Canvey Island (A) - 23rd September 2023

By Josh Cole

We are back on the road again on Saturday, but this time we travel out of Kent and into Essex where we will go head-to-head with Canvey Island at the Moviestarr Stadium in the Isthmian Premier Division.

A short rest for both teams after Tuesday where the ‘Gate and the ‘Gulls were both competing in the Second Qualifying Round replay’s, with Canvey travelling to Braintree and we travelled to Folkestone. Whilst the Blues progressed to the third qualifying round with a 3-1 win, Canvey were beaten 3-1 away at Braintree Town.

You can read the full match report from that memorable win by clicking here.

Manager Reece Prestedge said the whole team were “excellent” for the entire 90 minutes. You can watch the full interview over on GATEtv by clicking here.

SEASON’S SO FAR:

Canvey Island currently sit in 16th place with two wins and four losses. They have scored ten goals but conceded 14 giving them a -4-goal difference. Comparing this to the ‘Gate’s start, we have had a slightly better start as we sit on nine points with three wins and three losses, scoring eight goals and conceding 11 giving us a -3-goal difference.

LAST FIVE: Canvey Island

28th August = Win vs Concord Rangers, away (1-3) League

2nd September = Win vs Lowestoft Town, home (5-1) FA Cup First Qualifying Round

9th September = Loss vs Whitehawk, home (1-2) League

16th September = Draw vs Braintree, home (1-1) FA Cup Second Qualifying Round

19th September = Loss vs Braintree, away (3-1) FA Cup Second Qualifying Round Replay

LAST FIVE: Margate

28th August = Loss vs Folkestone Invicta, away (2-0) League

2nd September = Win vs Hendon, away (2-3) FA Cup First Qualifying Round

9th September = Win vs Potters Bar, home (2-1) League

16th September = Draw vs Folkestone Invicta, home (2-2) FA Cup Second Qualifying Round

19th September = Win vs Folkestone Invicta, away (1-3) FA Cup Second Qualifying Round Replay

Match officials

The referee for this league contest is Gerry Heron, and he will be assisted by Benjamin Horne and Dwayne Uylett.

Margate will be sporting the new black and white away strip for this game with Canvey in their yellow and blue home strip.

Head-To-Head:

We have met eight time since Oct 2012 with the ‘Gulls winning three, Margate winning two and three ending level. The last time we faced Canvey Island at the Moviestarr Stadium it was a tough afternoon as we fell to a 5-2 defeat with goals from Ben Greenhalgh and Freddy Barton.

Can’t make it to Canvey Island? Give our official X account @margate_fc a follow and keep an eye on the live match updates from 2:15pm!

STADIUM ADDRESS

 THE MOVIESTARR STADIUM

PARK LANE

CANVEY ISLAND

SS8 7PX

Blues Slump To Canvey Defeat

By Dylan Smith

Margate travelled to Canvey Island hoping to extend their unbeaten run to five. Unfortunately, an unchanged side from Tuesday night were unable to produce the same performance. Canvey swept the ‘Gate to the side with a dominant 4-1 win.

The Blues started well within the first 10 minutes, as they looked to continue their recent form. The ball was mainly kept in the Islanders’ final third, but a major chance wouldn’t come into fruition.

The home side found their feet after a quarter of an hour gone. Margate’s possession in their half became very limited. This led to Harry Seaden pulling out an excellent stop to deny the hosts from breaking the deadlock.

Sadly, it would be Canvey who took the lead in the game. A corner was whipped in from the left-hand side, seemingly too high and heading for the sideline, but it would be Rob Girldestone who leapt in the air to head goalwards and despite the defence’s best efforts to clear it, the ball hit the back of the net.

The Blues had it all to do as they emerged from the dressing rooms for the second half. Despite this, Canvey would halt any potential comeback as they would double their lead through a Bradley Sachs goal. Kouassi threaded a lovely ball through the ‘Gate defence, finding the striker who tucked it away comfortably.

The game went from bad to worse as the Islanders would quickly find a third. A free kick was placed at the back post, where Sam Mvemba would tap into the far corner, bringing the ‘Gate back to reality after recent jubilation.

After an hour of pain for the Blues, Fyn Rutherford gave Margate some hope. A ball was lumped long to Steve Cawley who would knock it down to the winger. He took a swing with his left boot, and it arrowed into the bottom corner, giving the ‘Gate a minimal glimmer of a draw.

Canvey killed the game off in the 87th minute with a fourth and final goal. Elliot Ronto was given a ball down the right wing, where he would elegantly place the ball in the bottom left corner past Seaden, to seal a miserable day on the road for Margate.

 We now travel to Hythe on Tuesday as we begin our defence the Kent Senior Cup.

Line-up

Seaden, Hatfull, Johnson, Sterling, Hudson, Vasiliou, Blackman, Cawley, Greenhalgh, Rutherford, Duncanson (Poku 64’)

Unused Subs

Cham, Sutcliffe, Mazzone, Salmon

Goalscorer

Rutherford 64’

Attendance

475