Kentish Football 
Sittingbourne 0-1 Ramsgate - We're going in the right direction, says Sittingbourne boss Jim Ward
SITTINGBOURNE 0-1 RAMSGATE
Ryman League Division One South
Saturday 27th April 2013
Stephen McCartney reports from Bourne Park
SITTINGBOURNE joint-manager Jim Ward feels disappointed that the club’s final game at Bourne Park ended in a defeat to his former club Ramsgate.
Ramsgate striker, Ian Pulman, 28, scored his 22nd goal of the season just before the break to bring the curtain down on Sittingbourne’s eleven-year stay at Bourne Park.
Sittingbourne played 267 competitive games at Bourne Park, the first being a Dr Martens (Southern) League Eastern Division match against Burnham on 17 August 2002, with Roy Guiver going down in the history books as the first man to score at the ground.
Sittingbourne won 102 times at Bourne Park, drawing 69 games and today was their 96th defeat. The Brickies scored 354 goals and Pulman’s winner was the 347th goal scored by an opposing player.
Sittingbourne attracted their second largest crowd of the season with 261 flocking through the turnstiles for the last time before the club’s switch to Woodstock in rural Sittingbourne next season.
But Ramsgate were to be party-poopers after ending Sittingbourne’s ten-match unbeaten home record, which stretched back to Worthing’s 2-1 win on 8 December 2012.
Ward, who said he will only be prised away from Sittingbourne if an offer from Manchester United or Dundee United came in for his services during the summer, was disappointed with the result.
“It’s a shame because the fans were absolutely fantastic today, weren’t they? They deserved something,” he said.
“On other days during the season those chances that we’ve had today have been going in – they didn’t go in today.
“Neither keeper really had a lot to go but Joe Taylor’s had two free headers inside the six-yard box. He had another shot inside the six-yard box that went wide. He’s been scoring goals for fun all year and really I thought Joe played ever so well today and the rest of it.
“It wasn’t an end of season game. There was something on it. We played alright, they got the 1-0.”
Ramsgate boss Tim Dixon, who was watching from the directors’ box in the main stand due to his second touchline ban of the season, was pleased that his side ended their campaign on a high note.
He said: “It was something that was vital today. The way I prepare for the game with the lads was that we needed to end up on a positive note. Results haven’t gone our way in the previous couple of weeks so all we could do was end positively and try to win the game. That was always the game plan and it turned out that way.
“We had lots of chances. That was good that we were creating them. Some of them were clear cut as well. I think their keeper made three great saves. They’re dangerous going forward. Jim puts four or five centre forwards up towards the end of the game, so we knew that was coming as well.
“We were lucky to hang on to the 1-0 really because we didn’t take our chances.”
Ward was full of praise for goalkeeper Adam Molloy, who made a fine save to deny Ramsgate an opener inside the opening four minutes.
Central defender Curtis Robinson launched a long throw into the penalty area and the ball was flicked on to Steve O’Brien and the winger’s hooked volley from 12-yards was tipped over by the Sittingbourne keeper.
Ward said: “Adam’s a great keeper. If he was six inches taller and could kick the ball straight he’d be a very good keeper!”
Sittingbourne almost capitalised on poor Ramsgate defending when Jordan Johnson played the ball inside to Tom Loynes, who swept a first time shot towards the bottom near corner, but nineteen-year-old goalkeeper Deren Hawkes, who is on-loan from Gillingham, easily gathered.
O’Brien, who was seeing plenty of the ball down the left, couldn’t find a way past Sittingbourne right-back Luke Girt inside the penalty box, so he cut the ball back to Pulman, who curled his right-footed lob wide of the far post from 25-yards.
Sittingbourne squandered a decent chance to open the scoring in the 18th minute.
Johnson cut his corner back to Girt, who played the ball back to Johnson, who floated in his cross towards the far post for Nick Davis to send his towering header back across goal and eighteen-goal winger Joe Taylor nodded his header narrowly over.
A long goal-kick from Molloy sailed into Taylor’s path some 30-yards from goal but his speculative right-footed drive from 30-yards sailed harmlessly wide.
Ramsgate called Molloy into making a comfortable save halfway through the first half.
O’Brien swung in a corner from the left which was headed away and Robinson laid the ball off to Jon Eguileor, who was given time and space inside the penalty area to clip his cross towards the far post for central defender Tom Parkinson to head down and into Molloy’s arms from a tight angle from inside the six-yard box.
Parkinson stabbed the ball to central midfielder Ben Laslett who played the ball inside to Egulieor, but the Spaniard’s left-footed drive from 25-yards sailed over.
However, it was to be the 20-year-old’s last action of the game as he suffered a painful ankle injury following Johnson’s over the ball challenge, which could have brought a red-card from referee John Pike.
Dixon said: “I was a bit annoyed with that challenge. I had a chat with the ref, I didn’t have a go at the ref. He’s actually got a hit on the shin but it has twisted his ankle on the same movement. I wanted to give him a go today because he’s been great for us all season. He hasn’t moaned and he got his chance today and it’s a shame it got cut short by injury.”
Eleven minutes before the break and Ramsgate created another chance when O’Brien raced towards the left by-line before cutting the ball back to Laslett, whose cross was met by Tom Chapman’s towering header, which sailed wide of the far post from 12-yards.
Ramsgate pressed as the game edged towards half-time and Sittingbourne keeper Molloy made another fine save when he dived to his left to block Sherman’s shot after former Ramsgate defender Davis appeared to have caught the ball inside his own box.
Ramsgate left-back Sam Gore, 24, who was playing his last game for the club before his move to the Eastbourne area to study, cracked a speculative left-footed angled drive from 35-yards, which was caught by the Sittingbourne keeper.
Dixon said: “Sam Gore’s going to college down in the Eastbourne area so he can’t make training and Saturday games so I’m going to lose him and he’s been absolutely fantastic, so it will be nice to go on record to say what a good player he’s been for us this year.”
A diagonal pass from Ramsgate right-back Joshua Maughan was hit first time by Sherman, whose right-footed shot sailed over the crossbar from sixteen-yards.
Ramsgate were to score the last goal at Bourne Park when they broke the deadlock 68 seconds into stoppage time.
Girt failed to cut out Sherman’s diagonal pass from inside the penalty area and Pulman latched onto the ball and twisted and turned his way to towards the by-line. Pulman used his enormous talent to roll his left-footed shot across Molloy from the tightest of angles from the by-line and the ball nestled into the bottom far corner.
Dixon said: “I just said to him in there, I thought it was a great goal. It took ages to get in. It was a hell of an angle. It was a great finish and fully deserved. It was a good time to score but we had a couple of chances in the first half and I would’ve been annoyed if we had gone in 0-0.
“I think he will be the first one to admit he could’ve scored more. We’ve just had a chat in the dressing room and he’s disappointed that he hasn’t got at least 25.
“He’s hit a bit of form towards the end of the season and he’s been a threat every time he gets the ball but he’s always going to create chances. He’s a good player and he’s good to have around.”
Ward felt the goal should not have been allowed to stand.
“He handballed it,” he insisted. “He put his hand across his body. You probably couldn’t see it from the stand but he handballed it on the line and he scores an Ian Pulman goal. He’s an ex player of mine, a good player.”
Molloy made his third great save nine minutes into the second half when Sherman’s through ball was latched onto by Pulman, who cracked a right-footed drive which was destined for the roof of the net, but the diving Molloy stuck out his arm to push the ball over the bar.
The second half wasn’t as lively as the first and Ramsgate’s supporters had to wait until the 21st minute of the second half for their next attempt on goal.
Gore joined an attack and his right-footed drive from the corner of the box took a deflection and bounced into Molloy’s arms.
Sittingbourne’s battling substitute Nick Treadwell fashioned himself a chance but he rolled his right-footed shot across Hawkes and past the far post from 25-yards.
Sittingbourne were desperately unlucky not to equalise in the 72nd minute when Davis chipped in a cross towards the far post from the left and Taylor’s header looped onto the roof of the net from four-yards.
Sittingbourne left-back Ryan Cooper floated over a free-kick into the Ramsgate box and Davis’ shot on the turn sailed over the crossbar.
Sittingbourne’s best chance to equalise, however, came in the 80th minute when Ollie Gray’s diagonal pass found Cooper, who had time and space to play the ball to substitute Hicham Akhazzan (who was making his 241th appearance for the club today) who played the ball back to Cooper who played the ball inside to Girt, whose stabbed the ball towards the bottom left-hand corner, but Hawkes dived to his right to tip the ball around the post.
Ward said: “Statistically it’s a disappointing finish, but I felt we played alright today. We didn’t’ deserve to get beat in my opinion. I don’t know what the stats with shots on goal were. There weren’t loads and loads of them. I felt we had enough of the ball. I think it’s one of the few games that we haven’t scored.”
Gray’s left-footed drive from 25-yards failed to trouble Ramsgate keeper Hawkes but Sittingbourne striker Ryan Golding, who was back following a three-match suspension, should have grabbed an injury-time leveller.
Cooper floated over another cross from the left and Golding (who has scored 41 goals this season, 14 of them for Kent Invicta League side Crockenhill before his switch towards the end of September) headed the ball down and across Hawkes, who grabbed the ball before it bounced into the far corner.
It was to be an off-day for Sittingbourne, who have only failed to score in nine of their 48 competitive games this season.
“It wasn’t a dull game,” said Ward. “You can’t go any further than our forwards. I don’t know if there’s another club in this Ryman League that have scored as many goals as my three forwards have. Ryan Golding (27 goals plus 14 for Crockenhill), Joe Taylor (18 goals) and Hicham Akhazzan (8 goals) I think they’ve scored 53 goals between them, which is amazing, considering they didn’t know one another at the start of the season.
“That’s a massive plus and I think Nick Davis was a great signing for us and the goalkeeper Adam Molloy.”
Dixon was full of praise for his defence after Hawkes maintained a clean sheet.
“I’ve watched Sittingbourne a couple of times this year and they’re always a threat going forward so we knew what to expect – the long throws into the area, which we dealt with all day really; long balls into the box, especially on pitches that are bobbly. I thought we dealt with it quite well and we had a couple of chances at the end when we were looking quite dangerous, but if we had taken our chances we would’ve been well away.
“It’s a tough place. It’s pleasing to keep a clean sheet against Sittingbourne. They score goals most games they play so we had to keep a clean sheet against then on their own patch. A lot more rewarding was the three points, it’s a very satisfying day’s work.”
Ramsgate created the last chance when Laslett and substitute Tom Hickman linked up well and Chapman’s right-footed shot from fifteen-yards drifted wide of the far post.
Sittingbourne exceeded their expectations by finishing in ninth-place with 61 points from 42 games (16 wins, 13 draws and 13 defeats).
Ward said: “I think we’ve come ninth. We would’ve taken it at the start of the season.
“All these lads that we’ve got in this team have joined us in different stages in the season. It’s hard to be critical. I’m not being critical because we’ve done ever so well.
“We’re a bit disappointed that we’ve let our home record go today because we were ten games undefeated at home, but we’ll bounce back from it and get ourselves sorted and go from there.”
Ward added: “We’ve got a presentation night tonight and there’s four or five awards going out and they’re going to four different people so that’s the way it’s been. It’s been a pleasure to look after this set of players this year.
“Me and Danny (Ward) have done well to mould them into a team and as I walked around today I got plaudits from a lot of the old Sittingbourne supporters saying it’s the best they’ve seen this club for a long time. Well, that will do me. It means we’re going in the right direction.”
Ramsgate finished in seventh-place with 70 points (20 wins, 10 draws and 12 defeats) and came within a point of fifth-placed Folkestone Invicta, who grabbed the final play-off berth on a dramatic last day of the season for Neil Cugley’s side.
“I’ve just tried to phone Neil Cugley to congratulate him on getting that fifth-place because it was a battle for the last few weeks,” said Dixon.
“Faversham and Hythe have cemented themselves in the play-offs with a good run of form so fair play to them and congratulations to them. Both have got decent managers (Ray Turner and Scott Porter respectively), who I get on with but even more so I’m pleased for Neil. He’s had a real tight budget down there. It’s a former club of mine, I’ve been skipper there before and I played under Neil. If anyone would’ve got in the play-offs other than Ramsgate, I’m really pleased for Folkestone.”
Reflecting on Bourne Park’s last game, the Ramsgate boss added: “A lot of people would say thank goodness for that but it served its purpose for Sittingbourne. It’s always been a hard place to come to. They’ve got a new chapter of their story at Woodstock Sports’ ground now so we’ll see how that goes next year. Obviously we’ll be visiting there. If they can carry on the good work that Jim and Danny Ward have done this year, they’ll be another hard team to beat next year.”
Despite missing out on the play-offs this season, Dixon says he wants to stay for a second season at the helm at Southwood Stadium.
He said: “Yes, I want to be manager next year. The chairman hasn’t said anything otherwise. I see the chairman in the next couple of days and plan for next year and see where we go.”
Sittingbourne: Adam Molloy, Luke Girt, Ryan Cooper, Nick Davis, Ollie Gray, Jordan Johnson (Nick Treadwell 46), Joe Taylor, Jonathon Hogg (Connor Coyne 71), Ryan Golding, Curtis Winnett, Tom Loynes (Hicham Akhazzan 71).
Subs: Ronnie Ward, Luke Mitchell
Booked: Jordan Johnson 31
Ramsgate: Daren Hawkes, Joshua Maughan, Sam Gore, Curtis Robinson, Tom Parkinson, Ben Laslett, Tom Chapman, James Sherman, Ian Pulman (Kane Rowland 82), Jon Eguileor (Tom Hickman 33), Steve O’Brien.
Subs: Jack Granger, Shannon Harris, Warren Schulz
Goal: Ian Pulman 45
Booked: Curtis Robinson 46, Ben Laslett 89
Attendance: 261
Referee: Mr John Pike (Hassocks, West Sussex)
Assistants: Mr Elad Amir (Maidstone) & Mr Simon Finnigan (Maidstone)
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