Sittingbourne boss Nick Davis was left scratching his header after his side shared an epic six goal thriller with relegation threatened Guernsey in constant rain at Woodstock on Tuesday night.
Ahead three times courtesy of goals from Joe Loft and two from exciting striker Jake Embery, the Brickies were pegged back each time by the Channel Islanders with the goal that in the end sealed them a point from Jake Andrews being worthy of winning any match, let along earning your side a precise point in your relegation fight on a sodden Kent Tuesday evening. With the home side leading 3-2 with just five minutes left, Andrews, who already had drawn his side level at 2-2 from the penalty spot, received the ball at his feet twenty-five yards out, and with hardly any backlift, the midfielder arrowed a thunder-bolt beyond Simon Overland and into the top left hand corner of Sittingbourne’s net.
A bewildered – and very wet – Davis spoke to us after the game. “Wow – what a game!” he said. “We’re scoring goals for fun at the moment (that’s seven I think in the last three games), but it’s a bit of a worry at the back if I’m honest! That said we should have been out of sight in this game by half time as their keepers made four or five great saves in the first half.”
The Sittingbourne boss then admitted his surprise at the performance of his side’s opposition and the way they earned their point – all that after travelling delays meant they actually arrive at Woodstock Park until 7:40pm “They were alright weren’t they – I know that they were missing a few players but they were strong and comfortable on the ball. That wasn’t a side for me that was near the bottom – they should be a comfortable mid-table side. They had a good result Saturday winning at Chipstead and to be fair Chipstead battered us here not long ago. It just shows that every side in this League has had a hiding this season – look at Guernsey when they lost 1-8 at Hythe – it’s almost like the old Newcastle side under Kevin Keegan when it was a case of scoring more than you concede. The days of conceding under twenty goals to in a League are a thing of the past, those days seem to have gone. But getting back to tonight I thought the boy Andrews was a handful throughout the whole game – the lad from Bristol City – but a point is a point. I think that we deserved the three today but if we keep shipping three goals we don’t deserve to win football matches!”
After an opening quarter when Connor Wilkins saw a drilled free-kick beaten out by Guernsey keeper Josh Addison and Tom Brunt did have the ball in the net only to be denied by an assistant’s flag, the home side eventually took the lead on 23 minutes when Loft netted from a yard out after a header from Jono Richardson had been parried high in the air by Addison. The lead though didn’t last as Dominic Heaume was on hand to benefit as a ball from the right wasn’t dealt with by the home defence much to the annoyance of the boss. Davis’ team talk at the break as however eased as Embery latched onto a loose ball and drove a low shot into the Guernsey net. However, despite all that the home side were relieved to go in ahead as Andrews thundered a free kick against their left post and then after skipper Richardson had made a brilliant tackle to deny the hard working Robbie Legg when the Guernsey number ten looked set to score. Indeed from the resulting corner Paris Pereira’s braveness saw the home defence scramble the ball off the line.
The Brickies luck sadly though didn’t last as just before the hour, Andrews was able to beat keeper Simon Overland – albeit from the spot after Heaume had been fouled.
Davis was happy with the way his young side rallied and took the lead for the third time as Embery beat the offside flag to race clear before coolly slotting the ball past the advancing Addison. Just as it appeared that the home side were going to hang on, up stepped Andrews to fire an unstoppable drive into the top corner of Overland’s net with a finish that wouldn’t have looked out of place in the SKYBet Championship at Ashton Gate – the on loan midfielders home ground!
All in all in ever difficult conditions, the hardy sole’s that braved the inclement Swale weather witnessed a hugely enjoyable contest – one that was a real credit to Ryman South.
SITTINGBOURNE – Simon Overland, Sam Welch, Tom Carlse, Danny Rumbol, Jono Richardson, Joe Loft, Tom Brunt, Stefan Wright, Jake Embery, Connor Wilkins, Hassan Jalloh
Subs – Steven Ita, Bradley Schafer, Dan Tanner, Raphe Brown, Nick Davis
GUERNSEY – Josh Addison, Simon Geall, Cameron Pring, Kenau Marsh, Jacob Fallaize, Thomas Dodds, Jake Andrews, Angus MacKay, Dominic Heaume, Robbie Legg, Paris Pereira
Subs – Charlton Guavain, Jordan Kelly, Smeed Sebastian