Hastings United 1 Faversham Town 0

Match 68/16/1375 - Tuesday, 20th December 2016 - Ryman League South

Hastings United (1) 1 Collin 44
Faversham Town (0) 0
Attendance: 330

Entrance: £6 Senior
Programme: £2.00
Mileage: 46/5,008

Life can deal its frustrations and a day with the world’s slowest, double-glazing surveyor ranks up there with the worst. My football intentions had been to take my chance with the M25 traffic for Tonbridge’s game with Harrow, but as the surveyor had decided he had nothing better to do with his day, the time drifted frustratingly away. Clock and Google Maps watching, I reached a time when the arrival and kick off time no longer tallied and as the man was still tapping away on his computer, it was time to change tack.

Such was the frustration that I decided to break the promise to myself that I would not do neutral matches this season, but after such a tiresome day, I needed some entertainment, which is exactly what Hastings United have been doing this season with goals aplenty.

But when you break those promises, more often than not, you end up reminding yourself why you had made the promise in the first place.

There were plenty of ex-Gillingham, Tonbridge and Tunbridge Wells players in both sides to make it an interesting proposition, one of those, Frannie Collin stood head and shoulders above the rest.

Hastings were the dominant side from the outset with only the lively Kieron Campbell posing a threat to the home defence.

But a melee following a challenge by Callum Emptage after 41 minutes eventually brought a red card for the Hastings man, although it was questionable whether his tackle was any worse than that of Faversham’s Sam Bewick seconds earlier.

The home side responded to the setback within three minutes when a cross from the left was deftly headed home by Collin, who had had the ball in the net twice previously only to see a linesman’s flag rule both of them out.

The great entertainers were forced into a more pragmatic approach in the second half and I’m sure their supporters would have gone home fully appreciative of the defensive effort that took the 10 men to the three points.

It was a cold evening and the football, especially through neutral eyes, frustratingly, didn’t captivate to take your attention away from the frozen extremities. It was just one of those days.

With hardly any football available on Christmas Eve, I will sign off until the Boxing Day clash between Tonbridge and Folkestone, so to all who read this blog, wherever in the world, I wish you a very happy Christmas.