A disappointing afternoon for City as they suffered their first defeat of the season going down by two goals to nil against Forest Hill Park at Hartsdown.
The visitors far from had it all their own way though and City will look at several clear chances that they couldn’t manage to take with a missed penalty in the last minute pretty much summing up their afternoon in front of goal.
However, it is not always the case that ‘it does what it says on the tin’ as SE Dons and their entourage rolled into town. It might have said Forest Hill Park on the fixture list but there the resemblance ended and without a forest, a hill or a park in sight, to all intents and purposes this was SE Dons.
Attracting an increase in attention and attendance wherever they go, they look the part, but they will know that City – with some better finishing, could easily have won today and the clear looking score-line does not really sum the match up.
The game began in pouring rain – which continued right up until almost half-time with City starting strongly. In the first few minutes Harry Maher thrust forward only to see a shot blocked, Jamie Obianigwe brought the first save from FHP keeper Albert Penney – diving to his left to paw the ball away, while Mo Cham twisted and turned his way into the box before seeing a shot deflected out for a corner.
Despite the good start though, City fell behind on twelve minutes when they were caught out by a quick high press and although keeper Tom Benham managed to rush out to block Nathan Palmer’s initial effort, the striker reacted quickest and slotted the rebound into an empty net for 0-1.
It should have been two not long after when Ryan Mallet set up Palmer but with a clear shot on goal, he skied the ball over the bar from twelve yards.
Buoyed by the opening goal, FHP suddenly looked sharp and were starting to gain momentum. City hit back well from that early setback though as Harry Sikirwayi forced a smart low save out of Penney, while Obianigwe headed a free-kick wide on the stretch. At the other end, Benham made a regulation save from Mallet but City were unable to create anything from a couple of attacking free-kicks and a corner.
Penney then just about snaffled a long shot from Maher away from his goal, before Cham cut inside to find some space but them sliced a shot wide when well placed. He had a better chance a few minutes later but having been well set up by Sikirwayi and Connor Coyne, Cham could only push another shot wide of the post with just Penney to beat.
City were now on top and deserved to level and when a free-kick was curled in and dropped by Penney, the defence prevailed as FHP got their keeper out of trouble and somehow scrambled the ball away from goal despite some intense pressure from City as they desperately tried in vain to force the ball over the line.
Unfortunately with three minutes to go until half-time, FHP increased their lead when the ball was lifted over the City defence to Palmer and, from just inside the box, his deft lob completely stranded Benham and against the run of play it was suddenly 0-2.
City tried to strike before the break and were really unlucky not to pull a goal back. A free-kick was sent in to the FHP box and again Penney struggled with his handling and dropped the ball. It fell to Obianigwe and his quick chip back was on target and going in before Rolex Buiti stretched up and got enough of his head on the ball to just deflect it a couple of inches over the bar to safety. Then from the resultant corner, Luke Illsley couldn’t quite direct a header on target and the break arrived soon after with FHP ahead only, but most importantly, on the scoresheet!
Immediately after the restart, City were inches away from pulling an early goal back when Coyne – sliding in at pace on the wet surface, just failed to get a touch on Maher’s searching, low, right-wing cross while Obianigwe then sent a low shot from distance just wide.
The game began to get a little scrappy with a few stoppages and FHP winding down the clock, but they did go close when Ryan Palmer’s corner whistled over and just curled out past the far post unhindered. Benham then saved with comfort a long-range effort from Junior Aikhionbare, while Jake Rose headed over the City bar from close in.
Nathan Palmer then thought he’d increased the visitors’ lead but was quickly flagged as offside, before City had the ideal opportunity to grab a goal back. A fierce shot from Luka Radojevic was blocked by a raised arm right on the edge of the box for a free-kick. Cham carefully lined it up and struck it with venom but it flew just a whisker over and another chance was gone.
It was looking like it wasn’t going to be City’s day when Cham, then, having done all the hard work to cut across from the left, inexplicably missed his kick with the goal at his mercy and it was hurriedly shepherded out of harm’s way by some mightily relieved defenders!
Deshon Carty then missed a chance to completely kill the game off for FHP but sliding in at the far post he could only deflect the ball wide of goal.
City continued to press forward as the game became stretched but despite every effort, they just couldn’t get themselves back into it. Nathan Palmer fired wide from distance for FHP while Aikhionbare lobbed over from either further out and Buiti headed off-target from a corner.
It was City though that finished the game on the attack as Illsley saw his header saved by Penney and then, after Joe Nelder had been fouled in the box, Cham crashed the resulting penalty against the FHP bar before Radojevic pushed the hurried rebound just too high which proved to be the last action of the game.
Despite the defeat, City can take great heart from the overall performance and on another day you would probably expect at least three or four of those chances to be rippling the net, but today it was not to be and it left the FHP/SE Dons bandwagon to no doubt gather some speed and roll right on!
Final score: Canterbury City 0 Forest Hill Park 2