Steve Lovell will be out to avoid a repeat of one of his less fond footballing memories as he takes his Herne Bay side to AFC Croydon Athletic this Saturday.

Bay will visit the Mayfield Stadium, having responded from back-to-back Isthmian South East losses with a 3-0 Kent Senior Cup home win over Margate on Tuesday.

While AFC Croydon were quick to part company with former Gillingham midfielder Jermaine McGlashan as their manager this season, they are in good form and sit mid-table.

Travelling to the newly-promoted team will be a new experience for many in Bay’s squad.

But it won’t be a first for vastly-experienced Bay boss Lovell - albeit he doesn’t recall a previous meeting for the right reasons.

“I went there a few years ago - I can’t remember who it was with now - and they had just put a new electric scoreboard up,” said Lovell.

“They beat us 6-1. I remember it flashing up and thinking ‘Oh God, what a time for them to have a new scoreboard!’.

“It’ll be an experience for these boys.

“But if they want to carry on playing at this level and above, they’re going to have to get used to playing at all kinds of different grounds.”

AFC Croydon are unbeaten in eight matches in all competitions and ex-Dover winger Brandon Pierrick, once of Crystal Palace, is their main threat.

He has 16 goals for the season and 12 in his last eight games.

Lovell admitted: “They have picked up some good points.

“It’s not the best place to go in the world. It’ll be a bit of a bumpy pitch, but we have got to get used to that.

“But, if we perform like we did on Tuesday night, we will be fine.”

Herne Bay head into the game after goals from Kane Haysman, Kane Rowland and Josh Reid set up a Kent Senior Cup quarter-final tie at Beckenham or Tonbridge as they bounced back from last weekend’s 4-0 home defeat to Sheppey.

“It was really good,” Lovell said of their midweek victory. “We played really well.

“We changed the personnel from Saturday and played a different shape. We played 4-4-2, and gave people like Monty Saunders and Josh Reid a chance in wide areas.

“We had Tom Crump in goal, as well, and they were all excellent. It was a really good team performance.

“Like I said to the team after Saturday and the Sittingbourne game, we didn’t play badly. It was more just that we played well individually but, collectively, we weren’t together.

“We were together as a team on Tuesday night. Everyone worked hard for each other and that was the difference.

"It was a good performance and good to get a clean sheet, as well.”

Bay’s shut-out came as ex-Gillingham youngster Crump played in goal and managed to save a first-half penalty from Gate forward Ben Allen.

Lovell said: “Tom played really well.

"He saved a penalty, as well - that was a really good save - and it was nice to see him do so well.

“I knew him from when I was at Gillingham when he was a youth-team player. He did well then and, since then, he has come on a lot.

“He’s a good presence and I was really pleased with him.”

With Sam Freeman also having been between the sticks against Sheppey, No.1 Harry Brooks is going to return to the situation he found himself in at the start of the campaign where he had to fight for his shirt.

But Lovell revealed: “Harry has been great about it.

“Obviously, we had it with Taite Holtam before and that seemed to do Harry the world of good.

“The two keepers will keep each other on their toes. That’s what I want.

“I want competition every-where and we haven’t really had that competition with the goalkeepers [since Holtam returned to Gillingham].”

Bay will host Hythe in the league on Tuesday.