Herne Bay chairman and caretaker manager Matt Barman reacts to 1-0 Isthmian South East derby defeat at Sittingbourne

Matt Barman had few complaints as Herne Bay were edged out in their Isthmian South East derby at promotion-chasing Sittingbourne on Saturday.

Brickies defender Jack Steventon got the game’s only goal against one of his former clubs as it ended 1-0 at Woodstock.

But for chairman Barman - in the dugout alongside director of football Dan Tanner for a third match since Liam Friend’s dismissal as player-boss - it was far from doom and gloom for the 11th-placed team.

Barman reflected: “The first half was fairly even.

“We could have been winning where we had a couple of good chances in the first half. Second half, we started brightly but then, for the last 30 or 35 minutes, they dominated most of it so I cannot argue with the result.

“We didn’t do quite enough at the end of the day because the game is 90 minutes long.

“But there were certainly a lot of positives, as well, to take from the game.”

Report: Sittingbourne 1-0 Herne Bay

It was a second loss of the week for Herne Bay, who were undone by three goals in the final 16 minutes by second-bottom Beckenham - including one from ex-Bay striker Alfie Bloomfield - on Tuesday. That came after striker Rushaar Samuel-Smikle had put the visitors into a ninth-minute advantage.

“In midweek, we should have had the game won on a few occasions but, in the last 15 minutes, we conceded three goals,” said Barman, who was forced to take off the cautioned Matty Holness at Sittingbourne in the second half, with captain and left-back Rhys Wyborn switching flanks.

“Fair play to Beckenham. They kept going.

“We knew they were fighting for their lives and again we knew, coming here today, if you go into the deeper minutes, they’re playing for the play-off places and Beckenham are playing to stay