margate021104

Margate leave it late to knock Welling out

Margate made it through to the second round of the Carthium Cup with a deserved 2-0 victory at Park View Road against Kent rivals Welling United tonight.

With both sides sitting in the bottom six of the Nationwide South table, it was Chris Kinnear's side that made progress, thanks to strikes from Che Stadhart and Rocky Baptise in the final fifteen minutes.

Both goalkeepers were in inspired form and it looked the game was heading towards extra time before the late intervention from the Margate strike pairing.

The first real chance came after eight minutes when Wing's striker Tommy Tyne was denied by visiting goalkeeper Peter Trego, tipping over his powerful header.

Ten minutes later Margate's central defender Aaron Barnett went up for a free kick, taken by Adrian Clarke, and his header went narrowly wide.

Stadhart's diagonal pass sent Clarke on his way but he had no support from his teammates.  However, he did very well to get a shot away from the edge of the Welling penalty area, which went the wrong side of the post, despite being swarmed by two defenders.

Peter Benevides was the next 'Gate player to reign a shot on goal.  His fierce 19-yard effort took a slight deflection off Wing's defender Bradley Thomas, but it was never going to hurt James Pullen in goal.

On the stroke of half time, Jamie Day's driven shot from 25-yards was creeping inside the foot of the near post but Trego got down low to push the effort out for a corner.

Welling midfielder Lee Spiller, who received a square pass from Paul Booth inside the penalty area, nine minutes after the interval, struck a first time 16-yard effort that went agonisingly over the angle of post and crossbar beating Trego's desperate dive to his left.

Margate, however, turned the screw in search of the decisive opening goal with a foray of attempts around the hour mark.

John Keister's ball forward found Stadhart around the penalty spot but he was always stretching and poked the ball wide.  Baptiste went close with a dipping 25-yarder that sailed over the bar before the home side could, and should have scored from two chances in as many minutes.

George Lay - who got forward at every opportunity - crossed to the near post - where Booth nipped in front of his marker Darren Annon but fired into the side netting.

Booth then connected with substitute Naranda Bernard's cross but his eight yard downward header failed to beat a well positioned goalkeeper.

The game was crying out for a goal and it finally came with fifteen minutes left.  Keister slipped the ball for Stadhart who made no mistake from a central position from around 12 yards, firing past an exposed Pullen and into the bottom right corner of the net.

Welling substitute Tony Brown cleared Benevides shot off the line before the visitors wrapped up their victory late on.

Bernard was dispossessed just past the half way line by Keister who raced forward down the middle of the pitch before he slid the ball to Baptiste on his right and the marksman fired home despite Brown's failed attempt to clear the ball off the line at the near post.


Welling United: James Pullen, Matt Lee, Sonny Ball (Narada Bernard 51), James Smith, Bradley Thomas, George Lay, Danny Slatter (Tony Brown 61), Lee Spiller (Capt), Tommy Tyne, Paul Booth, Jamie Day.  Subs: Gary Carter, Danny Skinner, Tope Arojogun

Margate: Peter Trego, Alexis Chavalambous, Peter Benevides, Ross Smith, Aaron Barnett, Darren Annon (Capt), John Keister, Pat Gradley, Che Stadhart, Rocky Baptiste, Adrian Clarke.  Subs: Bill Edwards, Darren Watson, Tamba Hgongou, Nejdet Hessein

Referee: Ian Gosling
Assistants: Paul Kelly & Nolan Wilde