Brickies winning run ends- as the Rams close in

We had five matches postponed, but only Burgess Hill Town from the top eight found themselves without a match.

Leaders Sittingbourne, with a fourteen match winning run under their belts, travelled to Ashford United, the Nuts and Bolts having won four of their previous five and looking confident. The travelling Brickies were celebrating on twenty four minutes, Henry Sinai putting them ahead, and it looked as if that goal had done the job, but three minutes into added time at the end of the match Louis Collins earned the hosts a point. The Brickies stay top- but their lead is cut to one point. 

Second place Ramsgate were hoping that Sittingbourne would slip up, but they had a job of their own to do against a visiting Deal Town side who were five unbeaten. The Rams made the breakthrough on eighteen minutes, Benny Bioletti with the goal, and Bioletti added a second on the hour. Only three minutes later Joe Taylor made things secure with a third goal, his thirty fourth of the season- and that was that, the Rams a point behind the leaders with a game in hand. 

Margate, in third, took a thirteen match unbeaten run to Herne Bay, and player boss Ben Greenhalgh took the match by the scruff of the neck, his twelfth goal of the season giving his side the lead on twenty six minutes. Gate made it two-nil with twenty one minutes to go, Kai Garande with that one, but Bay set up a frantic finish when Kane Haysman left them with only one goal to retrieve and seventeen minutes to do it. Margate held on, stay third, and are eight points away from top spot but also eight points away from fourth place Beckenham Town, whose match against Croydon Athletic was abandoned. 

Neither Sheppey United nor Hythe Town had been in good form, both sides losing four games in a row prior to their meeting at Holm Park. The Ites went ahead on twenty two minutes, Dan Bradshaw’s eighth of the season- and within twelve minutes he had a ninth, too, making it two-nil. Ten minutes from time the Cannons halved the deficit, Vance Bola scoring from the spot, but five minutes into added time the Ites secured the win, and Bradshaw secured the match ball, three-one the final score. Sheppey are sixth, Hythe are four points from safety. 

Lancing’s matches against Littlehampton Town always have something of an edge about them, and with the two sides fighting for survival this one perhaps had even more of an edge than usual. The Lancers took control on twenty eight minutes, Harry Heath scoring from the spot- his ninth goal in eight matches- and the home faithful were even more delighted six minutes later when Joe Hasler made it two. Hasler found the net again on the hour, making it three-nil, and he had his hat trick seventeen minutes from time, before Evan Hoarty pulled it back to four-one. In added time Matthew Storm got another for the visitors, but the points were staying at Culver Road- and the Lancers climb out of the bottom four at their visitors expense.