Kingstonian 1-4 Canvey Island
K's soundly beaten by title contenders
An Evans Kouassi hat-trick drove Canvey Island to an excellent 4-1 over Kingstonian to help further their ambitions to win the Premier Division in a couple of weeks' time; whilst Kingstonian's relegation battle goes on with nothing gained and nothing lost with Bowers and Pitsea also going down to a heavy home defeat, 0-4 against Bognor Regis Town.
The Gulls hit the front early with a smart snap-shot from the edge of the penalty area in the fifth minute from Evans Kouassi, before the lead was doubled when Elliott Johnson scored in the 26th minute with a shot through a mass of bodies after a corner. K's barely troubled the scorers in the first half as Canvey were good value for their lead at the break.
Hope sprang up in the 64th minute when Tom Collins produced a run and shot down the left that evaded Canvey keeper Bobby Mason, but four minutes later Rob Tolfrey tried to push a cross behind, but instead managed to hit the post with the rebound eventually falling nicely to Evans Kouassi who slammed the ball home. Kouassi completed his hat-trick after a fine Gulls move in the 80th minute to finish the scoring for the afternoon.
With Bishop's Stortford and Hornchurch both winning, Canvey Island remain third in the table, but only two points cover the top three. Meanwhile, Kingstonian remain three points clear of both Bowers & Pitsea and Herne Bay and face a hugely important game on Monday afternoon when they visit King George's Field to play Corinthian-Casuals, kick-off 3.00pm.
