Margate FC - 2004 - 2005 Season - Conference South- Manager: Chris Kinnear

The season started with high hopes despite voluntary relegation from the Nationwide Conference. But in the end, the fact the club was still alive, had won the Kent Senior Cup (for the third year in a row) and really were returning to Margate, more than offset the disappointment of relegation – for most fans at least.

With Margate coming out of January and February with 14 points from 9 games and in 15th place in the league, it looked as if the team had done enough to stave off the spectre of relegation. But a return of just five points from 10 league games in March and April un-did the good work from the turn of the year.

Throughout the season, Gate achieved two “victory doubles” - over Maidenhead and surprisingly Thurrock. But Margate also suffered five “losing doubles”: against Cambridge, Dorchester, Grays (by an aggregate score of 0-11!), Hornchurch and Welling.

Given the problems faced by Chris Kinnear with the transfer embargo, it might be a surprise to know that 24 different players represented Margate on the pitch during the league and cup season. Representation ranged from Rocky Baptiste’s 51 starts in 51 games (a tremendous achievement) to Olafur Gottskalksson’s two starts or Tamba Ngongou’s three substitute appearances. The other “almost” ever-presents for Gate were Aaron Barnett (47 appearances, 38 starts), Peter Benevides (46, 45), Adrian Clarke (48, 47), John Keister (44, 43), and Che Stadhart (47, 47). As for goal scorers, 14 different players hit the back of the net for Margate – Che Stadhart leading the way but with Peter Trego chipping in with his effort - the equalizer at Eastbourne!

AUGUST

At a warm, bright and sunny Homelands (Gate’s third “home” venue in four seasons), the season opened with defeat to Bognor Regis. But given the lateness of the squad forming, there looked to be good potential. Indeed, the midweek win at Carshalton looked to get things back on track. But then came defeat to Dorchester and the awful night when Grays visited Homelands. Margate’s dismal record against the Essex side got decidedly worse as the Blues slumped to a 0-6 defeat.

The following Saturday Eastbourne were the visitors and a good performance was required to lift the supporters and players alike; and the team duly delivered. A deserved 2-1 victory over a side that although bottom of the table at the time were to appear in the play-offs at the end of the season, was a good result. Gate had to wait until into second half injury time before Rocky Baptiste’s winner, but any other result would have been a travesty given Margate’s dominance of the match. Aaron Barnett opened the scoring for the Blues on 10 minutes before Ollie Rowland pulled a goal back for the Sports on 16. Gate had to wait until deep into second half added time before Rocky Baptiste slotted home the winner.

Margate finished the first month of the new season in 16th place in the league, having taken six points from six games but with a goal difference of –8.

SEPTEMBER

September began with another good victory – 3-1 over Hayes although at a serious cost. This was the game that saw defender Mark Green sustain a broken ankle that was to keep the promising youngster on the sidelines until the very end of the season. But the victory at Homelands was then followed by defeat at home to Weymouth and an astonishing 3-7 defeat at Lewes, despite being ahead twice. Two victories and a defeat completed Margate’s league programme for September.

The first of those victories came at Maidenhead. This time, it was Gate’s opponents who took a first half lead - scoring twice in the first 18 minutes. But then two goals a-piece from Che Stadhart and Rocky Baptiste secured the Blues’ fourth league win of the season.

In fact September proved to be the best month for points and goals scored. But whilst nine points and 13 goals was a good return, the “goals against” column was still one higher than “goals for”. But Margate did end the month up two places in 14th.

OCTOBER

October saw the start of cup football, and so just three league games were played. For Margate it was a case of won one, drawn one, lost one. The draw against Newport County was disappointing given the Exiles appalling away form, while at Sutton Gate came up against a side that played much better than their lowly league position suggested they would. A win at Homelands against Weston-super-Mare –despite the home side spending long periods under significant pressure – was a welcome boost. Stadhart and Watson scored Margate’s goals in the final 13 minutes. But the result was not enough to stop the Blues dropping to 17th in the table.

NOVEMBER

November was another “three league game” month as cup football continued its momentum through the fixture calendar. Gate repeated October’s results with another win, draw and defeat in the three league games. It was a great start when Havant & Waterlooville visited Homelands, and were sent packing with the home side winning by 5-1. The margin of Margate’s victory may have been a little flattering and assisted by injuries to some key Havant players – most notably Dean Holdsworth – as well as the day’s traffic problems on the M25. But Margate also suffered here, with first choice keeper Peter Trego not able to take his place in the starting line up.

Rocky Baptiste, Aaron Barnett, Che Stadhart (two) and Darren Watson scored Margate’s goals. Glenn Knight hit a wonderful effort into the top corner from 30 yards to give the Hawks some hope at 1-2 down, but the blues won comfortably enough in the end.

Elsewhere, Gate drew 3-3 at St Albans and lost the final game of the month – going down 1-2 at Basingstoke when a share of the points would arguably have reflected how Gate played on the day.

While the points return for the month was the same as in October, the “goals for” tally hit nine and the blues finished the month in 12th place in the table – their highest position of the season as it turned out.

DECEMBER

December did not include the season of goodwill for Margate, as the Blues managed just two points from a possible 18. Draws against Lewes and Weymouth did little to offset the impact of defeats to Hornchurch, Hayes, Bishop's Stortford and local rivals Welling United.

Arguably the best performance of the month came at the Wessex Stadium against Weymouth where a 2-2 draw avoided a three game losing run for the Blues. Given the depleted resources at Chris Kinnear’s disposal at start of play, to finish the game all square would have represented a good result – and so it proved. Margate deserved the draw and arguably all three points. Despite never being in front in the game, the Blues looked the more likely to snatch a victory.

All the goals came in the second half. Bernardo Cariata scored the first goal to put the Terras into the lead on 50 minutes. The home side’s lead lasted just four minutes before Adrian Clarke scored Margate’s first. On 61 minutes, the home side took the lead for the second time in the contest through former Hornchurch man Kirk Jackson. But again the Weymouth lead did not last very long. Three minutes later, Margate’s Canadian central defender Ross Smith scored Gate’s second and equalising goal.

December was Gate’s second worse month of the campaign, winning just two points and scoring just four goals in six games. The Blues finished 2004 in 18th place – their lowest of the season up to that point.

JANUARY

January did not start well for Margate as Welling won the second leg of the derby double header. But then things started looking up as Gate won the next two against Redbridge at home and more impressively against Thurrock in Essex.

This was only the third time that Gate had recorded back-to-back league wins this season and the first time they had won three straight games (including the Nationwide League Cup win over Dagenham). It took Margate a while to get into their stride – particularly in the final third. But equally, they looked to have a new solidity at the back – John Keister being particularly influential.

Despite Margate’s possession and chances, it was the home side that took the lead on 72 minutes. Thurrock moved forward on the left and a high hanging cross flew to the right side of the Margate area. McFarlane got between two Margate defenders and put a looping header into the opposite corner of the goal. But the Fleet’s lead lasted only four minutes. Stadhart passed the ball to Baptiste on the right. His ball into the middle of the Thurrock area came to Clarke whose low effort hit the back of the net for a fully deserved equaliser. Things were to get even better for Margate when just two minutes later, continued pressure on a crowded Thurrock area – largely through Clarke and Jjunju - concluded with Stadhart forcing the ball home from close range to put Gate ahead.

So from only three games in the month, Gate accrued six points and moved up to 15th in the table.

FEBRUARY

February saw more games (than in January) and more points for the Blues as they looked to be edging their way toward safety. The first game of the month saw a win against Basingstoke Town – the first and only time Gate managed three league wins in succession throughout the season. That result was followed by a disappointing defeat at Newport County, but then a win against fellow strugglers Maidenhead and draws against Sutton United and Weston-super-Mare.

With the exception of the final 10 minutes of the first half when Basingstoke went in front, Margate always looked more threatening going forward.

On 35 minutes, Basingstoke had the ball in a seemingly non-threatening position in midfield. But then David Ray received the ball in a central position and let fly with a stunning strike from 25 yards that flew into the top right corner of the net. With 76 minutes on the clock, a lovely ball through the midfield via Watson, reached Stadhart. He moved into the box before making no mistake in hitting the back of the net to claim the equaliser. Four minutes later, Margate scored what proved to be a deserved winner. Stadhart burst into the box, only to be brought tumbling down by Tarr. Clarke stepped up to take the spot kick and made no mistake – sending the keeper the wrong way.

A return in the month of eight from a possible 18 points combined with other results kept Margate in 15th place in the league – surely good enough form now to stave off relegation?

MARCH

March was a dreadful month for Margate, and arguably when the Blues effectively lost their Nationwide South status. Four games, four defeats – conceding nine goals and scoring none really tell the story. With confidence in the camp low and manager Chris Kinnear unable to enter the transfer market, Margate’s walking wounded battled hard to but to no avail against Hornchurch, Carshalton, Grays and Cambridge. This was the first and only time in the season that Margate lost four games on the spin, and represented to worse run of form suffered by the Blues since Margate’s Southern League Southern Division days.

Margate dropped five places in the league over the month, and went into the final month of the season inside the relegation zone.

APRIL

Gate needed something of a miracle in April to avoid the bottom three places. With games against Bognor Regis, St Albans, Dorchester, Eastbourne, Havant & Waterlooville and Bishop's Stortford the task ahead looked tough. Draws against Bognor and Eastbourne – decent results in themselves – and defeats against St Albans and Dorchester meant that a win at Havant was the only result that would give Gate a chance to avoid the bottom three come the final day of the season.

At Westleigh Park, Gate could count themselves unfortunate not to have got at least a draw from the game. The Blue’s efforts on goal and corner tallies were both better than the home side. And after Che Stadhart pulled Margate level following Dean Holdworth’s opener, it looked as if Chris Kinnear’s side would go on and claim all three points. But a penalty scored by Holdsworth following Ross Smith’s unfortunate handball put the game out of Margate’s reach, before Dave Town’s injury time third gave a score line that flattered Margate’s hosts.

So Margate went into the last game of the league season knowing that they were already down. But the Blues did sign off a difficult season with a victory in their final league game at Homelands. Ross Smith’s third goal of the season on 81 minutes was enough to seal the three points – a result that even accounting for the 10 points deduction following the club’s decision to seek administration, kept the Blues off the bottom of the table.

CUP COMPETITIONS

Non-league football seems to have more than its fair share of cups and Gate took their place in no less than four cup competitions.

Margate produced their most disappointing performances in The FA Cup and FA Trophy with defeats at Braintree (Third Qualifying Round) and Walton & Hersham (First Round), respectively. Conversely, the Blues enjoyed some better performances in the Nationwide League Cup and the Kent Senior Cup.

Gate enjoyed victories over Welling, Thurrock and Dagenham in the League Cup before coming up against Crawley Town the fourth round. Through February and March, Margate had built up some momentum with some good performances and whilst the game at Crawley ended in a narrow defeat, the performance was encouraging.

It was an entertaining encounter at the Broadfield Stadium, won by the home side with two first half goals, Margate replying early in the second period through Moses Jjunju. In addition, Gate hit the home side’s woodwork four times in the first half. And while a 5-2 victory would have been flattering to the visitors, the home side will count themselves fortunate to have played their “get out of jail free” card in the opening 45 minutes.

The Kent Senior Cup has been a rich hunting ground for Margate in recent seasons, but this year’s will of course be remembered for the untimely death during the Folkestone versus Margate semi-final of former Margate favourite Paul Sykes. It was with much emotion that Dover and Margate took to the field in at the beginning of May, to play out an entertaining cup final for the big crowd of almost two and a half thousand.

While Dover enjoyed the early territorial advantage, Margate always seemed to be defending comfortably and made more chances than their opponents. Adrian Clarke, Ross Smith and Che Stadhart – who scored from one – shared Margate’s chances, while Craig Cloke scored for the Whites from the spot.

In the second half, Gate became more dominant and it was no surprise when the Blues went ahead through Baptiste. Gate had chances to extend their lead through Aaron Barnett, Peter Benevides, Mark Green and Pat Gradley. Dover’s second half chances came from Craig Wilkins and Anthony Hogg.

This (eighth) Kent Senior Cup win provided some gloss on a difficult season for the Blues. They now join an elite club of sides to have won the cup three years in succession: Northfleet, Dartford and more recently Gravesend & Northfleet.

REFLECTIONS

“It’s a funny old game.” Where have I heard that before? But the un-predictability of football is paradoxically one of its greatest attractions. We all desperately want our team to beat the rest. And yet how sweet was the comeback to draw 3-3 at Grays in the FA Cup a couple of years ago? And that when we were all expecting a win against lower league opposition!

If I think back to the start of last season, management and fans alike were very optimistic. The long-awaited return to Hartsdown Park looked to be edging closer and many of last season’s squad had been retained by the club for the new campaign. But as the season unfolded, the nature of the fight ahead – both on and off the field became clearer. Optimism turned to dread as the spectre of relegation became all too real. The hurt of the defeat at Havant and the realisation of relegation were plain to see – particularly on the face of our player of the year – John Keister.

The sadness of Syko’s death added to the gathering gloom. And yet the spectacle of the Kent Senior Cup final - played out in a manner that would have pleased Paul - felt like a new beginning. The close season news of work underway at Hartsdown seemed to build on that momentum. The new season is here and with it comes renewed optimism for our club’s future.