Ramsgate put in a spirited display full of quality but lacking in a little bit of luck as they went down 2-0 to a strong Bracknell Town team in the summer sun.
Ben Smith brought big Joe Ellul in for his first start since returning to the club, with Alfie Paxman returning to the starting XI. There was also a place on the bench for Josh Ajayi, another Rams’ fans favourite.
The home team started quickly out of the traps and were ahead inside two minutes. Dylan Ive whipped a brilliant free kick in to the bottom corner from the left corner box, giving Henry Newcombe in the Rams goal no chance.
Aaron Barnes made a fantastic goal saving challenge soon after to prevent a second, but from there it was one way traffic for the majority of the first half. The Rams created several chances but couldn’t quite find a finish. Joe Taylor went agonisingly close to an equaliser on 20 minutes after a lobbed effort just went over the bar.
Lewis Gard was bossing the game in the midfield, and it was his turn to go close on 35 minutes as he cut inside from the left and curled just wide.
Archie McGonigle replaced Joe Ellul at half time, slotting seamlessly in to the Rams defence as the second half got underway. Rams were still in the ascendancy with TT Walters shooting over from 20 yards after 55 minutes.
Gard again was at the centre of a fantastic ramsgate move after an hour, with his driving run resulting in a pass out to Joe Taylor, who crossed for Gard to shoot towards the bottom corner. Sadly he was denied by a quite brilliant one handed save from home goalkeeper Michael Eacott.
Ajayi made his entrance after 68 minutes and looked lovely in his cameo. Zack Jobe came on for Jay Leader shortly after, resulting in a reshuffle that the home side took advantage of as they extended their lead on 75 minutes. Teddy Lawrence slotted home in the box after some pinball following good linkup play from the home team.
The game swung end to end afterwards, with Ramsgate still pushing but just not able to find a goal their performance fully deserved. The game finished 2-0 with plenty of positives to build on.
A huge thank you goes out to Bracknell Town for being great hosts and for giving us a game at such short notice. Our attention now turns to our opening Pitching In Isthmian League South East Division opener away at AFC Croydon Athletic next Saturday. We hope to see you all there to cheer on the boys! COYR ⚪️🔴🐏
SQUAD: NEWCOMBE, BARNES, LEADER, ELLUL, CARSLE, GARD, TRIALIST A, WALTERS, A PAXMAN, DEACON, TAYLOR, BIOLETTI, JOBE, AJAYI, TRIALIST, B, TRIALIST C
