By Darius Sarrafan
It was another convincing home win for Ramsgate on Saturday as they brushed aside Littlehampton Town 5-0 on a beautiful, sunny afternoon at the WW Martin Community Stadium. The Rams made one change to the side that dramatically won at Erith Town last weekend, with Lewis Gard coming in for Billy Munday to start in midfield.
The game started in somewhat cagey fashion, with the visitors high in energy and quick to close the hosts down when not in possession. Chances were at a premium in the early stages, but the Rams eventually started to have the better of proceedings. Benny Bioletti just couldn’t reach Alfie Paxman’s low cross on ten minutes, before Gard had a shot well blocked inside the box seven minutes later.
TJ Jadama then fired a shot over the bar from distance, before George Gaskin shot straight at Tom Hadler for the visitors just before the half hour mark. Joe Taylor hit a shot straight at Littlehampton keeper Mac Chisholm before the Rams’ number nine opened the scoring on 35 minutes. Tom Clifford put a cross in and the ball was only cleared as far as Taylor, who took a touch before firing past Chisholm from twelve yards.
Paxman flicked a shot over the bar from a Lee Martin cross five minutes later, with the Rams starting to find their groove at home once again. They managed to bag their second goal on 42 minutes, after Bioletti had made a run to the byline on the right side of the box. His cutback found Paxman, who fired home from close range at the second attempt. Jay Leader had a point blank header saved well by Chisholm on the stroke of half time, ensuring the score line remained 2-0 at the break.
Straight from the second half kick off, Jadama shot over the bar after Bioletti had made a run down the right as the Rams looked to pick up where they left off. Taylor then forced Chisholm into a save after Jadama had charged down a clearance on 57 minutes, before Leader was again denied by a brilliant save by Chisholm having powered another header towards goal.
It was one way traffic, and the third goal seemed inevitable. It arrived just after the hour, after Jadama was unceremoniously hauled to the floor by a Littlehampton defender inside the box for a penalty. Taylor stepped up confidently, and sent Chisholm the wrong way to bag his 39th goal of the season.
Hadler was called into action six minutes later to make a smart low save to deny Matthew Storm, before Sam Connolly shot well wide of goal in the 72nd minute. It wasn’t long before the Rams added to their lead though, with Taylor touching the ball on for substitute Jefferson Aibangbee. He finished low past Chisholm with his left foot to bag a goal on his home debut for the club.
There was a real flash point on 79 minutes as Chisholm and Jadama became embroiled in a tangle inside the Littlehampton box, with the visiting keeper appearing to throw a punch at the Rams player. Jadama seemingly only subdued the situation by ensuring Chisholm couldn’t throw anymore punches, however referee Edward Smith deemed both players to be at fault. Both were shown straight red cards, with Rams manager Ben Smith also shown a red card in the aftermath.
There was still time for Ramsgate to add a fifth goal deep into injury time, with Paxman curling a beautiful free kick into the top-right corner of the goal from thirty yards. 5-0 was how it finished, with the Rams showing yet again what a formidable force they are. Phoenix Sports are the visitors to the WW Martin Community Stadium this coming Saturday in their next game.
Ramsgate: Hadler, Deacon (Barnes), Ellul, Leader, Clifford (Aibangbee), Gard (Munday), Martin, Jadama, Bioletti (Ajayi), Paxman, Taylor (Garrett).
