A rainy but in terms of temperature, mild Saturday at the start of the February half term holiday, brought me to the Bauvill for the Kent derby between Chatham Town and Margate.

Chatham Town have had a positive 2023-24 as they seek an unprecedented third consecutive promotion from the Isthmian Premier League. They came into the match today in second place overall, after a mixed week, which began last weekend with a fine away victory at Whitehawk, before seeing the Chats crash back down to earth, with a 4-2 defeat at Wingate & Finchley.

Goals for the Chats have flowed again this season, with Jamie Yila (11 goals) Jack Evans (10 goals) Chris Dickson (9 goals) and Ashley Nzala (9 goals) all contributing. Manager Kevin Hake will have known coming into this tie that Hornchurch lead the league from Chatham Town, by nine points, but a win today would keep the pressure up going towards the Spring run in.

Margate come into this game with relatively new manager Mark Stimson, already feeling the pressure from his fans, after a run of defeats which has seen Margate slip into the relegation zone. Goals haven’t come easily to the visitors today, with top scorers being the prolific Steve Cawley (18 goals) and Ben Greenhalgh (5 goals). The problem has also been a high turnover of players and a leaky defensive record, with Margate conceding 53 goals in 28 games.

The game started competitively, with Margate looking dangerous when Kadell Daniel put pressure on Chatham Town’s left flank. As th game progressed however, Chatham Town, whose midfield was being driven by the veteran Danny Kedwell, began to dominate possession.

In the 22nd minute Chatham Town were ahead when a short corner reached Jamie Yila who fired across Harry Seadon in the Margate goal, to put the home side 1-0 up.

On 38 minutes a cross from the right by Chatham Town’s Rowsn Liburd, was missed by the rest of the forward line, as it went across an empty Margate goal, when it would have been easier to score. At the half time break the teams went in with Chatham Town enjoying a one goal lead.

After the break Margate started in a manner which belied the position they currently occupied. It was no surprise to anyone, except me and my filming as I missed capturing this goal, as I fought against the torrential rain, when Tyrone Sterling created space in the Chatham Town area to score, drawing the teams level at 1-1.

The largely partisan crowd of 1897, got behind the home side and Jamie Yila, a real fan favourite, seemed to appear everywhere on the pitch as he led the Chatham Town assault on the Margate goal.

In the 62nd minute Rowan Liburd was in the right place, at the right time, for Chatham, stabbing the ball home from a Jack Evans’ corner.

To their credit Margate did not give up. They fought hard for the final half hour, always posing a threat, whilst soaking up the wave after wave of Chatham Town’s attacks.

At full time it was the home side who took the three points which cements their place as second in the league, however Margate on this form will surely be able to claw their way out of the relegation places.