League

Sittingbourne
Spectators: 6728 (Terracing: 5000, Seating: 1728, VIP seats: 0) Dimitar Kuchev in the 8thth minute had a little luck and got a chance for a shot in front of the goal. Without hesitation aimed to the right of Dylan Farrell, who managed to lunge to the right direction and made a save. After some fancy dribbling in the 9th minute, Ash Byfield managed to get in a good position for a shot. Sittingbourne AFC's supporters rose to their feet, but Ash Byfield was a bit off balance and shot the ball just wide of the left post. Dylan Farrell breathed a sigh of relief and went to take the goal kick. In the 19th minute, Dimitar Kuchev hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. Dimitar Kuchev struck a weak shot in the 22nd minute. Dylan Farrell didn't even have to move as the ball rolled over the line well wide of the goal. A wasted opportunity for Sittingbourne AFC. 24 minutes into the game, Sittingbourne AFC's Dimitar Kuchev nearly tore a hole in the net with a booming shot. Dylan Farrell made a valiant effort, but he could not reach the ball in time, 1-1. Dimitar Kuchev could have scored with his fast shot on goal in the 30th minute of the match, but Dylan Farrell made a huge save. In the 31st minute of the match Sittingbourne AFC got a corner. Ely's goalie ran out to the linesman to protest the call, but the linesman resolutely pointed his flag at the cornerflag. Les Slabber ran over to the corner to take the kick. The corner led Sittingbourne AFC's Les Slabber to fire away a dangerous shot which Dylan Farrell despite some difficulties managed to get hold on the ball. Nathan Thompson made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Sean Paine in the 33rd minute of play. After a defensive mix-up in Ely's zone, Dimitar Kuchev stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Dylan Farrell came out of the goal and Dimitar Kuchev tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. In the 36thth minute of the game Sean Paine who was perfectly placed tried to make a shot on goal, but Sittingbourne AFC's Nathan Thompson was lucky and managed to grab hold of the ball. 37 minutes into the game, Sittingbourne AFC's Dimitar Kuchev nearly tore a hole in the net with a booming shot. Dylan Farrell made a valiant effort, but he could not reach the ball in time, 2-1. Dylan Farrell made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Dimitar Kuchev in the 41st minute of play. Sittingbourne AFC's Ash Byfield got a good chance for a goal in the 43rd minute, but he totally mistimed the shot and it went over the crossbar. With his leg Dylan Farrell managed to avoid a goal in the 46thth minute, when Sittingbourne AFC's Dimitar Kuchev fired away a shot with a lot of spin towards his right hand side. The home fans were very happy to see their team leading 2-1 at half-time.

The wind increased when Dimitar Kuchev made the kick off in the second half. The audience was convinced that Dimitar Kuchev's extremely hard shot when he got free in front of the goal was going in, but Dylan Farrell was relentless in the 55th minute of the game. Kourosh Sadeqi received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 56th minute. Dylan Farrell tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. Nathanial Probert received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 58th minute. Nathan Thompson tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. The audience was convinced that Dimitar Kuchev's extremely hard shot when he got free in front of the goal was going in, but Dylan Farrell was relentless in the 63rd minute of the game. After 64 minutes of play, Sittingbourne AFC's André Simões made it 3-1 when he simply outclassed the defender marking him and hit a curling shot into the right side of the net. Dylan Farrell was left in no man's land by his defense there! Nathan Thompson stood for a superb save when he managed to get hold of Nathanial Probert's shot from short distance in the 69th minute. After some fancy dribbling in the 71st minute, Ash Byfield managed to get in a good position for a shot. Sittingbourne AFC's supporters rose to their feet, but Ash Byfield was a bit off balance and shot the ball just wide of the left post. Dylan Farrell breathed a sigh of relief and went to take the goal kick. Ash Byfield's late challenge caught a Ely's player on the shin and left him crawling around in pain. The referee blew his whistle and produced the yellow card. Ash Byfield helped the player get up and apologised. Ash Byfield kicked well hit freekick during the 81st minute of the match. Dylan Farrell showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Dimitar Kuchev in the 84th minute of the match. In the 88th minute, Martyn Smart hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. Giles Wilson recieved an excellent pass in front of the goal in the 89th minute. Unfortunately, he received the ball on his off foot and could only manage a weak shot that went over the goal. In the 96th minute, one of Ely:s players had the ball in front of the goal but got pushed and fell. The referee felt it was an obvious case and blew a penalty for Ely. There was no doubt that Sittingbourne AFC were the better team. Sittingbourne AFC's players enjoyed the ovations of the crowd after the victory.