10-man Ashford United held on to beat Herne Bay 2-1 on Tuesday evening at the Homelands Stadium, sending the Nuts & Bolts straight to the top of the Isthmian League table.

Jay May struck first to give Ashford the lead, and then Ter Horst doubled the advantage soon after.

Herne Bay talisman Zak Ansah halved the deficit for the visitors on the cusp of half-time, and then a goalless second-half secured all three points for Warrilow’s men.

TEAM NEWS:

Tommy Warrilow made three changes to the side that stormed to a resounding 4-1 victory away to Whitehawk FC on the weekend.

Diallo replaced Simms, whilst Wisson came in for Patton, who dropped to the bench.

Liam Friend made his full Ashford United debut, and Steventon took up a spot on the bench.

[STARTING XI: McCarthy, Ossai, Gorham ©, Hull (OFF 69’), Diallo, Friend, Ovenden, Wisson (OFF 85’), Fagg (SENT OFF 75’), Ter Horst (GOAL 36’), May (GOAL 19’ OFF 69’)]

[SUBS: Steventon, Patton (ON 69’), Camara (ON 85’), Burdon (ON 69’), Bolarinwa]

MATCH REPORT:

Tyler McCarthy was called into action early on and Ansah forced a top save, smashing low across-goal, as Herne Bay tried to catch Ashford on the break.

Fagg had a header blocked well after Ossai picked the midfielder out inside the box, and the danger was cleared.

The Nuts & Bolts took the lead in the 19th minute after Ossai’s looping cross caught goalkeeper Perrin off-guard, allowing May to scurry the ball over the line at the back post.

Ter Horst doubled Ashford’s advantage when he chased down Bay keeper’ Perrin, blocking his desperate clearance, and eventually scoring into an empty net.

But despite a first half of dominance, Herne Bay managed to get themselves back into the match as Ansah squirmed his way through into the box, kept his cool and chipped McCarthy on the verge of half-time.

Out for the second half and neither side could really be separated. A host of stoppages in the game at the referee’s whistle meant both Ashford and Herne Bay struggled to get a foothold on the match as the minutes ticked on.

Warrilow’s side were presented with a golden opportunity to wrap the game up with a quarter of an hour to go, but in a situation that left Ter Horst and Burdon 2-on-1 in attack, the former went for goal as Burdon was left screaming for the ball unmarked inside the box. Ter Horst’s effort went wide.

Moments later, tensions rose as Fagg was sent off for two yellow cards in quick succession. One for a foul and another for dissent.

10-man Ashford were under the cosh, but some determined defending ensured Bay would be left frustrated and leave Homelands in defeat.