FOOTBALL Kohler leads the charge for Monument Sunday football

Ashley Kohler hit a hattrick as Monument PFC beat Waterfront 8-0 to return to the top of the Herne Bay & Whitstable League Premier Division. Callum Alexander, Dan Smith, Matt Martin, Sam Kettle and James Brown were the other marksmen for Monument who have gone ahead of champions Rising Sun on goal difference. Both teams have 28 points from 11 games, but Monument are 11 goals better off. Chislet were in Challenge Cup action, edging past Division 1 side Heron Athletic 3-2 in extra time. Sam Todd, Brad Brown and Luke Hedges scored the goals which booked their place in the third round. Already through from round three are Littlebourne who won 5-1 away to Hampton. Nathan Perry scored twice, with Daniel Wells, Robbie Loomer and Dan Sillitoe also on target. Goals from Freddie Mills, Dan Groom, Bradley Weston and Matt Harris led Crusaders to a 4-1 win over A1 Tyres in the Whitstable Charity Cup senior section first round. Billy Shearer scored Tyres’ consolation. Monument Reserves missed out on the chance to go top of Division 1 when they drew 1-1 with Oare. Steve Marsh netted for Monument, with Andy Law scoring for Oare. Ollie Brown scored both goals as Faversham Strike Force beat The Elephant 2-0, while City Lions pipped Woodmans Hall 2-1. Oliver Stevens and Grant Best were the City scorers. Monument A made it 10 wins from 10 in Division 2 as they beat Herne Bay Athletic 3-1. Si King claimed a treble with Greg Lee (2), Stuart Baker and Charlie Fournier completing the tally.

prettiest performances, but felt the penalty righted a couple of earlier wrongs which had gone against his side.

He said: “We were a bit irate because James Turner had a goal disallowed which was touch and go, and Jordan Casey had one ruled out which we thought wasn’t offside.

“We finally got the equaliser and that sent us into overdrive, we were all over them for the final 10 minutes.

“I think it was a handball (for the penalty), but for me the referee hasn’t seen it, it was the linesman who gave it. It probably made up for the decisions that went against us earlier.

“It was not pretty but we got the job done which was the main thing.”

City rested several players ahead of this weekend’s big FA Vase tie and gave a debut to midfielder Chris Saunders, who has signed from Whitstable.

They fell behind in the 11th minute when Luke Medley sent City keeper Jack Delo the wrong way from a penalty.

James Turner was unlucky not to equalise soon after when his curling shot clipped the outside of the far post and went out for a goal kick.

Rob Lawrence hooked a volley wide but it was the hosts who looked the more composed in attack in what was a largely uninspiring first-half.

Croydon started the second half brightly, Delo saving from Daley before two efforts from Medley, who fired wide and then had another effort charged down.

Boss Smith then rang the changes and City thought they had equalised when Casey’s knockdown was turned home by Turner only for his effort to be ruled offside by the linesman.

That was Turner’s final contribution before being replaced by Bola Dawodu and within four minutes the substitute had equalised, stabbing home from close range after the first effort from Renford Tenyue’s corner had been blocked on the line.

Suddenly there was far more purpose in City’s attacking and a counter-attack saw Dawodu whip a low ball across which Casey side-footed home only to see the offside flag go up again.

The winner came after a long ball launched upfield by Delo saw Casey battle his way into the Croydon box.

The City man got off two quick-fire shots, both of which were blocked, but the linesman adjudged the second had been stopped by a Croydon hand, prompting angry protests from the home side.

Casey nervelessly thumped the spot kick home to make it 2-1 to City.

There was yet more drama as Ross Obazee’s effort was superbly blocked at point blank range by Delo before the keeper bravely dived in to deny O’rourke any chance of getting to the rebound. n City host Leicester Nirvana in the FA Vase fifth round at Salters Lane on Saturday (3pm) and on Wednesday are at home to Chatham in the Challenge Cup quarter-final (7.45pm).