A Supporter of the Year derby

A match between Herne Bay and Witham Town can't really be called a derby, given the two clubs are eighty three miles apart- but Saturday's friendly match between the two did have a talking point, the competitors being the favourites of our Isthmian Supporters of the Year from 2016-17 and 2017-18, James Beardwell and Ken Dixon.

James has become a public figure in his own right, his videos becoming viral far outside the reaches of his own Witham Town. His Video Blog- you can watch the latest one here- is always noisy, passionate and colourful, and highlights the efforts that James makes to prove to the world that autism shouldn't be a barrier. He travels to each away match by train, and later this season will be travelling independently to Guernsey by plane to meet- and undoubtedly inspire- football fans with autism who live on the Channel Islands.

Ken also makes videos, but his have a rather different purpose. He is severely visually impaired, but has overcome this obstacle by viewing the games through his ipad. In this way he has been able to see the action, something that he is unable to do in the way that most of us take for granted, and then watch the videos back at home on his magnifying screen. He also adds his videos of the match action onto the Herne Bay FC Loyal Fan Club page on Facebook, which is much appreciated by the Herne Bay supporters and players alike.

Steve Barton of Herne Bay FC provided the words and pictures here. And the match ended in a win for Ken's blues, as the home side came from behind to win by three goals to one.