Haven Run Out Convincing Winners After Early Wobble

Of surprise to the home crowd, was that for long periods in the first half Peacehaven, allowed an enthusiastic and well organised Ramsgate side to have the upper hand.

The ever reliable pairing at the back of Craig Richards and Captain Ash Jones, for once came under pressure, with Richards in particular twice left floundering by the pace and guile of visiting striker Ian Pullman.

Richards missed his tackle, letting Pullman through on goal. Jones and keeper DiBernado cleared at the expense of a corner. From the resulting ball in, more confusion allowed Pullman to score from close range mid-way through the half.

Matters could have been worse at the break as Pullman again caught Richards out of position. Luckily, DiBernado did enough to prevent a certain goal.

Haven came out with more purpose in the second half. An early substitution saw the introduction of Jamie Brotherton after a recent injury.

A Tom Lawley free kick into the Ramsgate box began a series of six rapid shots on goal, with the final one being handled for a penalty. Charlie Walker stepped up and hammered his shot into the top corner to equalise.

Walker then played Josh Jones in, who calmly scored to take the lead for Haven, who were now in the ascendancy.

From the edge of the box, Walker claimed his second goal of the match, to make the score 3-1. Left back Steve Metcalfe, made several promising runs into the box, twice going just wide with well taken shots.

Walker and Jones also saw good chances just miss the target.

As the visitors began to tire, it was they who were now making mistakes at the back. Ben Laslett slipped and missed his clearance, leaving the impressive Walker to run in behind and claim his hat-trick.

In the final couple of minutes, there was controversy as referee Goldsmith seemed to confuse everybody including himself. Tom Burton playing deeper than usual was tripped as he ran into the box.

Goldsmith blew his whistle for the foul and the penalty, but Burton had carried on, scoring with a low shot as the defence stood confused. They weren’t the only ones left scratching their heads, so were the crowd as the referee returned to the centre spot having awarded the goal.

All in all, another thoroughly entertaining game that sees Haven extend their lead at the top of the Ryman South.

By Michael Burnage