Hornchurch (A) - 25th March 2023

By Josh Cole 

Margate are back on the road for another away day as we travel to Upminster, Essex to face the league leaders, Hornchurch, at The Bridge on Saturday afternoon.

The Blues suffered a third straight league defeat in a row after losing 1-0 last Saturday at Hartsdown Park against Aveley after a 41st minute goal from Harry Gibbs settled the score. Margate remain in 16th place but with a win from teams below us, the relegation places are only nine points behind.

Hornchurch are sat at the top of the tree, three points clear of both Bishop’s Stortford and Aveley but have a game in hand over their two closest competitors, however dropped two points last weekend as they were held to a 1-1 draw away at Haringey Borough.

Margate will be able to welcome back Sam Blackman to midfield, whilst Phil Roberts looks to have won his fitness battle to return to the squad. Taylor Fisher is likely to miss the visit to Hornchurch, whilst Harry Hudson will definitely be missing after his ankle injury away at Bognor Regis. Harrison Hatfull will also be missing after cracking a rib in last weekend’s defeat at home to Aveley.

The ‘Gate and the Urchins have faced twelve times since August 2013, with the Blues winning three, Hornchurch winning five and four ending level. The last three meetings between the two teams, however, have been Hornchurch wins including the last time the teams faced at Hartsdown Park earlier in the season where Hornchurch ran away 3-1 victors.

The last five games for The Urchins have been outstanding with wins against Kingstonian (3-0), Brightlingsea (4-1), and Wingate & Finchley (2-4), whilst picking up points against Lewes (2-2), and Haringey (1-1). As stated earlier, Margate are on a three-game losing streak, suffering defeats against Canvey (5-2), Bognor (1-0), and Aveley (0-1), but the two games before that were wins as we beat Corinthian-Casuals (2-0) and Potters Bar (0-1).

If Hornchurch away isn’t your travel destination for today, tune in to our official twitter @margatefc_ where there will be live match updates from 2:15pm onwards!

'Gate Stun League Leaders

Margate produced a stunning second half comeback as they came from 2-0 down at half-time to win 3-2 away at league leaders Hornchurch on Saturday afternoon.

Manager Reece Prestedge was able to welcome back Sam Blackman and Phil Roberts to his starting eleven, however was missing defensive duo Harrison Hatfull and Harry Hudson who continued to form part of Margate’s injury list.

It was the Blues who started the brighter as they looked to peel away from the relegation zone as Nathan Wood and Ruben Soares-Junior had half chances as the ‘Gate went in search of an early goal. Ben Greenhalgh was next to let fly at the Hornchurch goal after some nice play between himself and Freddy Barton, however the scores remained level.

Despite the positive start, the hosts were awarded a penalty in the 23rd minute as Sinn’’Kaye Christie hauled down Ade Yusuff in the box. Tom Wraight struck the ball home from 12 yards, and despite Daniel Jinadu getting a hand to it, it wasn’t enough to deny Hornchurch the lead.

Margate looked to hit back immediately as Greenhalgh weaved his way through the hosts defence, only to be denied by another good save as Margate continued to cause the league leaders some issues. Margate were dealt a sucker punch in the 39th minute though, as a long ball from defence bounced through to prolific striker Sam Higgins who delicately lifted the ball over Jinadu to give the hosts a dominant 2-0 advantage at the break.

Despite trailing by two at half-time, Margate started the second half with some sustained pressure on the hosts goal as Sam Blackman saw a header flick back off the post from a Greenhalgh free-kick as the Blues tails were up.

Less than a minute later and Margate had reduced the arrears as an identical free-kick from Greenhalgh, this time was headed home beautifully by Blackman as Margate made it 2-1. Margate were in full flow and almost levelled three minutes later as another Greenhalgh free-kick caused issues, however the ‘keeper palmed to Wood who narrowly missed the target.

The ‘Gate were level ten minutes later though as their onslaught continued, and this time it was Greenhalgh with a fine effort after cutting in from the right and curling the ball into the far corner to spark wild celebrations amongst the away fans.

It was the Blues who now looked likely to snatch the points as Wood raced down the right, however his low cross was just too short for Greenhalgh as Margate went in search for an incredible winner. Despite having got level, there was no doubt that Hornchurch remained a threat as Higgins almost gave the hosts the lead with a fine header which whistled inches over the bar.

In the 86th minute, the unthinkable became reality as Margate turned the game on its head completely as Greenhalgh let fly from 40 yards as the whole stadium fell silent as the ball flew straight over the head of the ‘keeper before nestling in the net which sparked wild celebrations both on and off the pitch as Margate found themselves in front with only four minutes left to play.

With six additional minutes added on, Margate were defending for their lives, however in reality they never looked like conceding again as they saw out the game to spark wild celebrations whilst also moving themselves 12 points clear of the drop zone with only five games remaining.

MARGATE: Jinadu, Christie, Kasim, Blackman, Roberts (Smith 90’), Wood, Greenhalgh, Barton, Ojemen, Oke, Soares-Junior (Rutherford 87’)

Subs not used: McCarthy, Sutcliffe, Young

Margate Goalscorer’s

Sam Blackman 50’

Ben Greenhalgh 64’

Ben Greenhalgh 86’

Margate Man of the Match

Ben Greenhalgh

Attendance

824