past Bridges goalkeeper Martin Grant, who also touched Adam Woolcott’s strike against the bar. Bay also had claims for a penalty for handball on the line by Oneill Odofin fall on deaf ears.
Jack Delo saved twice in the second half and Bay substitute Darnell Weise, on for the returning Ian Pulman, missed a good chance at one end before Bender grabbed the equaliser.
Bay produced one of the comebacks of the season to draw 4-4 with Walton Casuals at Whyteleafe on Saturday.
Fielding five under-21s – including starting places for Femi Apantaku and Izzy Adebayo – Bay trailed 4-1 with 23 minutes remaining.
They looked a beaten side, before hitting back with three quick strikes to salvage a point.
Mark Lovell started the fightback with two in a minute – his third successive double – and skipper Liam Quinn struck the fourth with two minutes left.
Earlier, Jordan Cheadle put Casuals in front from the spot on the half hour, after Malachi Hudson went down in the box but Quinn put Bay level nine minutes later.
Dominic Ogun made it 2-1 close to half-time, before Jack Sammoutis and Kevant Serboney struck twice in three minutes midway through the second half to seemingly end the match as a contest but Bay had other ideas.
Two Delo saves kept Bay in the game, opposite number Denzil Gerrer then foiled the visitors, before Lovell struck his first, heading in Woolcott’s corner, before converting a Sanders cross.
Quinn then got the equaliser, finishing off another Woolcott assist for his second. Bay might even have won it, Sanders seeing his close-range effort deflected over the bar.
Faversham’s Ryman League Division 1 South play-off hopes suffered a blow after being edged out 3-2 at promotion rivals Greenwich Borough on Saturday.
The hosts were first to threaten and after intercepting a Dan Carrington pass and winning a corner, Glen Wilson saw a shot cleared off the line.
Ryan Cheek volleyed over from 25 yards after a Ryan Cooper free-kick into the box was only half cleared while Town were forced to scramble off their own line from another corner soon after.
The end-to-end pattern continued as Luke Harvey drove to the byline and fired across goal with Renford Tenyue just failing to get a vital touch at the far post.
Carl Rook set up Sam Bewick who fired straight at Craig Holloway and the Borough keeper had to save from his own defender after a Tenyue cross from the left caused havoc with Rook unable to force the rebound home and Harvey’s follow-up shot blocked.
With Faversham in charge, the deadlock was broken seven minutes before the break but at the other end, as Borough broke and a cross from the left found Mo Eisa to fire in.
Town were pressing for an equaliser when the lead was doubled six minutes after the break from a Charlie Mcdonald overhead kick. Jamie Maxted shot over at the other end and Josh Stanford was pipped to a Jordan Casey cross.
With 11 minutes remaining, Town grabbed a lifeline as a Stanford free-kick ended up at the feet of Harvey who was brought down in the box by Holloway.
Bewick sent the keeper the wrong way to halve the deficit and only a Holloway save prevented Bewick’s strike from making it 2-2 soon after.
With Town again on top, Borough snatched the winner with two minutes left as Liam Macdevitt was played clean through on Will Godmon’s goal.
The keeper raced out to block the initial effort but despite appearing to handle the rebound, Macdevitt rounded Godmon before slotting home.
There was still time for Casey to smash into the bottom corner from 18 yards but Town had no time for another.