Herne Bay are enjoying a terrific season

Thrilling win takes Kent League side through to quarter-finals

Herne Bay will play Shortwood United in the quarter-finals of the FA Vase on March 3, after a thrilling 1-0 win over Larkhall Athletic in the fifth round at Winch’s Field on Saturday.

A goal four minutes from time from James Campbell gave the Bay a win they fully deserved, despite having played with ten men for over an hour, after a red card for Tom Parker.

Herne Bay were the better side throughout, but were reduced to ten when Parker was singled out for an alleged head butt during a brawl that broke out after a tackle by Michael Turner on 28 minutes.

The decision fired Herne Bay up according to their manager Simon Halsey.

“When we went down to ten I thought it might not be the day,” he admitted. “There were 20 players having a melee so how he’s picked our player out and shown him a red, then shown one of there’s a yellow I don’t know. But we just thought stuff it, we’re still here so let’s go for it.”

The Bay switched to a 3-4-2 formation and continued to attack.

Although clear cut chances were limited both Byron Walker and Rhys Lawson tested the visiting keeper Chris Snoddy and the breakthrough finally came on 86 minutes when Campbell headed in Michael Jenner’s free-kick.

“It’s the furthest the club have gone, the players gone and I’ve gone in the FA Vase so obviously it’s right up there with the best days we’ve had,” Halsey said, though he insisted their immediate focus was Saturday’s Kent League Premier Division clash at home to Cray Valley.

Herne Bay are 10 points clear of their closest rivals Erith Town at the top of the table, but inevitably thoughts have turned to the quarter-final. Shortwood beat Ashington United 3-0 in their fifth-round tie and are currently third in the Hellenic League, 19 points adrift of the leaders, Ardley, but with six games in hand.

Herne Bay will be sending someone to their league cup tie with Woodley on Saturday and Halsey said Larkhall, who come from nearby Bath, had given them “a few pointers.”

By reaching the last eight, Herne Bay have produced the best performance by a Kent side in the FA Vase since Deal won the competition outright in 2000, the year when Ramsgate also reached the quarter-finals.

To date Deal are the only Kent side ever to have reached the final, although Hythe came agonisingly close in 1990, losing a semi-final to Yeading 4-3 on aggregate to a late deflected goal.