Manager Kevin Watson dedicated Herne Bay’s much-needed win over Horsham to injured striker Kymani Thomas.

The sides met on Tuesday at Winch’s Field for their rearranged Isthmian Premier encounter. A second-half strike from midfielder Jack Sammoutis and substitute Daniel Ogunleye’s brace guided the relegation-threatened hosts to a 3-0 triumph.

Horsham were 2-0 ahead last month but that game was abandoned after youngster Thomas suffered a horror injury.

On the result, Watson said: “I can’t deny that we’re delighted. It has felt a long time coming, I suppose.

“With the abandonment of the game before, there was probably a bit of emotion involved on Tuesday, but I felt we turned that into positive energy.

“I suppose that result is for Kymani more than anything.

“I would have sacrificed three points at any stage of any season for the lad not to get injured.

“But after that event, then it’s done and these are important points for us.”

It was free entry to watch as the club aimed to get donations from fans to help Thomas’ recovery. More than £1,100 was raised after the Hornets themselves contributed funds from their own collection at another recent match towards the cause.

Watson said: “I’ve got the utmost respect for Horsham.

"They did their own collection for him so that was a really nice gesture from them.

“But it’s a really important result for us. We can keep going, we’ve set some targets and we’ll see where it takes us.”

Bay were forced into a substitution inside the first three minutes of the second half, which proved key. David Ozobia suffered a knee injury and was replaced by midfielder Michael West.

It was West’s strike which was saved by keeper Taylor Seymour before Sammoutis converted the rebound.

“I’m aware of Westy’s qualities,” said Watson, who had started him in their 2-0 loss at Billericay on Saturday.

“He’s still recovering from his injury. Although he’s had the operation, there’s still a recovery period.

“We started him on Saturday and decided on Tuesday it was too much for him to play again.

“I thought David was having a great game.

"But we looked at the bench and knew we could bring Westy on at that stage and that he could manage the game.”

After Sammoutis’ first Bay goal, Watson said: “I’ve worked with Jack before. He’s a great lad.

“We had a conversation about him coming down here and he agreed.

“Good relationships in football is something myself and Adam [Flanagan, his assistant] sort of pride ourselves on so we’re really pleased for Jack.

“He worked really hard. He’s very honest and, technically, he’s very good.”

Ogunleye struck twice after he had been introduced in the 79th minute - tapping home from close range after great work by Rory Smith before netting a late second.

Watson said: “He’s a lovely lad.

"He’s just the sort of person that we want to work with.

“He’s come in and he’s been a bit patient. It’s difficult not starting games but there’s other people, like Troy Williams - he was on the bench - and he’s as enthusiastic as anybody else.

“Jordan Perrin didn’t start on Tuesday and, obviously, he’d been a mainstay for most of the season.

“Donnell Anderson hasn’t had much game time, either, but we recognised that we needed a squad to get through this period and we’re pleased that they’re all contributing.”

Harry Brooks also impressed in goal for Herne Bay after getting the nod ahead of Jordan Perrin.

He kept their first clean sheet of the season in the league.

“He had a good game,” Watson noted.

“We’ve got two goalkeepers at this moment in time.

“Obviously, because of Jordan’s suspension, we looked to sign another goalkeeper and Harry was available. He’s done well in the games he’s played.

“Jordan had played the majority of games this season but we decided to make a change.

“When you win games, every decision you’ve made looks a good one, doesn’t it? When we lose games, you can always be criticised for the wrong tactics and the wrong team selection.

“So myself and Adam aren’t naive enough to not recognise that.”

Bay are eight points from safety and have a game in hand on Kingstonian, ahead of important home fixtures against Bognor this Saturday and Haringey on Tuesday.

Watson said: “We’ll take small steps.

"We’ve got nine games left and it’s going to take a lot for us to get out of it. But until mathematically we can’t, we’ll keep working hard.

“I said when I first came into the club that I was under no illusions how hard it would be and I wasn’t saying that for the sake of it.

“I’m pleased for the fans and the other people at the club that work tirelessly hard. We lost on Saturday but they were still clapping the lads off.

“Days like this - yes, they’re for the players - but they’re for the fans, just as much.”

Former Herne Bay manager Ben Smith has been handed a two-match touchline ban by the FA for alleged comments made to a match official after his final game in charge.

Bay lost 3-2 at fellow strugglers Corinthian-Casuals at the start of November.

Smith has also been fined £250.