Someone from Canterbury City must have run over the black cat crossing their path yesterday as misfortune dropped in at Hartsdown Park today.

The game ended in a single goal defeat for City but hinged on two key decisions that both went against them. The first was Jamie Obianigwe’s sending off early in the second-half which came as the result of a second yellow given for an innocuous looking foul that should never have been a booking and this then reduced City to ten men.

The siege that followed on their goal was to be expected but was largely and curiously ineffective as Borough seemingly struggled to work out how to play against the City Ten with the defence, led by Luke Illsley and Liam Hark at the centre of it, coping really well – so far so good!

The second then came when Rob Lawrence slid in to nick the ball off an attacker striding forward. It was somehow deemed a foul and not only that, another yellow card was shown. It was a poor decision, the ball had been won, the tackle was not dangerous or threatening in any way and a yellow card it was not! The few yards pinched forward for the free-kick weren’t spotted either and when Mohamed Hechachena struck it, it wasn’t particularly well hit but it took an almighty deflection off the City wall – completely wrong-footing keeper Alfie Langford – and spun off and into the opposite side of the net for the only goal of the game and leaving City just seven minutes plus stoppages to vainly avoid a cruel defeat.

It had been a busy, fairly even game up to the sending off with maybe the visitors shading the first half but not really doing enough to force the issue. They had the best of the opportunities without really creating anything solid as a lofted in cross from Rio Campbell curled away from the goal and a Hechachena free-kick was struck straight at the City wall. Ezekiel Paul saw a shot well blocked by Tom Brisley at the expense of a corner from which the same player headed well over before a Hechachena long range effort soared comfortably over the bar – a lot of effort by the visitors, but City keeper Langford yet to make a save.

In fact City then went closest to scoring when a clever piece of play from Lawrence found Zack Jobe in space and his first-time crisp, low shot was very well stopped by Borough keeper James Boughtflower with a smart save down to his right.

Brisley saw his flicked back-header from a Lawrence free-kick fly wide of the upright before Jobe and Harry Maher carved out an opening for Lawrence, but his snap shot from around twenty yards was too high.

Simon Kabamba then rescued City with some great covering defending before a swift move from back to front saw Maher hammer his shot on the run just wide from a tight angle. A couple of corners for Borough and an exchange of free-kicks in the run up to the break didn’t trouble the scorers either but Obianigwe did pick up a yellow card late in the half probably as much out of frustration as anything else as having already twice been poorly tackled himself – which required treatment and two Borough bookings, he may well have been feeling a little unprotected!

City ended the half on the attack as Jake McCarthy combined with Maher and cut inside but fired over the bar which brought a busy, but scoreless half to an end.

City made a change at the break introducing Sean Aromolaran for Brisley and soon saw Illsley striding forward to hit a long range effort wide. Paul then almost benefitted from a deflected clearance but Hark’s well-timed blocking tackle cleared the danger.

Aromolaran then saw his shot easily saved by Boughtflower before the Obianigwe sending off changed the game and left City short-handed for well over thirty-five minutes! The tackle that produced it was a foul but not worthy of a booking and he can consider himself desperately unlucky to have been sent off. Paul took the resultant free-kick, but his low shot was poorly struck and rolled aimlessly wide.

The next half-an-hour or so became a big game of cat and mouse. Borough had the man advantage but couldn’t really work out how to use it and they dominated possession without actually seemingly getting anywhere. Several opportunities to get the ball forward or get it into the box weren’t taken and when they did, City’s dogged and determined rearguard action had them completely foxed. In fact City almost scored while Borough were pondering when Illsley’s cleverly taken free-kick set Aromolaran off down the left-wing but as he cut into the box, his shot was well saved by Boughtflower down by his near post.

Langford then comfortably gathered a Borough corner while Hark pulled off three or four colossal defensive headers to repel them still further. City’s defensive show was commendable, while for Borough, it was like watching them trying to unpick a lock with a piece of string!

City were warming well to the task and Adekunle Adeyinka’s shot from the edge of box was easily saved by Langford while a couple of free-kicks from City saw a Lawrence header grabbed by Boughtflower and a Jobe shot well blocked, while then at the other end, Illsley stepped in with a perfectly timed last ditch tackle to deny Chibueze Innocent from forcing his way through on goal.

The moment that finally and cruelly swung the game to Borough came in the eighty-third minute when Lawrence was yellow carded and penalised for what looked a good clean tackle and then Hechachena’s free-kick taking a big deflection off the wall completely stranding Langford who could only watch the ball spiral up and into the opposite side of the net.

From there, the siege was reversed. City threw everything forward and suddenly Borough were scrambling to keep them at bay. In a frantic final few minutes City were just unable to find an equaliser though with Lawrence going closest when his long range effort was initially fumbled by Boughtflower but safely gathered on the second attempt.

A tough defeat to take for City which unfortunately for them hinged and changed on that red card. Elsewhere though, other results were kindish and City, despite the defeat remain top of the table but now only on goal difference.

The pack beneath them are gathering though and they all have games in hand, so this is a defeat City could well have done without and undoubtedly didn’t deserve!

Final score: Canterbury City 0 Lewisham Borough 1