By Ollie Collins

Herne Bay manager Ben Smith believes his side are yet to hit top form this season.

Ninth-placed Bay are two points from the play-off places in Isthmian South East with a game in hand.

Smith said: “I fully expect us to get stronger in the second half of the season.

“We’ve basically built this squad from scratch and the club are in a much better position than this time last year.

“Surviving relegation was what we were looking to do but now we can start thinking about play-offs.”

Bay came from two goals behind to beat VCD Athletic 4-2 on Saturday and Smith was impressed by his side’s commitment to the cause.

He said: “Our desire to throw bodies on the line and grind out the result showed we have a lot more character than earlier in the season.

“The difference in team spirit and togetherness is staggering.

“We’ve got players now that want to play for each other and for me and the club.

“I’ve said if we can get through the first couple of months picking up points, we can finish the season strongly.

“We are coming to the tough part of the year and we will gain momentum. We can play a lot better than we did but we got three points and scored four goals away from home.

“Winning away when you’re not playing well is a great recipe for success.”

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Three goals in six minutes either side of half-time put Bay 3-2 up thanks to a brace from Zak Ansah after Kieron Campbell opened the scoring.

A nervy final 15 minutes ensued before Ryan Cooper broke away in the 95th minute to seal the three points.

Smith said: “VCD are a dangerous side and threw everything at us in that period, the defence were great though and didn’t do a lot wrong all day, but we weren’t at the races in midfield.

“Zak (Ansah) was ruthless for us up front, he had three shots and scored two goals.”

Herne Bay host Haywards Heath Town on Saturday and Smith expects a difficult encounter: “It’s another big game, these next few matches are pivotal to see what the potential of this group is.

“Haywards Heath are a team we can look to emulate because no one expected them to make the play-offs last year but they did. We’re in good form but we will have to be at our best defensively to win the game.”

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