Herne Bay have been fined £100 by the Football Association after playing Danny Williams when he was banned.

The striker was named in the side for the Ryman League, Division 1 South game against Hastings United at Winch’s Field on December 20, only for club officials to discover the error minutes after the kick-off and substituting him immediately.

Williams has also received a two-match ban which rules him out of the trip to Ramsgate on Saturday.

Boss Sam Denly said: “We admitted the mistake at the time and take the punishment on the chin. Danny’s the one I feel sorry for because it wasn’t his fault.”

Denly will be up against Simon Halsey at the weekend, the man he replaced at Bay, and now in charge at Ramsgate. Halsey was appointed until the end of the season when player-manager Dean Hill stepped down early last month.

He has been charged with the job of keeping second-bottom Rams in the league. They lost 2-1 at Three Bridges on Tuesday – their first defeat in six games.

Denly said: “It’s been two years since Simon left and a lot has happened since then.
“I played under him at Whitstable and have great respect for him but go there only concerned about what we do in the game.”

Harry Brown is also banned – serving the second of a two-match lay-off – while older brother Ben is still sidelined by an ankle injury, with Denly unsure when the midfielder will be fit to return.