Player-boss Ben Greenhalgh accepts Margate seem to have developed a penalty curse.

Promotion-chasing Gate secured a fourth straight Isthmian South East victory at the weekend, winning 2-1 at Broadbridge Heath, despite 13-goal top scorer Ibrahim Olutade having an early spot-kick saved before defender Lewis Knight and winger Jordan Ababio netted.

That came after forward Ben Allen was denied from 12 yards in last Tuesday’s 3-0 Kent Senior Cup defeat at Herne Bay for a much-changed Gate.

Greenhalgh said: “Ibz has got a good record.

“He scored one against Hanworth Villa in the FA Trophy and scored probably the most pressurised penalty he has taken to win the Thanet derby in the Kent Senior Cup.

“We have just got a bit of a curse on us with penalties. None of them have been poor.

“We will see what we will do when we get the next one. It’s a difficult one.

Gate milestone man makes team-of-the-week

“I had scored 11 in a row and then missed so we felt it was only fair to give some of the other lads a chance.

“But there have been some good saves in there.”

Knight’s first goal this season helped him mark his 100th club appearance.

Greenhalgh revealed: “I’ve said to Knighty and Harry Hudson can they improve with their goalscoring numbers?

“The numbers, defensively, have been brilliant. But we have said to them ‘Can we go to the next level?’. But they have both been threats from set-plays and we have scored a lot of goals from knockdowns and things like that.

“He’s the fourth [current] player to make 100 games for Margate. That shows what we’re trying to do at Margate around the loyalty side of it.

“Even some of the newer players can look at getting up to 100 games for the club. With the amount of games we’re playing, some of them will be there by the February of next season at this rate!

“It was nice for everyone at the club to see Knighty get to 100 games for us but, also, to see the way he has been performing this year.”

While it was a fourth successive league loss for Broadbridge Heath, Greenhalgh was impressed with what he saw from their weekend hosts.

Greenhalgh said: “We had done a lot of research on them.

“We started the game brilliantly and the research paid off. Their right-back came off inside the first 25 minutes.

"But they deserve a lot of credit. We didn’t disrespect them whatsoever and that’s why we came away with the three points.

“But if you did (underestimate them), you could easily come unstuck against them.”

Gate, due at Deal tonight, will host fellow promotion-chasers Burgess Hill on Saturday.

“Broadbridge Heath away, Deal away and Burgess Hill at home, they’re three really tough games that we would be happy to get anything out of,” said Greenhalgh.

“Burgess Hill at home will be really tough. They’re a good footballing side.

“For now, we just need to take it one game at a time. We have been getting really good away support, as well, we’re seeing a lot of the same faces, but we haven’t really been able to see them at Hartsdown Park.

“So, we’re looking forward to the chance to play at home again.”

Young forward Vinnie Bowman has left for Isthmian North Heybridge Swifts, having sustained an injury while on trial at a full-time club, although Greenhalgh didn’t close the door on the teenager’s time with the club.

He explained: “He has gone out to get games, although you cannot dual-register a player to another club in the Isthmian League.

“He spent a lot of pre-season at different football clubs. That meant we didn’t see him that much in pre-season and at the start of the season.

“On one of those trials, he got quite a bad injury. We were happy to have him back but, at the same time, he wasn’t going to play for us right away.

“The players need to get their fitness and their levels up, and we’re also in a place where we need to win every single game pretty much.

“Even when we do win, it seems that everyone around us does, as well!”