Regent started the new season with a number of new faces in the starting eleven and on the bench and lined up as Charlie Turner; Pip Boyland, Josh Gould, Matt Cripps, Jake Gould; Ricky Griggs, Jake Turner, Jordan Barnett, Lamell Howell; Adam Hampson, Billy Hunt. Amir Berkane, Romario Dunne, Charlie Lindoe and Rigers Kabashi made up the substitutes.

Margate have a pristine looking 3G pitch but their ground is effectively open on two sides.

A strong wind was blowing from right to left from the view in the main stand which made the corner flag bend over almost flat in one corner.

A sizeable crowd of 418 sheltered in the two built up sides of the ground.

Margate kicked off playing into the wind and hoofed the ball up on their right where Jake Gould headed the ball out of play.

Against the wind they worked the ball up the right and a free kick forced Turner into an early save before the ball went over the bar and out from the resulting corner
In return Regent took the ball down the other end and a Jake Turner free kick led to a corner and two dangerous looking deliveries from the Regent left by Ricky Griggs which came to nothing.

This set the pattern for the first half with a series of dangerous free kicks from Jake Turner and probing long throws from Jake Gould from Regent and a series of attacks by Margate down their right-hand side where Chris Sessegnon and Kadell Daniel combined well but found Charlie Turner and the Regent back four well up to the task.

The wind played a big part in the game with Billy Hunt almost chasing down a poorly judged back pass to the Margate keeper.

The tricky Kadell Daniel remained Margate’s most persistent threat forcing another save from the Regent ‘keeper.

After 25 minutes Regent created three great opportunities. Firstly, Billy Hunt won a free kick on the Regent right which he skimmed over the Margate crossbar.

Shortly afterwards Adam Hampson scampered away down the left, fed Hunt who squared the ball back to Ricky Griggs who was unable to get the ball on target as he fell back.

Then Billy Hunt created the best opportunity of the first half which Hampson put just past the left-hand post.

After 35 minutes the referee, who had an excellent game throughout, booked Jordan Barnett for a dangerous challenge and almost immediately afterwards gave Margate’s Jack Richards a yellow card for an almost identical offence. Richards’ lengthy protests cut no ice with the officials.

The first half seemed to be ending inconsequentially with long balls being cleared away by the Margate defence or running through to the keeper on the wind and Regent being resolute in defence.

In the closing exchanges of the first half Margate forced a double save from Turner and the first half ended scoreless.

On balance Regent had had the best of the play and most of the action had been in the Margate half.

Margate’s threat came almost entirely down the right-hand side from the impressive Sessegnon and Daniel but without any end result.

Second half
Neither side made any changes at half time.

If anything, the wind got even stronger in the second half, and it remained to be seen how Margate would exploit home advantage.

It became difficult to stop the ball rolling away when placed for set kicks and it looked as though the referee had decided to take a sensible liberal interpretation of the “rolling ball” rule.

Ricky Griggs started the second half, passing back to Jake Turner who hoofed the ball out of play on the Regent right.

Early on Margate got a free kick from the same area from which Billy Hunt had threated in the first half but Kadell Daniel floated it high and wide on the wind.

The first 20 minutes of the second half were largely uneventful besides clearances by Regent being blown out of play by the wind.

On 65 minutes Margate got a 3 on 2 opportunity, but with their best opportunity of the match, Daniel put it harmlessly wide of the goal.

Shortly afterwards Regent made the first substitution of the match when Amer Berkane came on in place of Adam Hampson.

This was followed by Regent’s best opportunities of the second half. First a long throw was deflected behind the Margate goal for a corner and then Billy Hunt got clear in the Margate penalty area only to lose his footing and fall on the ball.

Shortly afterwards Hunt was put through by a good ball from Ricky Griggs only to be judged off-side.

At the other end Kadell Daniel hit another shot high into the trees at the open end of the ground.

There were no clear cut chances until the 80th minute when Jake Turner was fouled and eventually Ricky Griggs took a corner on the right hand side.

Pip Boyland rose at the far post but there was to be no repeat of last season’s winner against Enfield as the ball swirled in the wind and he struck the header wide.

In the closing minutes both Jake Turner and Jake Gould were booked and the refer, rightly, waved way appeals for a Margate penalty which Ricky Griggs took the ball off the toes of a Margate player.

The referee decided on four minutes added time and both sides went all out for a winning goal.

Charlie Turner made two more good saves and then a massive punched clearance from a closing seconds corner at which point the referee blew for full time.

Match Verdict
A draw was a fair reflection of the play between two evenly matched teams. Both sides tried to play football in very difficult circumstances but the wind made it difficult for both sides.

Report by Paul Ketchley