It wasn’t just the rain which dampened the day for Hollands & Blair as Canterbury took all 3 points after an emphatic win at Star Meadow. 

A Liam King penalty and a spectacular brace from Charlie Dickens was enough to see off a lack luster Blair who created plenty of chances but just couldn’t find the finishing touch. 

Blair got us underway and had plenty of chances in the first five minutes after they applied constant pressure on Canterbury. A great chance created by Cameron Heffernan almost found Ricky Freeman but the ball just skimmed over his head on the 6^th minute.  

Canterbury then took the ball up the other end and almost found the back of the net after a Blair mistake on the 9^th minute. A miss kick by the defender allowed the ball to fall to Liam King who took the shot on, but it just squeezed past the post. Canterbury then found their feet as they continued to press on. They would’ve had a great chance on the 12^th minute but a well-timed tackle intercepted the chance.  

However, Blair couldn’t stop all the chances and finally cracked after a great corner on the 14^th minute. The ball floated into the box and missed everyone apart from Dave Cook who jumped up and got his head to it to poke the ball past Adam Highsted in goal. 

Just two minutes later, Charlie Dickens was also involved in the goalsciring antics and it came from another corner. The ball flew into the box from the right-hand side and Dickens went for the spectacular by performing a sensational bicycle kick which found the back of the net on the 16^th minute.

Blair had to respond and almost got the best response they could on the 22^nd minute. The ball came in from the left and fell to Freeman who headed the ball towards goal, but the ball hit the bar! Blair continued to apply pressure and almost cracked the Canterbury defense on the 25^th minute. A beautiful ball sent down the wing almost created chaos as Canterbury were too slow in closing down the winger but the cross in was awful as the ball rolled across the floor and fell straight to a defender.  

Canterbury then sought to make it three after Blair’s pressure, realising they weren’t down and out yet. Dean Grant almost did make it three after he beat Lewis Taylor with a lovely bit of skill and pushed his way into the box. However, his finesse shot effort was saved by Highsted and put out for a corner on the 33^rd minute.  

Blair then got the ball up the field and almost created the perfect chance on the 35^th minute. A lovely ball in towards the back post, where no one was marking, almost created a bit of trouble for Canterbury but no Blair players could bring the ball down!  

Referee Dan Friar then blew his whistle bringing the half to an end.  

Just like the first half, Blair come out with an attacking mindset. Within the first minute of the second half, the hosts almost got one back after a shot from Liam Stone. However, Stone’s shot flew past the bar.  

Canterbury didn’t just sit back and defend as they continued to create chances, looking to finish off Blair. A great run from Matt Day could’ve finished off Blair but a show of great goalkeeping ability by Highsted cut the chance out after he beat Day to the ball after a heavy touch on the 56^th minute.  

Grant then tried to put the ball in the back of the net for Canterbury as his shot from a tight angle almost paid off on the 63^rd minute. Canterbury started to punish Blair with constant attacks as it was just chance after chance. A great chance for Jordan Wright fell to him when he brought the ball down perfectly in the box. Wright then turned and took the shot on but sublime quick reactions by Highsted kept the game at 2-0 on the 68^th minute. 

However, Blair were bound to make a mistake at the box and they finally did on the 70^th minute when they gave away a penalty. Liam King stepped up to take it and as cool as you like, slotted it into the bottom left making it 3-0.  

This penalty then seemed to have killed all the spirit in Blair as they just couldn’t come up with anything for the remainder of the game with every shot, they took flying way over the bar. To make matters even worse, Blair’s Cameron Heffernan picked up a red card in injury time after picking up two yellow cards!  

Dan Friar brought the game to an end after this red card, bringing an end to an awful game for Blair. Canterbury will be extremely happy with the result but after all the chances Blair were creating in the first half, they’ll be disappointed by the fact they didn’t get at least one goal. 

Hollands & Blair FC: Adam Highsted, Justin Ascheri (Daniel Arthur Aidoo), Lewis Taylor, Connor Heffernan (Harley Gorse), Cameron Heffernan, Callum McGeehan (Captain), Jack Simon, Louis Valencia, Ricky Freeman and Harry Dawes (Caleb Bearman-Dyce).  

Subs not used: Ethan Stewart and Joel Green.  

Yellow Cards: Jack Simon (75^th Minute) and Cameron Heffernan (75^th and 91^st Minute)  

Red Cards: Cameron Heffernan (91^st Minute) 

Goal Scorers: N/A 

Canterbury City FC: Henry Newcombe, Giorgio Russo, Jordan Wright, David Cook (Captain), Joe Denny, Will Thomas, James Moorish, Charlie Dickens (Robbie Dolan), Dean Grant, Matt Day (Luwayne Greenwood) and Liam King (Callum Emptage). 

Subs not used: Clark Woodcock and Omotunmise Akanni.  

Yellow Cards: James Moorish (54^th Minute)  

Red Cards: N/A 

Goal Scorers: Dave Cook (14th minute Charlie Dickens (16th minute) and Liam King (70th minute) 

Referee: Mr D Friar 

Assistants: Mr M Skerratt and Mr T Kanderakis 

Attendance: 142