Sittingbourne made it nine League games unbeaten with a crushing 4-1 win over previous leaders Three Bridges.
The Sussex side arrived at Woodstock after slipping off the top of the table in midweek following Ramsgate’s win at Sheppey and having conceded seven in their previous two League games.
A great advert for the Isthmian League was decided by two goals from Jean Baptiste Fischer and a forty-five yarder from sub-Chris Harris sealed the Brickies win after Joe Tyrie’s opening goal had been equalised against the run of play by Alahady Jalloh just before the break.
The home side bossed the opening half hour, and it was a surprise to almost everyone in the ground that Ayman El-Mogharbel’s back-heel from Baptiste’s pull back was ruled out for offside!
The opening goal duly arrived and came straight from the training ground as after winning a free kick 25 yards out, Fischer and Donvieve Jones combined brilliantly with the full backs driven centre being brilliantly beaten out by keeper Jordan Shiek. The ball rebounded back to Jones and the second cross was drilled home by Tyrie despite the keeper’s best efforts.
The visitors had barely threatened until Jalloh rode his luck twice with two extremely fortunate ricochets before drilling home the equaliser into the roof of Bobby Mason’s net and in the seven minutes that followed to half time enjoyed their best spell of the game. Billy Irving will have been disappointed not to have hit the target with a free header from a corner, Jalloh forced Mason into a fine low save and Camron Lawson fired over when well placed.
The introduction of Harris on the hour proved the boost Sittingbourne needed as within fifteen minutes, the home side were three-one up and Harris had been involved in both of Fischer’s strikes.
The Brickies retook the lead when Ayman and Harris both had efforts cleared off the line and blocked by the keeper before Fischer crashed the Brickies back in front. The midfielders second and home sides third came after Harris’ diving header smacked the bar – the keeper getting the slightest of touches to the subs thumping effort – and Fischer spectacularly netted the rebound courtesy of a bicycle kick,
Harris deservedly got his goal – lobbing home from forty-five yards after the keeper had left his area to clear from Ayman – to cap a wonderful afternoon in the gathering Woodstock gloom for the Brickies.
With two tough trips to Sussex coming up in the next week – to Chichester (at Bognor) and Lancing respectively – it is a great start to a potentially telling week for Ryan Maxwell and his players
SITTINGBOURNE – Mason, Jones, Graham, Woodward, Tyrie, Fischer (Piorkowski), Theobalds, May (Harris), Hope, Ayman (Adeyinka) Arthur
Subs – Bentley, Splatt
THREE BRIDGES – Sheik, Woollard, Jalloh, O’Neill, Leighton, Lawson (Villacencio), Riveria, Donaghey (Ashley), Elda (Ainime), Irving, Difika
Subs – Ferreira, Williams
REFEREE – Mr Spain
Images courtesy of Paul Golding