Potters Bar Town 4 Sittingbourne 4 (Includes today's results)

The Hertfordshire side, three points adrift at the foot of the table, appointed a new manager in the week with Andy Leese replacing Andy Kilne at the helm.

Leese makes a return to the club following spells at Boreham Wod, Cheshunt, where he led them to two successive promotions to the Ryman Premier League and Wealdstone, where he assisted their director of football, Gordon Bartlett.

They got off to a dream start, taking the lead after just 79 seconds.

Daniel Talbot floated in a free kick from 30-yards towards the near post, and skipper Ryan Harris brought the ball under control before rounding goalkeeper Steve Williams and tapping home from close range.

The Sittingbourne goalkeeper made a fine low save from Richard Howard before they equalised after 13 minutes.

Bradley Spice took his tally up to 13-goals for the season, scoring his first ever hat-trick for the Bourne Park outfit.

He brought his side level when, from 12-yards, he drove a clinical shot across goalkeeper Richard Hayward into the bottom left hand corner, after Joe Dowley floated in a cross from the left.

The home side, however, regained the lead eleven minutes later courtesy of striker Howard’s 21^st goal of the season.

Substitute Ben Hill latched onto a good pass from Talbot down the left hand side and his low centre was stuck underneath Howards’ feet, but the striker managed to get his shot in, which went past Williams and into the corner.

The Kent side clawed themselves level nine minutes later. Richard Hayward got a hand to Spice’s right-footed curling 25-yard free kick but failed to prevent it finding the bottom corner.

On this showing Potters Bar Town will surely claw themselves out of the relegation mire and they almost took the lead just before the break as Talbot whipped in a cross from the right, which was met on the half-volley by Michael Lyon, but screamed agonisingly wide of the far post.

Lyon went close early into the second half as his angled drive trickled wide of the far post but Sittingbourne defender Dan Tanner gifted the home side the lead after 51 minutes.

Good play came from the basement boys and Howard nodded a cross towards goal. Williams came for the ball, but Tanner guided a looping header over him and into the far corner.

Brickies manager Steve Lovell made a double substitution on the hour-mark and one of them, Peter Taylor grabbed the side level within seconds when his 16-yard half volley found the bottom far corner to score his first goal of the season.

Sittingbourne took the lead for the first time in the game four minutes later - only for Potters Bar to complete the scoring within a minute.

Spice poked home his hat-trick from close range, following a flick on from his captain, James Campbell, but their joy was short-lived when Andy Martin ghosted in at the far post to plant his header into the far corner, following a hanging cross from the left by left-back Sam Ledger.

Sittingbourne’s goal led a charmed life for the final 20 minutes as the home side went for the kill.

Impressive striker Howard had two shots cleared off the line by Joe Dowley and Campbell - but Lovell wasn’t very happy with the point as his side fell into the bottom six in the Southern League Division One East table - just nine points adrift of the final play-off place.

“I wouldn’t call it a thriller to be honest,” said the Welshman after the game. “As a manager it’s a bloody nightmare!

“We all dug in but defensively it wasn’t very good at all. Going forward we haven’t got a problem. We looked like scoring every time we went forward but defensively we were awful.

“To be fair we bounced back every time for going goals down and it showed the spirit is here but we can’t have people making individual errors and costing us points every week, and that’s been the problem.”

Lovell takes his squad to Ryman Premier League outfit Folkestone Invicta, 2-0 winners at bottom-of-the-table Redbridge today, on Wednesday night, and explained why he arranged the game with Invicta boss Neil Cugley.

“Well, there’s a lot of boys now in our squad coming back from injury and haven’t played for the last two-three weeks so I’ll take them,” he said.

“They’ll have 90 minutes to get themselves ready so the squad is building up and hopefully we’ll have a big squad to choose from for our last 13 games.

“Sometimes its better than training. We always train Tuesday and Thursday but its nice to have a Wednesday game, where people can have a week off if their injured to recuperate and the ones who haven’t played can go out and have 90 minutes.

Lovell predicted Spice would score a hat-trick today - and hopes he continues his fine form for the remainder of their campaign.

“I said to him before the game “you’ll get a hat-trick today”,” revealed Lovell. “I think I’ve got to tell him that every game.

“He’s always likely to get a goal and three good goals. He doesn’t deserve to be in a team that didn’t win the game today.”

After their trip to the Buzzlines Stadium in Cheriton Road on Wednesday, Wivenhoe Town, who are in the final play-off place, are the visitors to Bourne Park next Saturday.

Lovell added: “It is not very nice to score four - five really with the own goal - and not win a game.

“Hopefully we’ll have the boys available for the squad to pick a decent squad.

“I’m disappointed today - all the boys are - we’ve played the worse we’ve played all season and I’ll be perfectly honest collectively we were all over the shop today - people are not doing the things we wanted them to do.”

Potters Bar Town: Richard Hayward, Dave Blower, Sam Ledger, Ryan Harris (Capt), Neil Jordan, Andy Martin, Daniel Talbot, Michael Sharman (Tony Burke 77), Richard Howard, Michael Lyon, James Dickie (Ben Hill 8).  Subs: Chris Fitkin, James Blackshaw, Stuart Milne.

Sittingbourne: Steve Williams, Toby Ashmore (Peter Taylor 58), Joe Dowley, Dan Tanner, James Campbell (Capt), Tristian Knowles, Ricky Spiller (Paul Ainsworth 76), Lee Hockey, Clint Gooding (Charlie Belcher 58), Bradley Spice, Mitchell Sherwood.
Subs: Steve Lovell

Attendance: 101
Referee: Mr Paul Toyer
Assistants: Mr Ashley Hyne & Mr Issac Jempeji


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Saturday 11^th February 2006

FA Vase Fifth Round

Cammell Laird 1 VCD Athletic 0

Kidderminster Harriers 0 Gravesend & Northfleet 2

Nationwide Conference South

Cambridge City 0 Welling United 0

Ryman Premier League

AFC Wimbledon 1 Margate 2

Bromley 1 Harrow Borough 1

Redbridge 0 Folkestone Invicta 2

Windsor & Eton 1 Fisher Athletic 4

Ryman League Division One

Ashford Town 0 Leatherhead 0

Bashley 0 Tonbridge Angels 0

Dover Athletic 1 Croydon Athletic 1

Molesey 0 Cray Wanderers 2

Ramsgate 5 Lymington & New Milton 0

Great Wakering Rovers 2 Chatham Town 0

Potters Bar Town 4 Sittingbourne 4

Kentish Observer League Cup Quarter-Finals

Lordswood P VCD Athletic P

Thamesmead Town 1 Hythe Town 2

Herne Bay 2 Whitstable Town 1

Maidstone United 4 Beckenham Town 3 (aet)

Kentish Observer League Premier

Greenwich Borough 0 Erith & Belvedere 1

Sevenoaks Town 1 Deal Town 1

Sporting Bengal 0 Tunbridge Wells 0

Kentish Observer League Reserve Division Cup Quarter-Final

Whitstable Town 2 Hythe Town 1

Kentish Observer League Division One

Cray Wanderers 1 Dartford 1

Deal Town 0 Bromley 1

Maidstone United 3 Erith Town 5

Kentish Observer League Division Two

Folkestone Invicta 2 Lordswood 1

Slade Green 2 Tunbridge Wells 1