If Rakish Bingham felt any lingering disappointment after his last-penalty miss against Welling then he made up for it in abundance with a similarly timed winner here at Havant as he smacked home Craig Tanner’s free-kick and promptly disappeared inside a cohort of jubilant Fleet fans.
Dennis Kutrieb’s men were on course to returning to the top of the table anyway with a goalless draw before Bingham’s all-important intervention and his goal put his side two points clear with two games in hand. And it kept up the unbeaten record for the Fleet which now extends to 18 games in all competitions ahead of the visit of FC Halifax Town.
It was three changes for the Fleet as Ben Chapman served his suspension and Darren McQueen was unfit after his knock at Hemel. That meant Kieran Monlouis and Omari Sterling-James came in, joined by Luke O’Neill, with skipper Chris Solly slotting into a holding midfield role.
The weather has never been kind to the Fleet in this corner of Hampshire and a swirling downpour before kick-off meant conditions were a little tricky, although the worst of the rain held off for the 90 minutes. The visitors dealt with the conditions well early on and in the opening eight minutes, Bingham had raced away on the break to threaten the back line before Tanner sent a good shot over Ross Worner and his bar.
Omari Sterling-James made a positive run through midfield on 13 minutes but his end shot rolled away from the far post as the defence opened up before him. And it was 20 minutes on the clock before Havant had their first meaningful effort as Fleet conceded a free-kick five yards in from the corner flag, That was swung in dangerously and Mark Cousins had to punch away and leave for his defenders to clear.
Haydn Hollis – a tower at the back all night as the Fleet defence as a whole produced a superb effort – mopped up well from Mo Faal moments later as the tall striker tried to wrong-foot him and go clear into the penalty box. And Faal was almost on the end of an excellent crossfield ball over the Fleet defence from James Roberts but it dropped just that bit too far for him and he couldn’t get any sort of angle on a shot.
As Havant stepped it up, Billy Clifford’s ball through the red defence for Jason Prior on 23 minutes would surely have been the opener but for Cousins’ quick run off his line to get down and block the former Dorking striker.
The home side were beginning to fancy their chances after a slow start and Roberts had a run and powerful shot but that lacked accuracy, flying well wide. They went nearer on 30 minutes when Jake McCarthy got round the back and pinged in a low cross, grabbed by Cousins from several waiting boots, as the home fans began to sense a goal coming.
But after that real purple patch for the Hawks, Fleet were comfortable enough until half-time, though Ethan Burnett’s shot from 20 yards just before the break might have been more of a problem had it hit the target.
Havant began the second period on the front foot and within five minutes Joe Oastler had a glorious chance at the far post to convert a cross but headed it down to allow Cousins to step in. Fleet responded on the break and Bingham sent a low shot into Worner’s arms before Faal went down under Jombati’s challenge – there were huge protests from the home following but the Fleet defender indicated the forward had gone to ground too easily.
The frustrations of the home crowd grew when Clifford swung a shot wildly off target on 57 minutes as the Hawks continued to be profligate with the opportunities they were given. They were nearly made to pay on the hour when Monlouis carried play upfield, switched to Sterling out wide and his first-time delivery along the floor skipped into the six-yard box just inches from Dominic Poleon’s lunge.
With the bit between his teeth, Poleon then shrugged off the shirt-pull of Oastler and tried to lob Worner but that one was just too high from the Fleet top scorer’s commendable attempt. And on 68 minutes it was Poleon again, Fleet breaking after Faal wanted a foul for a Hollis challenge. Bingham found his strike partner and Poleon raced off, cutting inside to reverse a shot just past the near post.
Driven by Solly’s all-encompassing midfield interventions, it was Fleet’s best period of the game and they had another good chance courtesy of a great move forward by Luke O’Neill on 80 minutes. He found Greg Cundle whose delivery was pushed away by Worner and Sterling flung in a return ball that had to be cleared for a corner.
Both sides continued to be ambitious and Clifford’s corner should have been despatched for Havant by the climbing Oastler but he failed to test Cousins and planted it just past the upright. And the ambition paid off for the Fleet two minutes from the end. O’Neill won a free-kick and Tanner sent a superb floated delivery into the box, Bingham sped on to the half-clearance and unleashed a cracker past Worner for 1-0 to send the travelling fans into delirium.
Havant immediately sent on two remaining substitutes but the four minutes of added time produced no further incident, which was just the way Fleet wanted it, and the three points were in the bag for a cheery coach journey home. And thoughts of potential Emirates FA Cup glory ahead…
EUFC: Cousins, Jombati, Hollis, Solly, Monlouis (Edser 70), Sterling-James, Cundle (Domi 82), Tanner, Bingham, Poleon (Romain 90). Subs: Paxman, Coulthirst
HWFC: Worner, Passley, Newton, Oastler, McCarthy, Prior, Clifford, Gobern (Crichlow 89), Roberts (Kalinauskas 89), Faal (Wright 74), Burnett. Subs: Read, Baker
Attendance: 1,251
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