Sittingbourne maintained their 100 percent home League start making it three wins in a row with a tight triumph over Phoenix Sports.

The Brickies dominated the initial stages but going towards half time were fortunate still to be on level terms given that the visitors hit the frame of Joe Docherty’s goal through Jeff Duah-Kessie – a thumping header from a corner and a mis-hit cross that thudded against the post. But on the stroke of the interval, the goal that Sittingbourne deserved arrived as Phoenix keeper Steve Phillips spilled Taylor Fisher’s cross and Ahmed Abdulla drove home his fifth goal of the season.

The lead was doubled just after half time when skipper Kane Rowland netted – for the second game in succession – and as the visitors couldn’t clear a Toby Ajala free kick, Rowland reacted quickest and forced the ball past Phillips.

Phoenix though got their lifeline after seventy minutes when Duah-Kessie’s fine run was brilliantly denied by Docherty, but the Brickies stopper could only look on as Byron Walker converted the rebound. The visitors nearly nicked a point late on, but Docherty excelled again with a fabulous fingertip save to deny Lekan Osideko as the home side held on.

Darren Blackburn surprised a few when he named Neville Rivelino-Nza as a winger but early on, the rampaging Nza showed his former winger skills and from his run down the right, Abdulla had the best early chance for the home side as his pull back went beyond Phillips but was cleared. Indeed, the only thing that the Brickies boss wouldn’t have been happy with the opening half hour was the fact that the score-line was still blank.

And that was only because Duah-Kessie’s thumping header – from Phoenix’s first corner – came back off Docherty’s left post.

The visitors then went even closer shortly after as Duah-Kessie was again denied by the frame of the goal – this time the strikers cross from wide on the right came back off Docherty’s right post.

The home side finally found a way through on the stroke of half time even if in the final analysis the Brickies were a touch fortunate that keeper Phillips spilled Taylor Fisher’s cross straight to Abdulla, who held off the defenders and drove the ball into the net.

After the break, it only took just five minutes for the home side to double their lead. A spell of head tennis on the edge of the Phoenix box eventually fell to Rowland and he did well to force the ball over the line as the defenders desperately tried to clear.

With twenty minutes left, the visitors pulled one back thanks to the charging run of the rampaging Duah-Kessie who’s brilliant run was only halted by a brilliant block from Docherty and the keeper was left helpless as Byron Walker followed up to half the deficit.

With the game certainly now in the balance, it took a sinister twist with a crunching clash between Alex Breffo and Sam Okoye-Ahaneku that echoed around Woodstock Park and left the Sittingbourne man flat on the floor requiring attention – Breffo extremely fortunate only to see referee Woodman showing a yellow card when many expected to see a red one.

Both sides had chances in the time remaining – Ajala was inches away from sealing the win with a drive that flew past the motionless Phillips but beat the left post as well whilst at the other end, the finger tips of Docherty denied Phoenix sub Osideko late on as the home side held onto the points and maintained their 100pct home League record with three wins out of three for the first time in quite a while…

SITTINGBOURNE – Docherty, Okoye-Ahaneku (Flisher), Fisher, Taylor, Pont, Crimmen, Rivelino-Nza (Aziamale), Ajala, Rowland, Abdulla (Caney-Bryan), Akin

Subs – Rogers, Treadwell

PHOENIX SPORTS – Phillips, Frazer Walker, Whitelock, Breffo, Fitchett, Bird, Andrews (Krasniqi), Evans, Duah-Kessie, Dyer, Byron Walker (Osideko)

Subs – Douglas, Clark, Ebdon

REFEREE – Mr Woodman

Images courtesy of Ken Medwyn