Herne Bay 3-2 Faversham Town

Wednesday 16th August 2006

Size does matter - just ask Faversham Town's left wing-back Jason Mills, writes James Brown.The man nicknamed Shoesey because of his massive feet was denied a
sensational last-minute equaliser by the width of a coat of paint against Herne Bay on Tuesday night.

The tall youngster's left-foot screamer looked in all the way until it rebounded off the base of the far post with goalkeeper Jack Delo beaten.

And it was a job to tell if young Shoesey really was only joking when he later questioned the size of the goals at Winch's Field on a night when Faversham Town came so close to securing the point their second-half performance so richly deserved.

Re-born Faversham Town's long-awaited Kent League debut looked to be going horribly wrong when Herne Bay raced into a 3-0 half-time lead watched by a crowd of 270 - the biggest in the Premier Division so far this season.

Simon Brown's seventh-minute corner was allowed to drop invitingly at the feet of Gary Cook and he toe-poked a shot past stand-in goalkeeper Tony Diment.

Bay made it 2-0 on 18 minutes and again Town's failure to deal with a set-piece proved their undoing with another Brown corner this time finding Steven Lloyd who scored with a close-range header.

Faversham Town new boy Wes Hammond was caught in possession for the third
goal two minutes from the interval.

Lively forward Richard Dimmock made him pay with a firm shot beyond Diment and the home side looked home and hosed.

Quite what led to the transformation in Faversham Town's fortunes after the
break remains to be seen although boss Terry Cordice did later describe his half-time team talk as "robust".

Whatever he said it certainly did the trick because Faversham Town were
revitalized in the second period where they enjoyed better possession, greater territory and produced a finish that threatened to bring the house down.

They had to wait until four minutes from time for their first goal with substitute Dave Hockley sending in a left-wing cross from a short corner that caused panic in the box.

And new Faversham Town captain James Holder fired home from 10 yards with a firm right-foot shot that flew past Delo and into the net.

Two minutes later and Town scored again with sub Dane Luchford pouncing on the loose ball after Julian Beal's free-kick in the right corner found the head of Holder.

It set the stage for a grandstand finale and Mills could not believe his luck after his sweet strike from all of 25 yards was denied by the upright at the death.

Faversham Town were beaten but their incredible second-half revival proves they can mix it with the big boys of the Kent League.

Bay boss Jason Lillis said: "Three nil down they had to have a go in the second-half and that's exactly what they did. They never hurt us in the first half but fair play to them, they did very well after the break.

"If they play to their strengths, stick to their game plan and keep doing what they do well then I think Faversham will have a good season. I wish them the best of luck."

Bay chairman John Bathurst added: “”On the second half performance, new boys Faversham will prove a good match for all Kent League sides this season.”

Herne Bay: Delo, D Cook, Summers, G Cook, Lloyd, Denly, Lawson (Lawrence), S Brown (S Brown), Dimmock, O’Connor, Devereux (Soutan)

Faversham Town: Tony Diment, Wayne Farrell, Jason Mills, Wes Hammond, James Holder, Gary Stock, Julian Beal, Steve Aslett, Andy Martin (John Goodwin 63), Kris Parker (Dane Luchford 63), Mark Smith (Dave Hockley 74).

Attendance: 270

Match report courtesy of www.favershamtownfc.co.uk