Regent looked to bounce back with the visit of Margate on a warm, sunny afternoon. The visitors’ long journey hadn’t been an easy one and several of their supporters had wisely made a weekend of it.

Brett Munyard made few changes from the side that had faced Canvey Island with Andy George replacing Temi Oladejo at right back and Dom Locke included on the bench. Barnby and Woodward switched roles up front but otherwise the same formula appeared to be in play. Margate once again fielded an ex-Regent player, this time Adam Topley, in their line-up.

Regent kicked off and normal service resumed after the all-action excitement of Tuesday. It was simply everyday, regulation football. Altogether inconsequential and uncontentious. Carnegie and Anderson combined for Barnby to hit the ball off the post; Margate nearly bundled in a deflected free kick; Barnby played Jeremiah through but was caught offside. It had nil-nil written all over it.
After half an hour Margate’s Blackman tried to inject some significance by talking himself into a booking but his attempt was waved away by the referee.

People debated the merits of chips at half time, considered splashing out on Regent’s new away shirt and wondered where they had seen Margate’s giant ‘keeper before, was it Worthing or Bognor Regis? He looked familiar from somewhere.

Nobody created a serious opportunity until the ball was slipped through to Connor Barnby two minutes before the break. The huge keeper came out to narrow the angle and time stood still whilst the striker weighed up his options, calculating angles of elevation, wind speed and possible drift. With confidence levels determined, he chipped the ‘keeper, who could only watch as the ball bounced gently into the net.

A minute later Barnby nearby had his second but the shot went wide, so Regent had to be satisfied with a 1-0 lead at half time.

Second half
Both sides came out looking to increase the intensity of the game, and early on Barnby got clear again, only to win a corner. It was pretty clear that Margate were vulnerable to the through ball being played through the back four. Centre-half Lewis Knight was booked for some over-robust defending. Deslandes and Rogers came on to liven things up for them.

Barnby was in irrepressible mood and good play down the right saw him put away a second goal after 60 minutes to double the lead. Regent were well on top by now and Barnby missed yet another chance before Jeremiah ran clear but perhaps took one touch too many and allowed the ’keeper to block the shot.

Further bookings and substitutions followed for Margate who got back into the game scoring direct from a corner in the 77th minute when the ball went straight through a crowded penalty area.

Margate went direct, bombarding the Regent penalty area with high balls looking for an equaliser but the Regent defence, well marshalled by Zak Littlejohn and Andy George, were uncompromising and held firm.

Desperation crept in as five minutes added time were shown. The Margate coaching staff started grabbing balls from the Regent dugout to keep play moving when the ball went out of play but, in the end, they created nothing and Regent ran out deserved winners.

Match Verdict
Regent bounced back in style from Tuesday night, when the scoreline hadn’t reflected the reality of the performance. Today, they were less expansive but more effective against opponents whose only threat came from set pieces. This was their first win against the Kent side.

Ollie Sotoyinbo should be back in contention for next Saturday’s trip to Hastings and then the Bank Holiday Monday derby with Billericay Town to give manager Munyard more options to consider.

By Paul Ketchley