Sittingbourne eased to three more Isthmian League South East points with a comfortable midweek road win at Phoenix Sports.
On the day that boss Ryan Maxwell was named manager of the month for a run in October that saw the Brickies win eight of their ten games and dump Premier Division leaders Dover Athletic out of the Isuzu FA Trophy, the manager looked on as his side dominated the opening half and led through Mitch May’s nineteenth goal of the season and Donvieve Jones’ second in two games.
The home side rallied after the break but didn’t really threaten and Henry Sinai’s late strike from wide on the right sealed the visitors’ second successive 3-0 win following the weekend triumph over Three Bridges.
Phoenix went into the game buoyed by their first win of the season at the weekend over Steyning and were a different side to the one that the Brickies crushed in the September rain.
Sittingbourne started well and from a Troy Howard cross, May looped a header over the keeper was too high. In a frantic start, Phoenix went close as Richard Pingling had a low drive which keeper Harley Earle couldn’t hold and following up Isaac Thompson bobbled the rebound wide.
It was to prove costly for the home side as moments later, the Brickies were ahead with a super goal. Ayman El-Mogharbel threaded a ball through for Howard. His deep ball found Jay Beckford on the other flank and his pinpoint ball back into the box was converted by May at the back post.
Thompson fired in a low drive that Earle just about held onto but the Brickies were ruthless in their next attack – again Beckford was the provider with a great ball into the box as a corner was only half cleared and Jones arrived late to double the lead.
The visitors were so on top that a third would surely follow – May was well denied by young Gillingham loanee keeper Taite Holtham after robbing a defender; May then did have the ball in the net following Liam Smith’s knock down from Richie Hamill’s corner, but the big striker was marginally deemed offside, and the on the stroke of half time, a horrendous ball out by Holtham was hammered back by Howard, only for the young keeper to redeem himself with a terrific finger-tip save and then recovery block to deny May.
The home side seemed more organised after the break but still lacked the cutting edge as the visitors remained in the ascendency. Howard bobbled an effort just wide before being well denied by Holtham when through – Ryan Kingsford’s ball back in “appeared” to hit a Phoenix hand though referee Briars wasn’t interested.
As the half wore on, the home side enjoyed their best period of the game – Pingling’s low drive was collected at the foot of his right post by Earle before sub-Ernie Cheeseman will have been disappointed not to make the keeper work with a free header from eight yards.
Three minutes from time, any hope the home side had was finally extinguished as Sinai’s driven ball in from the right flew over a stranded Holtham and into the net to seal the three-goal win and three more points for Sittingbourne.
PHOENIX SPORTS – Holtham, Jones (Browne), Kissi, Clarke, Turner, Uyi (Cheeseman), Pingling (Elliott), Thompson (Duah-Kessie), Martin, Dalling (Efambe), Pritchard.
SITTINGBOURNE – Earle, Jones (Steventon), Lukombo, El-Mogharbel, Smith, Arthur, Howard (Boachie), Hamill, May (Martin), Kingsford (Cosgrave), Beckford (Sinai).
REFEREE – Mr. Briars