Herne Bay 0-2 Erith & Belvedere

Monday 23rd October 2006

Erith & Belvedere finally gained a second league win of the season as a cool finish by Leon Braithwaite and a fortuitous own goal game Wayne Brown’s side all three points from their visit to Winch’s Field on Saturday, writes Thomas Hawes.The fixture saw the return of experienced midfielder Austin Berkley to the Deres team after a mammoth suspension lasting almost two months.

Berkley ran the show in the middle of the park and his creative runs saw the Deres take control in the first half against mid-table Herne Bay.

Chances and goalmouth action were few and far between in the first half.

Erith slightly edged the play and had a golden chance to take the lead after a quarter of an hour.

Mark Nougher reached the ball just before Bay keeper Jack Delo could reach the ball. Nougher poked the ball at Delo’s midriff and the ball broke away to the feet of Daryl Wilson who found himself with an open goal gaping at him. Wilson took a touch and sidefooted home and was just about to reel away in celebration when Steven Lloyd came from nowhere to header the ball away for a corner.

As in games at the highest level, the first goal is crucial and after 66 minutes Leon Braithwaite scored that first goal.

A dangerous ball was played in from the left, Matt Johnson knocked the ball down to Braithwaite, who placed the ball right in the corner of Delo’s goal to give Erith the lead.

Erith didn’t settle for a one-goal victory and they continued to attack the Herne Bay goal and score a second.

After 78 minutes, that second goal arrived, albeit somewhat fortunately. Substitute Vinny Durrant was causing Herne Bay all sorts of problems down the left wing and whipped in a teasing ball to Wilson 8 yards out. Wilson flicked the ball on to Braithwaite, but over-hit the pass and the ball ran to Matt Johnson who opted for power over placement.

The ball took a wicked deflection off of Steven Lloyd, leaving Delo with no chance of keeping the score at 1-0.

The relief of securing the three points was evident for all at Winch’s Field to see as the Deres celebrated emphatically.

To compound Herne Bay’s misery, Gary Cook was dismissed for a second bookable offence after clattering into Vinny Durrant.

Durrant had a glorious chance to make it 3-0 in the dying moments, but he couldn’t repay Darryl Wilson for his excellent pass after a 40 yard run. Durrant’s thunderous shot bounced off of the bar and away to safety.

The victory moves Erith & Belvedere up to 12^th place. Despite the win, any hope of promotion is surely gone for Wayne Brown’s side and the Deres will now be hoping for a top six finish.

HERNE BAY: Delo, Hanson, Bremner, G Cook, Lloyd, O’Leary (Dimmock 65), Lawson, S Brown (Lawrence 74), Knight, O’Connor, Soutan (Ward 84). Sub: D Cook

ERITH & BELVEDERE: Arnold, Scowen (Maycock 68). Bedford, Morgan, Simpson, Wraight, Berkley (Deane 87), Johnson, Braithwaite, Wilson, Nougher (Durrant 74). Subs: W Brown, White

Attendance: 118