Opportunity knocks for Reece Hobbs after No.1 Tom Wray sent off in Margate’s 1-0 Isthmian South East defeat at AFC Croydon Athletic

Reece Hobbs has been urged to make the Margate No.1 shirt his own by player-manager Ben Greenhalgh.

Hobbs will start this Saturday’s Isthmian South East match against fellow play-off occupants Sheppey at Hartsdown Park, with fellow young goalkeeper Tom Wray expected to be banned after his red card in last weekend’s 1-0 loss at AFC Croydon Athletic.

But Greenhalgh sees no reason why Hobbs cannot perform to good enough levels to make it a longer-term arrangement.

He said: “I pulled Reece to one side after the game on Saturday and said he did well again. He’s already had quite a few more games than he did last year.

“When Tom is out or makes a mistake, it’s up to Reece to keep pushing him.

“They have a brilliant relationship where they came through the Dartford Academy.

“But certainly, Reece will be ready for Saturday and, hopefully, it’s just the one game for Tom.”

Margate’s defeat at the Mayfield Stadium ended a streak of 10 straight away wins in a run, dating back to mid-October.

Greenhalgh reflected: “If you play for 45 minutes with 10 men, you’re unlikely to get a result. But the referee lost complete control and shouldn’t have sent Tom off.

“I said it was going to be a bit of an ugly game - and it was. It was going to be a lot about set-pieces and we had our chances, but we didn’t take them.

“Ultimately, we didn’t deal with one of their ones early on and that’s what has won them the game.”

Surprisingly, AFC Croydon were led by former Ashford boss Danny Kedwell, who had made a quick return to the sidelines, assisting Folkestone manager Andy Drury, and Dean Beckwith, who had replaced Keith Millen in the build-up to the visit of Gate.

“Whenever there’s a new manager that comes in, especially for a club that’s not been