Bank Holiday Monday, 26th August 2019
By Tony Rickson
BetVictor Isthmian League South East Division
Ramsgate (1) 1 (S Smith (pen) 42)
Sittingbourne (1) 2 (Campbell 19, 80), Attendance: 208
Ramsgate:
Will Godmon, Jack Paxman, Jack Morrell (Yellow card), Tom Wynter, Liam Friend,
Dan Carrington, Tom Chapman, Aaron Lamont (Kane Rowland, 75 min), Stephen Smith
(Yellow card), George Monger (Miles Cornwell, 82 min), Rory Smith (Ashley
Miller, 70 min). Subs not used:
Jonathan Steele, Matt Robinson.
Sittingbourne:
Tom Benham, Lewis West, Jason Fregene, Lewis Chambers, Caleb Roberts, Cory
Walters-Wright, Enoch Ako-Adjei (Liam Middleton, 54 min), Josh Oliver (Tyrone
Guthrie, 54 min), Roman Campbell, Tommie Fagg, Festus Lori (Johan Caney-Bryan,
65 min). Sub not used: Abdel Ndew.
Referee:
Peter Cruise; Assistants: Dan Blades, Richard Joss
Photographs by Ken Medwyn
What a 48 hours for Sittingbourne Football Club.
They enjoyed their first win of the season in Saturday’s
FA Cup-tie, kept a clean sheet, and ended with a nice little earner in prize
money.
Back on the field within two days in the hottest of
seaside weather, and against all the odds, they then picked up their first
league win of the season down at Ramsgate.
Against all the odds? Well, they were without four
players who would surely have been in the starting XI. Missing for various
reasons including injury and work commitments, were Lex Allan, Chris Webber,
Shaun Brown and Chris Barnard.
They had to dig deep into their squad, and give full
debuts to central defender Caleb Roberts and midfielder Josh Oliver and a first
start for winger Festus Lori. They were left with just four substitutes –
Sittingbourne had as many photographers pitchside as they had subs!
But at least they had Roman Campbell back after a
one-match suspension, and he took his tally to four goals from three games in a
stunning start to his month’s loan. If this young man doesn’t make it all the
way through to the Gillingham first team I, for one, will be mighty surprised.
Ramsgate went into the match with confidence on the back
of a 4-1 away win in the FA Cup, and with the familiar figures of Nick Davies
and Tony Cornwell leading them from the sidelines.
Understandably in the heat, and given the quick
turn-around since the previous games, both teams started quite slowly, though
Sittingbourne’s new-look back four immediately looked up for the job.
Soon after Tommie Fagg had undercut an ambitious long
shot with the Ramsgate keeper off his line, Sittingbourne grabbed the lead.
A huge throw-in from Lewis Chambers out on the left
caused predictable havoc in the six-yard area but Ramsgate cleared it to the
edge of the area. Oliver tried his luck with a shot from there – the bad news
was it slewed off target, the good news was that it fell perfectly to the feet
of Campbell. His control was instant, and I almost turned away to note the time
of the goal so confident was I he’d score from that position.
And he did.
Ramsgate passed the ball around well enough but they
could find no way through a stubborn defence and it was 38 minutes before Tom
Benham had a save to make in goal. A comfortable one it was, too.
But a couple of minutes later and the Rams equalised from
the penalty spot, after a shot was driven against Roberts from very close range
and hit his arm. No way did it look deliberate, but that isn’t the point any
more.
Ramsgate used their attacking players in a different
formation after half-time, a compliment to the way Sittingbourne had so
successfully stifled them in the first half. The popular Allan, for one, won’t
easily walk back into the team the way Roberts and fellow central defender Cory
Walters-Wright kept Ramsgate out, with good support from their full-backs.
Sittingbourne were disciplined and organised in the way
they went about the game and held Ramsgate out so well. They’re definitely
showing improvements in every match.
Fagg, Walters-Wright and sub Liam Middleton all had
chances without being able to make the most of them, while at the other end,
Benham made a good save to his right and Rams’ Jack Morrell, who was with
Sittingbourne on loan from Gillingham at the end of last season, went close with
a shot as he advanced from left-back.
Sittingbourne won it with 10 minutes to go. The assistant
referee spotted Rams keeper Godmon handling the ball just outside his area. Fagg
slipped the free-kick to his left and Campbell bent a left-footed low shot round
the defensive wall and in off the post. A classy and mature finish and a goal
worthy of winning any match.
Not sure how Ramsgate kept Kane Rowland on the subs’
bench for 75 minutes given the way he performed week-in week-out for
Sittingbourne the season before last, but he could make no difference when he
eventually got on.
Benham had to make one picturesque save, arching
backwards to tip a shot over the bar, but generally this makeshift Sittingbourne
team continued to work hard all over the pitch to see the game out.
Overcoming the non-availabilities was a pretty
significant effort. The players rightly enjoyed the adulation of their fans
behind the goal at the end after completing a highly successful and pretty
exhausting weekend double.