NEWS >>>>>>   ___________________________________________________________________________________________

2nd January 2007

By JAMES BROWN

Faversham Town 0 Herne Bay 3

JAMES HOLDER'S howler in the teeth of a Salters Lane storm sent  
Faversham Town plunging to a third successive defeat against Herne   
Bay on Saturday.

Skipper Holder tried to be too cute with Gary Cook's 29th-minute  
free-kick and watched in horror as his header fell straight to Aaron  
Firth 12 yards out.

And Bay striker Firth fired home the first of two goals that were  
more than enough to drown out any chance of a Town recovery.

Sandwiched in between was a brave Sam Denly header and Herne Bay   
were home and dry with three points they thoroughly deserved.

The heavens opened just 30 minutes before kick-off and Town sank  
without trace in this Premier Division clash.

Bay - who were missing three first-team regulars including hitman  
Richard Dimmock - followed up their 3-2 league defeat of the  
Lilywhites last August with a 1-0 victory in the first round of the  
Kent Senior Trophy in early October.

And they completed the hat-trick with the best display of the bunch  
as Town failed miserably to come to terms with the driving rain and  
ferocious winds that made constructive football a lottery.

Angry boss Cordice later claimed Town could have been two or three  
goals ahead by the time Firth fired the opener.

GOALMOUTH SCRAMBLE......Herne Bay's defence thwart a rare attack on goal

It is true that Anthony Pace should really have pulled the trigger  
instead of dithering on the edge of the box after just a couple of  
minutes.

And speedy forward Pace was then unlucky not to make better contact  
with a side-foot volley from Town's only decent move of the match  
after quarter of an hour.

But Cordice could have no complaints about the result. In fairness,  
Faversham were about as bad as the weather.

Holder's error shattered Town's fragile confidence but it would be  
wrong to lay the entire blame at the big defender's door.

The game witnessed just two Town shots on target - one in either  
half - as Faversham were again undone by a side below them in the table.

Cordice groaned: "We tried to play too much football. Little dinky  
headers and all that - just clear the ball! I am very disappointed.

"First half, I thought we did really well. We could have been two  
or three up before they even had their first shot.

"And to make matters worse, they've scored with that first shot and  
it came from our mistake.

"We told our defenders before the game to forget about playing nice  
football or little dinky headers. The ball gets in there and I don't  
care where you put it, clear it. Get it out of our box and let's play  
in their half.

"Put it out for a throw or a corner, I don't care. Let's get it  
away. We don't try those clever little headers in these conditions.

"So what happens? We try to be clever, the ball drops short and  
their fella says thank you very much.

"I thought the first half was all us apart from the mistake. Second  
half they had the better of it but look at the opportunities we have  
created.

"They might not have been clear-cut but we've got into good  
positions five or six times and we've not made the most of them.  
We're not making the right choices.

"Anthony Pace, James Holder and Andy Martin have all had chances  
and we've not made the most of them."

Bay were well worth the points with three goals from their 13  
attempts on goal - seven of which were on target - and Cordice was  
left a frustrated man.

He said: "They're forwards were right on us yet we're taking risks  
that we shouldn't.

"Nine times out of ten all Herne Bay have done is clear it. They've  
put it into the channels - and that's all I asked our boys to do.

"Put it into the channels and let our forwards, guys like Andy  
Martin and Anthony Pace, chase it.

"You have to play the percentages on a pitch like this and  
unfortunately we didn't."

Pace was kicking himself after just two minutes when his indecision  
gave the Bay defence a chance to crowd him out on the edge of the  
penalty area.

Holder then failed to get his head to one of Town's four first-half  
corners before sparking Town's only genuine piece of football all  
afternoon.

He seized possession on the halfway line and released wing-back  
Michael Seager to scamper down the left flank on 15 minutes.

The former Whitstable Town defender sent over an excellent cross  
towards Pace on the charge but his volley was straight at Jack Delo  
in the Herne Bay goal.

Bay threatened a couple of times early on but did not really find  
their rhythm until just before the half-hour when Holder's mistake  
allowed Firth to fire under Town keeper Jurgen Wild.

Veteran Bay striker Nigel Pointon - the oldest man on the pitch at  
44 - almost made it 2-0 seconds later with a curling right-foot shot  
that was kept out only by a fantastic one-handed save from Wild  
diving to his left.

Town started the second half brightly but this time it was Andy  
Martin who failed to hit the target when he ballooned over the bar  
with just a couple of minutes gone.

It was left to Denly to show Town how to finish by putting his head  
in where it hurts for a super second on 72 minutes from impressive  
Bay substitute Aaron Knight's free-kick.

And it was 3-0 two minutes later when Firth's spectacular overhead  
kick screamed past Wild after the ball popped up into the air after  
Knight's quick free-kick enabled Rhys Lawson to deliver from the right.

Town sub Wayne Farrell had a shot easily saved by Delo at the death  
but the fact the Bay goalkeeper's shirt was still clean as the final  
whistle sounded told its own story.

Town's Top Man: Steve Aslett - Sadly, Mr Consistent failed to inspire  
those around him

Marks (out of 10): Jurgen Wild 6, Brad Maguire 6, Michael Seager 6,  
Wes Hammond 6, James Holder 5, Gary Stock 6, Kris Parker 6, Steve  
Aslett 7, Graham Taylor 5, Andy Martin 6, Anthony Pace 7.  
Substitutes: John Goodwin (for Martin, 58 minutes) 6, Jason Mills  
(for Seager, 70) 6, Wayne Farrell (for Pace, 83) 6.

Unused: Mark Smith, Terry Cordice

 Fixtures / Match Reports    Check out the details of upcoming fixtures and previous match reports.

 League Tables
 Keep a check on the Faversham Town teams positions in their league tables

 Player Stats
All the season's stats at the click of a button.