Alfie Paxman’s sumptuous free kick deep into stoppage time saved a point for ten men Ramsgate away at fellow playoff chasers Cray Wanderers. Whilst it may not have been the team’s best performance, their grit, character and determination was evident for all to see as they battled right until the end.
Alex Hernandez had given the Wands the lead on 77 minutes with a well taken free kick of his own, coming seconds after sub Donvieve Jones was sent off for denying a clear goalscoring opportunity. The Rams’ sheer persistence paid off though, sending the hundreds of away fans into raptures in the process.
Manager Lee Martin made two changes to the side that defeated Wingate & Finchley last time out, with Solomon Ogunwomoju replacing Kweku Lucan up front and Logan Dobbs started in defence in place of the injured Henry Lukombo.
It was a relatively fast start to the game, with Ramsgate perhaps edging the opening exchanges. Benny Bioletti cut inside from the left and forced Harry Seaden into a low save on seven minutes, before Greg Cundle kissed the outside of the post with an effort from twenty yards a couple of minutes later.
The home side grew into the game as the half went on, and gradually asserted themselves as the dominant force in the game. Rams goalkeeper Dillon Addai was called into action several times, saving well twice from Lateef Adaja in the space of a few minutes, before Max Fiddes dragged a shot wide of goal just before the half hour.
The woodwork also came to the Rams rescue in the first half, with Frankie Raymond crashing a powerful shot off the underside of the crossbar. Addai made another save from Remi Sutton, with Liam Nash hooking a shot over the bar for the visitors. Despite the chances, the game remained goalless at the interval.
The woodwork was again in the thick of the action just moments into the second half. Tom Clifford picked the ball up in space 22 yards out, and his powerful low effort kissed the outside of the post on its way wide of goal. Addai was called into action again soon after, pulling off a stunning acrobatic save to deny Jordan Montoy after he took aim from twenty yards.
Nash forced Seaden into tipping a header over the crossbar on 54 minutes after Paxman curled a great cross into the box, before Hernandez’ close range header beat Addai – only for the offside flag to rule a goal out. The Rams custodian again made a fine save to deny Fiddes shortly before the game burst into life.
Montoy was played through on goal with fifteen minutes remaining, only for his run to be halted by Jones. Referee Joe Burgess reached quickly for the red card, and from the resulting free kick Hernandez curled an unstoppable effort past Addai to put the Wands 1-0 up.
There was to be a late sting in the tail though, with sub Eze Ebuzoeme doing well to win a free kick twenty yards from goal. Despite referee Burgess’ attempts to move the ball further away from goal, Paxman was undeterred – brilliantly curling in his eleventh goal of the season to secure a priceless point for the Rams.
The team are next in action with a home game against Brentwood Town this coming Saturday 14th February, with kickoff scheduled for 3pm at the WW Martin Community Stadium.
Ramsgate: Addai, Brown, Gayle, Dobbs (Jones), Bioletti, Clifford (Ebuzoeme), Munday, Cundle (Lucan), Nash (Webster), Ogunwomoju (May).
Star man: Dillon Addai.
Photos by Dan Whitehead.
