Margate 3 Farnborough 0

MARGATE cruised to a comfortable victory in a match which marked defender Sam Sodje’s final appearance for the season.

Sodje has been handed a six-match ban by the Nationwide Conference after being sent off four times during the campaign.

Gate had been hoping that a video of the match against Burton, when he was dismissed after falling awkwardly on opponent Jon Howard, would lead to that red card being rescinded.

But a disciplinary panel judged the film was not conclusive enough to have the referee’s decision overturned.

At least manager Chris Kinnear and his players appear to have done their bit to preserve the club’s future in the Conference, although the problems over their future at Hartsdown Park remain to be resolved.

The temporary home in Dover proved to be a happy one again on Saturday as Gate dominated most of the match against struggling Farnborough.

Margate made the breakthrough they deserved in the 33rd minute with Rocky Baptiste and Che Stadhart both involved in the build-up, with the latter squaring the ball for Adrian Clarke to fire past goalkeeper Mark Osborn.

Farnborough’s cause was not helped by losing Alex Christou, who received an accidental boot in the face from Sodje, but either side of half-time they managed to create a little pressure on the home defence.

It was Christou’s replacement, Mark Peters, who forced a leaping save from Phil Smith just before the interval to warn Gate that they could not take the points for granted.

However, 11 minutes into the second half Stadhart doubled their advantage, rounding Osborn to score after an excellent move between Greg Oates, Baptiste and Clarke.

Gate’s efforts to kill the game off were thwarted by the officials as Baptiste’s header was ruled out for a foul by Sodje, and Saunders was given offside as he found the net.

But in the dying moments Saunders collected a loose ball 25 yards out and his shot squeezed under Osborn’s dive for the third goal.