A goal in the opening minutes of each half fired Bay into an all Kent Ryman League Derby against Tonbridge Angels at Longmead in the 1st Qualifying Round of the FA Cup, avenged a league defeat against the same Walton & Hersham side 7 days earlier and ended a run of three reverses.
Herne Bay manager Sam Denly changed his favoured 3-5-2 formation for a standard 4-4-2. It allowed Dan Johnson to play a free foraging role down the left and it was his third minute left wing cross that Stuart King met with a net bulging opening volley, his fourth goal of the season.
It was the best possible start. But the home side still threatened with Delo tipping Francis’ 22 yard drive over the bar on the quarter hour mark and 10 minutes later Eastwood intervened with a timely challenge to take the ball off the lively Glace-Palmer’s boot after the Walton & Hersham striker had latched on to Liam Quinn’s underpowered header back to his ‘keeper.
It was a rare lapse from Quinn who commanded the Bay back four cutting out all attempts to breach the defensive line. Jordan Casey might have added a second for Bay just before the break but his speculative lob was short on power allowing Marchena to back-peddle sufficiently to grasp the ball before it crossed the line.
Herne Bay looked to have booked a comfortable passage to the next round when 2 minutes after the break Ita held the ball up then laid it off to Dan Parkinson to rifle home from 25 yards out. But comfortable it proved not to be as Walton & Hersham pressed hard to find a way back into this cup tie. Delo had to dive at the feet of Francis on the edge of the six yard box in the 63rd.
Even after Walton & Hersham substitute Sacha Mbaye was red carded for a high two footed challenge on Dan Parkinson, Herne Bay were not home and dry. Nerves were sent a-jangling a minute from time when Nathan Eastwood handballed a right wing cross and the home side pulled a goal back from the spot, Hemmings thumping the penalty into the net. Hearts were again in mouths when substitute Tony Reid fired into Delo’s arms with the last kick of the game.
On the next round opponents, Tonbridge Angels, Bay manager Sam Denly said, “I’m excited about it, it’s a good one to be involved in. We’re never going to win the FA Cup, we all know that, but you want to get a good run in it and play the bigger sides like Tonbridge Angels. We’ll go there with nothing to lose, there will be no pressure on us on the day”
Walton & Hersham: Barry Marchena, Nathan Daly, Marvin Farrell (Sacha Mbaye 46), Andre Scarlett, Louis Clark, Ashley Thompson (Tony Reid 60), Tarome Hemmings, Vernon Francis, Louis Glace-Palmer, Andrew Mensah, Josh Bennett (Jack Battie 67).
Subs not used: Kadeem Ajeon, Dominic Ogun, Siao Blackwood.
Cautions: Jack Battie, Andrew Mensah. Dismissed: Sacha Mbaye
Herne Bay: Jack Delo, Dan Johnson, Michael Turner, Nathan Eastwood, Liam Quinn, Dan Parkinson (James Brown 83), Sam Hasler, Ben Brown (Sam Staunton 72), Jordan Casey, Stuart King (Kane Buttler 88), Steven Ita.
Herne Bay Man of the Match: Liam Quinn
Subs not used: Harry Brown, Elliot Cutts, James Turner, Ben Kitcherside.
Cautions: Stuart King, Dan Johnson. Dismissed: None
Referee: N. Morrison Assistants: J. Albate-Gorman, L Brennan.
Walton & Hersham (0) 1
Hemmings 89 (pen)
Herne Bay (1) 2
King 3, Parkinson 47
FA Cup Preliminary Round
At Stompond Lane
Saturday 30th August 2014
Attendance: 80
Photo supplied by Herne Bay FC.