A game of two halves in wild weather conditions saw Cray Valley PM extend their unbeaten run to eight as for the second week running Sittingbourne came agonisingly close to upsetting one of the division’s pace setters.
But the home side adapted quicker – Marcel Barrington followed up his hat-trick in the reverse fixture by powering home an early unmarked header to give Valley the lead and when Anthony Edgar brilliantly scored a second on the stroke of half time, it looked a long way back for the Brickies. But Lex Allan’s crashing header from Harry Stannard’s free kick, there was life in the visitors that was almost completely absent before the break. Try as they might though it wasn’t to be and despite Kane Rowland going so close in the closing minutes, Sittingbourne slumped to their fourth defeat in their last five games.
Early on the home side dominated and keeper Charlie Taylor was busier than he would have like to be on his Brickies debut (in for the injured Harry Brooks) and he was soon picking the ball out of his net as Barrington headed his fourth goal against Sittingbourne this season as he got in between Allan and Harrison Pont to score his 19th goal of the season from Nathan Green brilliant centre.
The home side were dominant, and Taylor did brilliantly to deny Hassan Ibrahiym after a great run. The new keeper though could do nothing when the home side finally got the second goal that they deserved on the strike of half time as Edgar took a pass from Barrington and arrowed a super strike into the bottom corner beyond the keeper’s dive.
The home side continued their dominance in the early stages of the second half and Taylor did brilliantly to deny Ibrahiym – standing big and strong as the striker shot. A stretching Barrington then couldn’t jump high enough to get on the end of another Green centre as Valley looked to add to their lead.
All of a sudden the game turned on its head as following the introduction of Stannard and Danny Taylor (for Sam Flisher and Tyler Anderson), there was finally life in the Brickies and from Stannard’s terrific free kick, Allan ghosted into the far post (if a six foot six defender can ghost in anywhere) and he thumped a header past a hopefully exposed Chris Lewington in the home goal.
That left arguably the best thirty four minutes of the contest as both sides went in search of goals and whilst the home side created the better outright chances – Edgar curling a shot inches wide; Harrison Pont making a wonderful interception to clear another dangerous Green cross; Barrington waltzed through only to be denied by the save of the game from Taylor with the keeper full length to his right – the Brickies carried a threat with almost every break forward they made.
But the clear chances just wouldn’t come for Sittingbourne until after the move of the game that went through Taylor Fisher, Alex Flisher and Stannard, Johan Caney-Bryan played in Rowland and the sighs of relief from the outnumbered home fans in the crowd were audible as the skipper’s drive flashed wide of Lewington’s right post.
The home side keep pace with leaders Hastings whilst for Sittingbourne the Play Off dream may just be getting just too far out of reach with ten games to go…
CRAY VALLEY PM – Lewington, Dymond, Green, Semakula, Blanks, Tumkaya, Edgar, Barrington, Babalola, Warren, Ibrahiym (Adeyemo)
Subs – Day, Beerling, N’Guessan, Sterling-Parker
SITTINGBOURNE – Charlie Taylor, Okoye, Fisher, Sam Flisher (Danny Taylor), Pont, Allan, Anderson (Stannard), Alex Flisher, Rowland, Caney-Bryan, Miller (Bancroft)
Subs – Dasho, Bamba
REFEREE – Mr Barnett
Picture supplied by @BSportsphotos