Faversham came out of this six pointer clash against fellow Play-off hopefuls Hastings with an emphatic victory which was due to them adapting to the windy conditions the better & also Hastings must have had a bad day at the office.
The game started with Faversham starting the quicker of the two teams & in the 4th minute Luke Harvey ( a change from the original line up as he was on the subs bench originally ) flicked the ball forward for Dean Grant who ran on to the edge of the area before shooting but it went wide.
The gamble to play Harvey from the start didn’t work as after 11 minutes he was replaced by Liam King. Faversham continued to dominate proceedings & in the 18th minute they deservedly took the lead when Charley Robertson’s free kick into the area found John Scarborough 12 yards out on his own & his header powerful hit the net.
Seven minutes later it was two when Robertson passed to Liam King in the area & he then passed to Dan Carrington who went to the by-line before knocking it back to King whose low cross to the near post was flicked in by Josh Stanford from 3 yards.
Hastings were devastated by this but it took until the 39th minute for their first half chance when Billy Medlock received the ball ran forward & tried his luck from 20 yards but it went wide.
In the very next minute it nearly became three when Robertson’s free kick from 45 yards out was wind assisted & just went over the bar with Joe Taylor stranded, another chance came in the 44th minute when Captain Ryan Cooper got to the by-line & his low cross saw Grant sliding in missing it by inches.
Half time arrived & it seemed like game over unless Hastings came out as a different team.
The second half was only a minute old when George Monger saw his free kick 35 yards out on the right wing swing in assisted by the wind forcing Taylor to push over the bar.
A minute later & it was definitely over as King running forward from halfway went past one defender & from 20 yards his shot was deflected past Taylor for Grant on the far post to smash home from 3 yards.
Faversham continued to dominate the game & use the conditions in their favour & in the 77th minute it nearly became four as King passed to Kieron Campbell & his shot from 20 yards forced Taylor to push it around the post for a corner.
As the game went into the last minute off added on time Will Godmon had to keep the clean sheet that the Faversham management would have craved for when he pushed Sam Cole’s effort around the post.
This result pushed them closer to the Play offs & dented Hastings.
FAVERSHAM TOWN:
- GODMON 2. R.COOPER 3. J.MAXTED (72) 4. D.CARRINGTON 5. J.SCARBOROUGH 6. M.BOURNE 7. C.ROBERTSON 8. G.MONGER 9. L.HARVEY (11) 10. D.GRANT (67) 11. J.STANFORD
SUBS USED: 16. L.KING (11) 17. K.CAMPBELL (67) 12. A.BROWN (72)
SUBS NOT USED: 14. R.TENYUE 15. B.DAWODU
BOOKINGS: 10. D.GRANT (45+2) 8. G.MONGERR (73)
HASTINGS UNITED:
- TAYLOR 2. R.DAVIES 3. S.COLES 4. S.JOHNSON 5. J.WALDER 6. O.ROWE 7. B.MEDLOCK (57) 8. S.CRUITWELL 9. T.RICHARDSON-BROWN 10. C.CUMMIG-BART (36) 11. J.McLEAN (36)
SUBS USED: 12. S.RAY (36) 14. K.SERBONY (36) 15. B.TEMBA (57)
SUBS NOT USED: 16. L.WILSON 17. J.SMITH
BOOKINGS: 2. R.DAVIES (30)
REFEREE: Mr D.BANDARA
ASSISTANTS: Mr A.SMITH & Mr S.FARRER
ATTENDANCE: 337