Chatham Town lost ground on Isthmian Premier leaders Hornchurch as they slipped to a surprise 3-2 home defeat to Hashtag United. 

The visitors arrived mid-table after slipping away from the Play Off places and with the Chats on the back of their biggest win of the season at the weekend – a 5-1 drubbing of Canvey Island – the faithful piled into the Bauvill expecting more of the same.  

And when Rowan Liburd brilliantly headed home early on, that expectation seemed founded. But the home side were then caught out twice to give the visitors the lead either side of half-time before Hashtag went 3-1 ahead with the classic breakaway goal from a Chatham corner.

The home side bundled a second through sub Simon Cooper in the ninetieth minute after both sides had been reduced to ten men by the ever increasingly fussy Mr Dempster, but the visitors held on for their first win of 2024 after ending 2023 with a solitary defeat in seven League games. 

Roared on by another 2,000 plus crowd the home side started brightly and deservedly led when Henry bulleted home a header from a pinpoint Miquel Scarlett cross. 

The visitors’ first chance saw Alex Teniola shoot wide after good wing play from Sak Hassan, whilst Ashley Nzala was within a whisker of doubling the home side’s lead from a good ball in from Alex Brefo.

Brefo though was to turn the match on its head ten minutes from half time as his back pass to keeper Slav Huk flew over the head of the Chats stopper, who it must be said was well advanced from his line and almost apologetically went into the empty net. 

The Chats’ future thinking was underlined at the break when the son of a Club legend – Connor Tilley son of Gary – signed his first contract with the Medway club, and the ink had barely dried when Nzala was brilliantly denied by Hashtag keeper Josh Strizovic as Liburd turned provider from the right. 

Just before the hour, the visitors were in front. Hassan played a fine through ball down the inside right channel sending Pedro Carvalho racing through on goal from the angle and as Huk hesitated, the Hashtag man lifted the ball over him and into the Chats net. 

The goal seemed to knock the stuffing out of the home side for a while and the visitors went looking to extend their advantage – Hassan fired narrowly wide before Teniola hooked an effort over his shoulder which whistled over the top of Huk’s crossbar. 

The visitors did get their third nine minutes from time with a goal that will have Kevin Hake and his coaches fuming as from a Chatham corner Hassan broke away and left the home defenders in his wake before laying a perfect through ball for Luke May-Parrott who hammered the ball low past Huk and into the net less than ten seconds after the home corner at the other end. 

To their immense credit, the home side threw off their shackles and somehow Harry Haysom cleared off the line to deny Jamie Yila’s effort that beat the keeper.  

The grandstand finale was then set for stoppage time and but for a miraculous reflex save from Strizovic we would have been treated to it.

A brilliant ball in from the left was met by a crashing shot from Nzala and somehow the Hashtag keeper managed to get the ball over the bar into the baying home hoards! 

The home side were then handed a numerical advantage when defender Nathan Smith was shown his second yellow card as the home side poured forward, and from the resulting free kick, substitute Cooper forced the ball over the line.

The scramble that followed ended up in yellow cards for both Jayden Randell and the Chats’ Khale Da Costa – unfortunately, that meant that it was ten versus ten for stoppage time as it was the Chatham man’s second yellow of the game.  

There were some unfortunate scenes at the final whistle, but that must not detract from an absorbing game of football. 

CHATHAM TOWN – Huk, Scarlett, Broad (Cooper), Robins (Campbell), Butler, Nzala, Evans, Liburd (Yila), Brefo, De Costa, Dickson.

Subs not used – Garlinge, Parker.

HASHTAG UNITED – Strizovic, Wooldridge, Smith, Randell, Haysom, Cornish, Hassan (Cunningham), Restrepo, Carvalho, Teniola (May-Parrott) (Simmons) Halford.

Subs not used – Djemaili, Devereux.

REFEREE – Mr Dempster