Report

Margate 1 v Hythe 0 EKYFL Div 1 u 16

Margate signed off the season with a hard fought victory over a strong Hythe side that look like finishing top of the promoted teams from last year and well deserved.

Gate changed formation following an illness to Callum Davies and went with a back three of Loft Dunford and Lawrence with five in the middle and two up front. Despite having had no preparation for the formation the lads looked comfortable and despite pressure Hythe looked unlikely to be able to catch Gate out. Lawrence was immense in the centre of the three and supported well by Dunford and Loft who have had great first seasons with the team.Matt Wronowski started wide left midfield and created several opportunities for the front pair of Yiannis Papa Adams and Jack Chambers .Both narrowly missed chances from Wronowski crosses, Chambers failing to connect with a glancing header which would have left the keeper no chance and Papa Adams shot fizzing the cross bar. Aaron Rosser was having an unusually quiet game in centre of midfield but Matt Frewin more than made up for it with a classy game controlling play .Jack Reilly supported well and broke up any Hythe possession well. Tom Bowmont wide right created plenty of space but most of the play was directed on the left flank however Margate played some creative football in the first half playing the ball out from the back and maintaining possession but unable to supply the finishing touch. Jack Reilly had a snap header which narrowly missed while great work from Reilly and Frewin put Jack Chambers in and he looked likely to score but a fantastic last ditch tackle just blocked his shot. Chambers also had a penalty shout but the ref judged it to be just outside of the area.Matt Frewin narrowly missing from the resultant free kick.

A change of personnel second half saw Luke Wiltshire and Abdoulie Corr replace Chambers and Papa Adams and their energy changed the emphasis of the game and really pressured Hythe’s back four. Wiltshire chased and harried every ball and his runs down the right wing created some great chances. One run saw him beat two defenders before he picked out Tom Bowmont who coolly slotted home to give Gate a deserved lead.

With the pressure on Hythe gave away several dead ball situations which Lawrence Reilly Frewin and Rosser all went close from. Reilly had one free kick which was gaol bound before a deflection took it away. Toby Loft and Taylor Lawrence both had runs from the back which opened up Hythe. Despite the pressure from Gate Hythe still had periods of good possession and came close on a couple of occasions but Lawrence was always available to break up the attack.

Hythe came on strong with a couple of minutes left and some good defence kept the score at 1-0 but a mistake in midfield allowed Hythe’s forward in one on one with Charlie Houseman but there was no way he was going to let a clean sheet go and he dived at the feet of the advancing attacker and stole the ball.

That just about killed the game off and Gate emerged victorious .Everyone in the squad made a telling contribution today but Taylor Lawrence stood out with an expert defensive display for the Man of the Match award.

With the season over reflecting on the campaign showed some great positives for the squad, having been unbeaten until Christmas was superb but a lack of depth was evident just when it counted. Despite that this was a rebuilt team from last year and with half the squad new there was a fantastic bond between the players and a willingness to support each other.

Well done lads take this season forward into the u18’s      

Squad

Houseman , Corr ,Dunford,  Loft ,Lawrence, Reilly , Rosser , Frewin , Wronowski , Bowmont , Wiltshire , Papa - Adams , Chambers ,Wood