Bishop’s Stortford 3-0 Herne Bay Match Report

Bishop’s Stortford 3-0 Herne Bay Match Report 28/2/23

Hamish Arnold

Bishop’s Stortford increased the cushion at the top of the league to three points with a 3-0 win at home to Herne Bay on Tuesday in the Pitching In Isthmian League Premier Division. Nearest challengers Aveley and Hornchurch weren’t in league action, allowing the Blues to apply pressure to the chasing pack with victory, thanks to goals from Sam Deering, Ben Marlow and Jonny Giles.

It was the perfect start for the Blues, with Deering scoring his first goal for the club withgmailin 56 seconds, Jack Giddens’ long kick was flicked on by Chris Harris to the midfielder, who spotted goalkeeper Jordan Perrin off his line and volleyed home from 30 yards. Deering struck a similar volley attempt just minutes later, but he couldn’t hit the target while shooting on the turn on the edge of the box. Daniel Ogunleye’s low shot was saved by Giddens, but needed Matt Johnson to clear off the goal line, Darren Foxley’s curling effort was saved by Perrin. A speculative effort on the volley by Ollie Peters was high and wide of the goal, before Harris glanced a header wide from Marlow’s cross from the right. Another long range strike from Deering missed the target, before Connor Dymond picked out Mason Saunders-Henry with a long switch out to the left wing, he cut in and fired low with the shot only narrowly going wide of the right post. Foxley’s attempted backheel from Tosin Olufemi’s cross from the left was off target, the winger failed to make a clean contact on the ball. Johnson’s foul on the edge of the box gave Bay captain Marcel Barrington a chance to strike a free kick from the edge of the D in a central position, the shot went over the ball but didn’t dip in time and ricocheted off the top of the bar. Giles’ shot towards the left side of the goal on the turn was pushed wide for a corner, which the visitors couldn’t clear, and the follow-up cross was fired home on the half-volley by Marlow into the bottom left corner through a crowd of defenders, with Foxley claiming the final touch.

HT 2-0

Deering’s superb control and turn to bring the ball out of the air from a corner deserved a goal, but he shot wide with a curling strike on his left foot. Hamilton Antonio’s powerful strike lacked direction and went high and wide of the goal, before a smart free kick routine all but sealed the win for Stortford. Giles ran over the ball near the right corner flag, continued his run into the box and received the ball from Deering along the turf, and fired into the left side netting. Giles – full of confidence after his goal – tried his luck from further out but the shot was always rising over the bar. Harris glanced a header from a floated free kick by Deering, but he couldn’t get enough contact to put it on target, and Perrin turned a low shot by Giles away for a corner after dribbling past three defenders. Saunders-Henry took the ball on his chest from a cross-field pass, dribbled into the box and saw his shot deflected behind for a corner by Johnson. Barrington’s low shot was saved by Giddens for a corner, and Ogunleye tried to chip Giddens as he rushed out to the ball when Lordon Akolbire failed to clear. Ryan Charles came off the bench and looked lively, seeing two shots in quick succession shoot low but wide of the goal. Johnson saw his goalbound header blocked on the line by a defender from Giles’ inviting corner in second half injury time.

FT 3-0

TEAMS

Bishop’s Stortford XI

1 Jack Giddens

3 Sam Deering (Goal 1’) (Merrifield 77’)

7 Jonny Giles (Goal 59’)

8 Matt Johnson (Yellow card 43’)

11 Tosin Olufemi

12 Lordon Akolbire

14 Darren Foxley (Charles 66’)

16 Ben Marlow (Goal 45’) (Yellow card 57’) (Thomas 70’)

17 Mark Haines (c) (Yellow card 42’)

18 Ollie Peters

20 Chris Harris

Subs

2 Jay Porter

4 Anthony Church

9 Donell Thomas

10 Frankie Merrifield

15 Ryan Charles

Herne Bay XI

1 Jordan Perrin

4 Hamilton Antonio (Yellow card 70’) (Anderson 74’)

5 Dan Johnson

6 Finn O’Mara

7 Connor Dymond (Yellow card 58’)

8 David Ozobia

9 Marcel Barrington (c)

10 Daniel Ogunleye

14 Jack Sammoutis

17 Jude Russell

20 Mason Saunders-Henry

Subs

2 Troy Williams

3 Michael West

11 Monty Saunders

19 Donnell Anderson

Attendance 358