Two second half goals gave Margate victory over Chatham Town on a gusty and chilly night at Hartsdown Park. 

With the wind whistling across Hartsdown straight from the North Sea, both sides struggled to come to terms with the biting conditions, and it was always going to be a question of whichever side “mastered” the conditions would go onto to claim the points. 

And courtesy of two contrasting second half strikes, it was the home side who claimed the points following audacious efforts from Ben Greenhalgh and Steve Cawley which gave the Gate the win in their first home League game since early September. 

Chatham could have closed to within three points of leaders Hornchurch whilst Margate recorded their first League clean sheet of the season on a night where the three central defenders employed by the Gate – Tyrone Sterling, Harry Hudson and Lewis Knight – gave everything to keep the visitors out and whilst boss Reece Prestedge will admit that his side possibly rode their luck at times, at the end of the day, the visitors would have left Thanet feeling slight aggrieved that they were going home empty handed. 

The home side could and probably should have led early on when only Cawley will know he “only” hit the post from a couple of yards after Harrison Hatfull’s super low ball took out the Chats defence with keeper Ben Bridle-Card helpless. 

The keeper then did well to hold onto Archie Johnson’s looping shot before the visitors has their first real chance as Jamie Yila headed Jack Evans’ corner over the bar.

As the half wore on, it was the visitors who got more on top of the game and the conditions and Kristian Campbell’s brilliant ball into the Margate box needed a touch from anyone to open the scoring. 

Yila then did really well to cut off Hudson’s poor back pass, but home keeper Harry Seaden was alive to the danger and was able to force the Chatham man wide enough where he ran out of pitch before being able to turn the ball goalwards. 

Seaden denied Yila brilliantly at the start of the second half with a good block at his near post after Yila cut in from the wing and from the next ball played in, the Gate stopper kept out Tommie Fagg’s effort. 

In the first half, Margate had tried a couple of wind assisted efforts that failed to test the keeper but when Ben Allen took aim just before the hour, Seaden did well to keep out the swirling dipping ball and managed to get both hands onto the shot and push it onto the top of the bar. 

Shortly afterwards, Greenhalgh himself decided to have a go from fully forty yards out and his shot swerved viciously in the wind and caught Bridle-Card out as the keeper could only push the ball onto the underside of the bar and as the keeper ended up in the back of the net, referee Dempster adjudged that the ball had followed Bridle-Card over the line sparking great scenes of celebrations in the home ranks. 

The Chats responded and quite how their next corner was not forced over the line, no-one can answer as bodies were put on the line as the ball ended up going behind for a goal-kick. 

If the first goal had been fortunate, then the second was magnificent as Cawley did well to get in behind the defender as a cross field ball fell to him and his first time half volley flew and dipped over a motionless keeper and into the top corner – a goal worthy of securing any three points and they certainly did on this night! 

MARGATE – Seaden, Hatfull, Johnson, Poku, Sterling, Hudson, Blackman, Cawley (Box), Greenhalgh, Gordon, Knight 

Subs – Vasiliou, Rutherford, Duncanson, Sutcliffe 

CHATHAM TOWN – Bridle-Card, Hobden, Campbell, Robins (Krabbendam), Beckwith, Evans, Fagg, Allen, Yila, Allsopp 

Subs – Cooper, Brefo, Sanogo, Ikebuasi 

REFEREE – Mr Dempster