Herne Bay manager Ben Smith excited to see Joe Coleman and Tom Wray to battle it out for No.1 spot as side secure 4-3 pre-season friendly home success over Dutch club SV Poortugaal

Boss Ben Smith is excited by the competition for places Herne Bay have got for their No.1 spot.

Bay moved swiftly to sign Tom Wray, the 21-year-old former Dartford and Margate goalkeeper, this summer after first-choice stopper Joe Coleman (ankle) sustained an injury.

They went through their fair share of keepers who covered for Coleman last season - something Smith wants to avoid a repeat of.

“Tom was injured at the end of last season,” said Smith. “He was injured for quite a long time.

“We had Joe Coleman out for a long time last year.

"We’re happy with Joe - he has been a great goalkeeper for Herne Bay - but we want competition all over the pitch. The goalkeeping position is no different.

“The club dropped quite a few points last season where they had to make a few changes in goal when Joe was injured. No offence to the keepers that replaced Joe, but that’s an area we felt we needed to look at and Tom became available.

“They’re two very different goalkeepers. When you’re building a new team, you need some consistency in goal.

“It was a bit of a freak injury that has put Joe Coleman out for a little bit but Tom has come in and been excellent. Tom is so good with the ball at his feet - he’s very much the modern-day keeper - so it’s an exciting part of the team.

“But we have that everywhere. I think, in every position, we have two players that can fill the role.

“In order to be successful, you need that.”

Will Underdown has featured between the sticks for Bay in pre-season, starting last weekend’s Eleven Energy Cup 4-3 win over Dutch club SV Poortugaal, although Smith is keen to guard against throwing the youngster in at the deep end.

He said: “At one point, we were thinking it was going to be months for Joe.

“Young Will