Nightmare after Christmas

Hastings United suffered a 5-0 drubbing away to Ramsgate on Boxing Day

The U’s conceded three times in the opening quarter of a one-sided Ryman Football League Division One South fixture and twice more during the second half as they endured easily their heaviest defeat of the season.

United beat Ramsgate in both of the first two games after John Maggs was appointed manager at the end of August, but their bid for a hat-trick of victories over the east Kent outfit went badly awry from the moment Tom Chapman gave Ramsgate a 14th minute lead.

Ian Pulman doubled the Rams’ advantage just two minutes later and United - playing their first full league game since Saturday December 7 following an abandonment and a postponement - were left with a mountain to climb when Ben Laslett made it 3-0 in the 22nd minute.

Chapman grabbed his second of the afternoon to make it 4-0 in the 54th minute and Aaron Millbank completed the rout 17 minutes later as United’s run of only one defeat in 12 league games came to a shuddering halt. It was United’s fourth league loss of the campaign and they’ve failed to score in all of them.

United: Pelling, Gilbert, Henson, Olorunda, Judge, Kelly, Ellis, Darby, McCreadie, Adams, Vickers. Subs: Dolan, Pacheco, Camara, Lee. Attendance: 209.