Sutton Valence made the short trip up the Thanet Way to visit a foggy Herne Bay for a lunchtime push back without (late Covid) drop outs Kirkham and Turnill meaning a band of only 12 ‘merry’ men headed north east. Before the game commenced, the fog seemed to lift as fast as the Valence players’ lungs emptied during the half a lap warm up which did not bode well for the ageing Valence line-up. Whistle blown and Valence went straight on the front foot with Tom Willson at the centre of everything good about their attacking play. It wasn’t long before Chris Stille scored from a broken-down short corner. A second was quickly added by Andy Barr on the reverse stick following good vision from Rob Bray and then Whitmill picking out Barr on the p spot.
Bay were always dangerous on the break and made numerous penetrations into Valence territory which were repelled by a combination of Blanchard, Parker and Whitmill. The pressure finally told after another broken down short corner allowed Herne Bay to half the deficit just before half time. 2-1 at the break.
Bay entered the second half with a renewed energy which saw numerous attacks either just missing the far post or being snuffed out at the last moment. The author here will assume Blanchard got some new contact lenses from Santa as he made some quite incredible and at times, unexplainable mid-air picks to stop a number of aerials from the Bay midfield as they piled on the pressure looking for an equaliser. Valence finally got a foothold in the second half, albeit mostly attacking on the break, and it was one of these breaks that saw Bray score Valence’s third after a 1 on 1 with the keeper to give them a 2 goal cushion again.
Bay were never out of the game and kept attacking but Valence were always dangerous on the break with the boundless energy of Chris Stille, Rob Bray and Chris Sheldon upfront creating a number of opportunities with Tom Willson and Ben Tragett tireless in midfield and Chris Back throwing some aerials from deep. The all important fourth goal came from Chris Sheldon which seemed to knock the stuffing out of Bay and there was still time for right back Whitmill to steal in unnoticed at the far post to finish off another breakaway goal involving Chris Johnson, Chris Sheldon and Rob Bray. 5-1 the final score but credit to Bay as this did not reflect the balance of play as Valence goalkeeper Young (by name only) was called on a number of times and he didn’t disappoint when asked.
The Valence men retired to the bar with Whitmill still nursing his bleeding nose to enjoy a good number of Gadds and to stare inquisitively at Johnson’s remarkable thought process when booking his first-born’s christening next Saturday.

Goals: Chris Stille, Andy Barr, Rob Bray, Chris Sheldon, Mark Whitmill

MOM: Mark Whitmill

Team: Stewart Young, Mark Whitmill, Steve Parker, Chris Back, Russell Blanchard, Chris Johnson, Andy Barr, Ben Tragett, Tom Willson, Chris Sheldon, Rob Bray, Chris Stille
Umpires: Supplied by Herne Bay.

Match Report by Chris Back.

The 2nd Xl’s next League game will be at home against Sevenoaks 6th Xl at 11.30 on Sat 22nd January 2022.