Bowers and Pitsea match report
match report by Phil Murphy
Kingstonian’s resurgence under Simon Lane continued with a 1-0 win over Bowers and Pistea in a relegation six-pointer in Mitcham. Danny Dudley’s second half goal was enough to separate the sides as K’s made it seven points from the three games for the first time since last March.
Bowers knew that an away win would take them out of the drop zone, leapfrogging K’s in the process, but it was Lane’s men who enjoyed the upper-hand from the off.
Within 10 minutes Imran Kayani struck a warning shot from a tight angle but Joseph Osaghae in the Bowers goal got down well to parry.
Dudley and Bancroft also had chances for K’s in the opening exchanges, before a sweetly-struck Lee Lewis effort was punched clear by the Pitsea stopper.
Osaghae, again called to action at the half-hour mark, produced a fine double-save, first at full reach from Goather-Braithwaite, before stopping Kayani’s effort on the rebound.
At the other end the Essex side saw half-hearted appeals for a penalty turned away before Rob Tolfrey tipped a Dylan Thistleton strike wide of the post.
Half-TIme: Kingstonian 0-0 Bowers and Pitsea
After the break, K’s maintained their dominance, with the pace of Kayani and Bancroft proving a handful for the visitors.
With 20 minutes remaining the elusive goal for Lane’s men arrived. Much like midweek it was more perseverance than precision, but perhaps that’s just what’s required in a relegation six-pointer.
Kayani’s free-kick from wide looked like it had come to nothing but was recycled by Bancroft. As the attack continued, a K’s shot was blocked, the ball bounced, it fell in the path of Dudley. The centre-half picked his spot, the net rippled, the fans roared. Joy, relief, hope.
Buoyed by the goal, Lane’s men continued to probe. An Anderson header was clawed away by Osaghae, before Dudley clipped the top of bar with a back-post header.
The visitors’ direct approach was thwarted by Dudley, Drage and Tolfrey who ensured K’s looked comfortable in the closing stages.
Late on, Bancroft almost almost capped off his best display in red and white with a goal, but ran out of gas following a surging run from midfield. His trickery would instead see Julian Gibson pick up a second yellow for Pitsea in the dying seconds
K’s dug in, held their nerve and earned a huge three points. The Lane renaissance continues. Another potential nail-biter awaits next week, with the trip to fellow relegation-battlers, Brightlingsea Regent.
Kingstonian: Rob Tolfrey, Dwight Pascal, Michael Abnett, Danny Dudley, Matt Drage, Harun Hamid, Imran Kayani, Darnell Goather-Braithwaite, Keane Anderson, Lee Lewis, Jacob Bancroft.
Subs: Sean Bonnett-Johnson, Charlie Greenwood (for Darnell Goather-Braithwaite, 76m), Benj Purcell (for Lee Lewis, 63m), Ibrahim Bangura (for Harun Hamid, 84m), Ibrahim Jalloh.
Bowers and Pitsea: Joseph Osaghae, Dylan Thistleton, Julian Gibson, Bola Dawodu, Dexter Peter, TQ Addy, Brandon Vale-Aviero, Marcus Sablier, Harrison Carnegie, Ryan Huckle, Valckx Fernandes.
Subs: Billy Crook (for Ryan Huckle, 76m), Oscar Shelvey (for Henry Sinai, 76m), Ayman El Mogharbel, Henry Sinai (for Harrison Carnegie, 52m), Montrell Deslandes.
Goal scorer: Danny Dudley (70m, 1-0)
Red Card: Julian Gibson (90+5m, second yellow)
Attendance: 214
