Boss Ben Smith is remaining level-headed after Ramsgate were denied a big derby victory at Margate at the death on Boxing Day.

The title-chasing Isthmian South East Rams looked on course for victory in front of a sell-out crowd of 2,500 at Hartsdown Park after a goal in either half from defenders Joe Ellul and Jay Leader.

But it finished 2-2 as Ben Greenhalgh’s troops struck again in the 93rd minute, with the goal eventually being awarded to midfielder Max Walsh.

“You can over-analyse everything - but it’s a point away from home,” said Smith, whose second-placed side are three points behind leaders Sittingbourne but with a game in hand.

“In derbies, form and everything goes out the window, doesn’t it?

“We were close but not close enough. It is what it is.

“We have got to work on the finer margins of the game and we need to manage the ending of the game better than what we did.”

Report: Margate 2-2 Ramsgate

Having gone 2-1 in front, netting their second shortly after Gate had equalised, the Rams looked fairly comfortable - until the dying embers of the game.

Smith said: “That pressure comes from ourselves.

“We had opportunities to play into corners but we ended up going backwards. We then give throw-ins away and things start happening from there, really.

“How he (Walsh) has so much space in the middle, 20 yards from goal at that point in the game, that’s just crazy! It’s just baffling, to be honest.

“We certainly didn’t sense danger well enough at times.”

Smith also thought some big decisions went against the Rams, feeling they should have been awarded a penalty by referee Kane Dempster for a foul by goalkeeper Tom Wray on winger Alfie Paxman.

He said: “It’s fine margins.

“Certainly, there were some fine margins that didn’t go our way. I thought we had a stonewall penalty in the first half.

“Alfie has nicked the ball, the keeper doesn’t even know he’s there, he’s come flying out, Alfie’s got the ball past the keeper, and he has taken Alfie out. Then, there was a handball where he might as well have caught it.

“But we just haven’t got the rub of the green with those decisions so it is what it is. We’ll just have to go again on Saturday.”

Ramsgate were slow to settle into the derby. But they improved as the first period went on and went into a half-time lead as vastly-experienced defender Ellul blasted through a crowd, via a deflection, to break the deadlock.

“We knew in the first 10 minutes, with their long ball, they were going to put a barrage of pressure on us,” said Smith. “Playing in the bottom-end and trying to get out, that’s always difficult.

“We were a little bit shaky. With the way they play, they cause a bit of chaos - they want a bit of chaos - but after the first 10 minutes or so, I thought we settled into the game well.

“We then controlled large spells of it, not to say they weren’t a threat.

“They’re a threat going forward but I felt we managed the game quite well in the first half.”

While it was a second Thanet derby meeting between the teams this term, it was a first in a league fixture in more than 15 years and, despite another big attendance, it seemed to go off relatively trouble-free.

“The crowd were superb,” said Smith.

“By the sounds of it, apart from a bit of abuse for me, next to our dugout from some absolute idiot, it seems to have gone away trouble-free by and large. That’s credit to the supporters - but also credit to Margate.

“Credit where it’s due, it seems like it’s gone well, which is good.”

A quick turnaround sees Ramsgate end the calendar year at home against AFC Croydon Athletic tomorrow (Saturday) afternoon.

Smith said: “We’ll have a day off where we will start thinking about AFC Croydon.

“But what’s important is that we don’t dwell on Boxing Day. It’s difficult with all these local derbies. But some clubs don’t get these local derbies on a Boxing Day where form does go out of the window and anything can happen.

“Obviously, the boys were down afterwards but let’s not beat ourselves up. They (Margate) are a team that will be in the play-offs towards the end of the season. We haven’t come here and been outplayed or anything.

“I’d say we are content rather than happy.”

Weekend visitors AFC Croydon Athletic are 15th, albeit having produced some surprise results already this season.

They have several attacking threats, including 18-goal Brandon Pierrick, who scored again in their 5-1 home win over Phoenix Sports on Boxing Day.

“They’re probably the polar opposite of Margate,” said Smith. “I think, with them, everything is on the floor - that’s not being disrespectful to Margate because Margate does what they do well.

“But with AFC Croydon, I think everything is on the floor.

“They have got good athleticism and they have got some very good individual players that have played at some really high levels. We just need to make sure we play our game.

“We need to push Boxing Day into the background now and crack on.”

The Rams will have a decision to make in goal between No.1 Tom Hadler and Henry Newcombe, who has deputised for Hadler as he served a ban.