Without having had a home league match for the whole of February Regent welcomed Margate to North Road on a dull, damp, grey afternoon. The fine drizzle meant a slippery surface could be expected. A good crowd of 239 turned out to watch.

Regent lined up with Turner, Gilbert, Littlejohn, Thompson and Gregan at the back; Durling, Skinner, Flood and Locke in midfield; up front Wyan Reid partnered Aaron Blair. Bell, Ribchester, Mvemba and the Rocha brothers were on the bench. Margate included ex-Regent player Ken Feyi in their substitutes.

Regent kicked off with what looked to be a well-practised routine which saw Reid get away down the left. The ball got into the box and somehow Margate made a complete mess of clearing the ball. 20 seconds into the game and Dom Locke swivelled and hit the ball narrowly past the post.

Regent took control of the match, with Gregan, Flood and Reid running riot down the left and Charlie Durling winning everything in midfield they contrived to make a series of opportunities and win what seemed an endless series of free kicks and corners.

After ten minutes it paid off when Dom Locke took a free kick and the clearance came to Kane Gilbert, who kept his head down, got over the ball and hit a fierce shot which the ‘keeper was unable to hold and Luke Skinner was on hand to put the ball into the net.

Chances to extend the lead kept coming and from one of these Jake Thompson headed narrowly over from yet another corner. In the first half hour Margate hardly got into the Regent half except for one attempt when the Regent defence made a similar mess to Margate’s first minute confusion and were only saved by a goal line clearance by Thompson.

After 25 minutes there was an extended break whilst Margate’s Sam Blackman received treatment. Following this the match became more even with Margate becoming a lot more organised and their supporters even more high pitched.

Margate started to play the ball round neatly and this paid dividends after 35 minutes when a well worked move down their left saw the ball cut back to Vaivada in a central position who slotted the ball inside the post to equalise.

Undeterred Regent got back on top for the remainder of the half with Chris Gregan’s long throws creating danger, further attempts from Locke and Reid and threatening run by Jak Littlejohn but without any further result.

Second half
After some energetic half time running across the pitch Ollie Bell replaced Luke Skinner, who had been booked.

Regent started on the front foot but Margate countered down the left. An innocuous shot was whipped in but didn’t seem to pose any threat until it deflected off the unfortunate Durling, and slid inside the post for an own goal.

After a scrappy ten minutes Regent got going again when Carlos Rocha replaced Carlos Flood and the game became a tussle in which Regent came forward and hit the bar twice and Margate looked to shoot on sight and exploit the space being left at the back.

In the end Regent were unable to convert their possession into any clear opportunities and went down to defeat in a game they could easily have won in the first twenty minutes and in which they matched the visitors for long periods.

Match Verdict
Regent will be disappointed with the outcome of the game given the performance and the sense that they deserved more. In the first half hour they had produced a dominant display to which the visitors had no answer.

Tuesday’s visit to Bowers and Pitsea gives the chance to put right the result of Brett Munyard’s first game in charge when another dominant display was undone in the final minutes.

By Paul Ketchley