Sittingbourne suffered their sixth defeat in a row against a side that in winning cemented their place in the Play-offs.

The game after a while showed the difference between the top & bottom although Sittingbourne did put up a fight.

Bourne started the brighter of the two teams & in the 6th minute Liam Middleton on the left received the ball cut inside & his shot went wide, it took another ten minutes before Hastings had a shot when Bradley Stevenson on the edge of the area tried his luck & his curling effort went just past the post.

Two minutes later & a corner to the back post found Gary Elphick but his header ended up on top of the net. In the 20th minute Chris Barnard 25 yards saw his snapshot parried away by Louis Rogers.

In the 25th minute a long throw by Oliver Black which would be a potent threat all match into the area forcing Patrick Lee to tip it over the bar for a corner & from this corner Hastings went ahead, when it went to the back post & was headed back toward goal & Davide Rodari stabbed in from 3 yards.

In the 29th minute it nearly became two when Black’s long throw into the area found Jamie Fielding & his header went just past the post. In the very next minute it was two when Lanre Azeez latched onto a long ball went into the area & shot past Lee.

The last half chance of the half came in the 37th minute when Lex Allen’s free kick top the back post found Middleton who controlled it went into the area & from an acute angle his cross shot went over the bar.

The second half took a while to get going but once it did Sittingbourne gave it a go at getting back into the game, in the 52nd minute the ball in the Hastings area saw Barnard 10 yards out shoot but it beat Rogers but not a defender as it was hacked off the line.

Three minutes later Jack Morrell got to the by-line & his cross to the back post saw Bernard’s header go over the bar. Sittingbourne were still trying to get a goal back & in the 68th minute Roman Campbell saw his 30 yard free kick pushed out by Rogers, a minute later against the run of play it was three, Azeez 25 yards out put Daniel Ajakaiye in & from 15 yards he slammed the ball in.

Hastings were now in total control & in the 80th minute another long throw by Black found Ajakaiye who from 5 yards saw his header superbly pushed away by Lee, in the next minute Lee had to make 3 saves in a row, firstly when Sam Cruttwell was put through & from 15 yards Lee pushed it away & near on straight away another two saves came as Hastings went for the throat.

The last chance of the game came in the 87th minute when Cruttwell’s long throw into the area was met by Fielding whose header was saved by Lee.

The final whistle went & Sittingbourne should not be too distraught as they gave it a go against a team that could get promoted.

SITTINGBOURNE:

P.LEE 2. K.AMOAH (74) 3. J.MORRELL 4. L.ALLAN 5. T.FAGG 6. C.WEBBER 7. T.BABBINGTON (60) 8. C.BARNARD 9. R.CAMPBELL 10.H.WOODS 11. L.MIDDLETON (45)

SUBS USED: 15. B.LEWINS (45) 16. I.ADEBAYO (60) 12. J.SPENCER (74)

SUBS NOT USED: 14. KJ McFARLAND 17. K.PHILIP

BOOKINGS: 1. P.LEE (90+2)

HASTINGS UNITED:

L.ROGERS 2. O.BLACK 4. G.ELPHICK 7. D.RODARI (76) 8. A.LOVATT 10. S.ADAMS 12. TUCKER 14. B.STEVENSON (64) 15. J.FIELDING 17. L.AZEEZ 18. J.DIXON (70)

SUBS USED: 9. D.AJAKAIYE (64) 6. S.CRUTTWELL (70) 11. J.MONGOY

SUBS NOT USED: 5. J.HOWLETT-MUNDLE 13. C.HORLOCK

BOOKINGS: 18. J.DIXON (57)

REFEREE: Mr I.SEARLE

ASSISTANTS: Mr J.BEALE & Mr R.JOSS

ATTENDANCE: 264