WTFC 3 Gillingham U18s 3 - krbs cup (friendly) - 04.08.09

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 18:49:53 +0100

The Gills captain with the krbs cup

What a difference the presence of the manager makes! Or maybe it's just that the Oystermen raise their game against better sides? In any case, after a pretty lacklustre performance against Herne Bay last week, Whitstable were on fire for most of the game against the Gills youth team - no mugs themselves. With Cornhill at right wing and Dolton at left, there was a good balance to the team that has been lacking in recent years. Dom Elmes partnered Vahid up front, and he worked hard and was the standout performer for much of the first half.

Dominic Elmes

Elmes did not give up on any ball

Whether Cornhill will stay in the midfield or move back to the right back position remains to be seen, but he has a cracking shot on him - and it was his whipped free kick that found Vahid's head on 19 minutes and left the Gills keeper rooted to the spot. The dubious goals committee had it down as an own goal, but the consensus of official opinion has now given it to Vahid. No matter, it was a fine set piece.

Vahid claims the header for the opener

Back of the net!

The Gills are a determined lot, and came close to equalising within minutes. But Whitstable defended well and made several forrays into the Gillingham final third but really failed to test the keeper. Alex Hossick had a combative and impressive outing in the middle of the park - and it's good to see him back. Hopefully he will keep snapping at the heels of opposing players throughout the season. He was partnered by Jake Gess who seems more comfortable in the middle and with the two of them in the centre we have a couple of players who are not afraid to get stuck in. That said, it is to be hoped that Jake will keep his discipline under control this season. As a senior member of the squad, he now needs to lead by example.

Gess challenges for the high ball

Another surprise package is Dan Tanner, who despite seeming to carry a bit of excesive weight, has some real pace about him. And like Jake and Hossie, he's not afraid to get stuck in. This is a quality that the team will need in the forthcoming campaign.

Dan Tanner using his weight...

With Sam Denly taking the captain's armband, and his unrivalled reading of the game, the back line is starting to look strong. Steven Lloyd is not averse to throwing his weight around, and with GS 'Mr Crunch' at left back, it is going to take some brave players to try to break through the back four. Greg Smith is going to have to take some notes from his defensive partners in that regard.

Whitstable went in at half time a goal up and looking good for their lead. But it did not take long for the Gills to equalise. Tanner brought down Brown inside the box five minutes into the second half. Tanner's furious reaction probably should have earned him a yellow but the ref was lenient. He was less lenient with Denly later in the game, presumably booking him for dissent (but I was too far away to tell). Charlie Stimson slotted the pen sweetly into the bottom right hand corner. Nearly every penalty that Fewelly has conceded has gone that way (or is that my imagination?)

The Oystermen did not lie down and die. Rather, they continued to battle sensing that they had a chance for an upset. Elmes continued to chase every ball and found himself some nice spaces.

Elmes finds himself in the box and on another night might have got himself

a penalty for this clumsy challenge by the Gills captain

Vahid looked a little lumbersome at times, but as in previous matches, he showed some fantastic deft skills. One highlight was a neat backheel to Dolton to continue an attack down the left. As the game progressed, both he and Dolton grew in stature.

Dolton whips in a cross

Whitstable also threatened from corners and set pieces with a number of good headers of the ball willing targets. Both Dan Tanner and Sam Denly got on a few and cannot really be criticised for not doing better.

Sam Denly meets the corner as the Gills captain takes a tumble

It was from one header that Vahid latched onto the rebound, stretch athletically high up and toe-poke the ball past Quinn on 55 minutes.

Dan Tanner heads powerfully goalwards

Vahid scores his second of the game

The goal came after Cornhill had sent two pile-drivers at Quinn who made two superb stops to deny him. Whitstable were again in front, and it has to be said, not really against the run of play even if the Gills were a bit more adventurous in their attacking play. Fortunately, Hossie and Gess managed to keep the middle of the park relatively quiet which meant that the Gills had to rely on wing play, much of which was mopped up by some strong defending. Where Whitstable looked a little vulnerable was when Gillingham had the ball about 25-30 yards from goal in a central area: it was here that Whitstable seemed unsure about what they should do, whether to close down, block or clear their lines.

Hossie drifts a little to the left.

Although he lost this ball, he got up and chased after it

(and brought down a Gills player).

But good determination.

But it was some neat work down the right followed by a pin-point pass to an unmarked Stimson on the left post on 61 minutes that levelled the game at 2-2. In retrospect, it was probably loose marking by Smith that allowed the Gillingham player in. Again, the goal was probably deserved on the balance of play at that stage.

Gillingham took the lead for the first time on 75 minutes when Fisher netted the rebound from a goal-line clearance. In times gone by, that might have been that, but two things were notable: first, Munday had made some substitutions, and it seemed that all the substitutes were keen to impress, to fight for their shirt. Perhaps they sense that players will be picked on merit this season for a change! Second, Sam Denly pumped up his chest and directed his players to keep their heads up. And both factors combined for Whitstable's equaliser as Dolton whipped in a sweet low cross from the byline which found substitute Gooding in space. He fired home with aplomb to level the scores.

Dolton whips it in, having beaten his man.

Gooding met the cross sweetly

Dolton (No.11), Vahid (No.9) and Gooding (No.15) celebrate

Gooding is congratulated by his teammates

And that was that for full time, and for the second cup in succession, the game had to be decided on penalties. McVicker, who had come on for Fewell, was called upon yet again for the dreaded shoot-out. Vahid scored Whitstable's first, and after an excellent penalty against Herne Bay, it was only natural that GS should step up to the mark - but he blasted the ball as hard and high as Stuart Pearce. It may well have pierced the net - the net behind the stand. I know not. He will pick himself up, I'm sure.

McVicker is beaten

The Gills players scored all of theirs to win the shoot out 5-3 and to take the krbs cup.

A krbs rep presenting the cup

A good crowd of 648 saw some entertaining football last night and all could go home feeling good. Whitstable should not be too disheartened, because this was a very good performance all round - and if we continue to play like that, we might well go places this season.

Congratulations to Gillingham. My Oysterman of the match: Dan Dolton.

Burgess Hill 0 WTFC 1 - 16.08.09

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 18:46:50 +0100

It was a scorcher of a day at Burgess Hill, and the crowd of 300 plus particularly enjoyed the pre-game spectacle of the Town Crier announcing the game on the pitch. The Head to Head suggested this would be a close game despite Burgess Hill's decent pre-season record. Both teams started pretty brightly. Gary Sayer showed a willingness to drive forward from the left back position whilst at the same time having to mark the biggest No.7 I have ever seen in the shape of Cotton. He created a good chance in the opening minutes, only for Stuart Vahid's first touch to let him down.

Gary Sayer has the beating of Cotton

The team in yellow had the first real chance of the game on

8 minutes. Fewell seemed to react slowly to an unexpected shot,

but this was the only time his concentration let him down for

what was otherwise an excellent performance for the keeper on his

151st appearance for the club.

Another notable observation was the good communication between

the Oystermen, with skipper Sam Denly setting the example by

continuously chatting to the players around him.

Denly discusses tactics with Hossie

Whitstable played some neat, short-passing and attacking football during the opening exchanges. Hossick managed to dispatch a weak shot straight at the keeper on 12 minutes and Dan Dolton shot wide a minute later.

An Elmes sandwich

Dan Dolton down the wing

Four minutes later, Dolton was obstructed by the

hillian defence and Cornhill whipped in a low free kick

to which everyone reacted slowly apart from Vahid who

burst through to meet it down low only to contrive to put

the ball over the bar from about 6 yards.

It was difficult to execute a better shot on the stretch and he

should not be criticised for that.

Vahid puts it just over the bar

Two minutes later, Dolton whipped in a free kick

from the right hand side which Vahid met with his head,

and this time the ball found the back of the net.

The response from Burgess hill was to get a bit physical.

This was borne out of a bit of frustration but also,

perhaps, in response to some hard but fair tackling from

the Oystermen. Hossick fired high and wide

on 26 minutes after having too much time to think about

his shot, and this was shortly followed by a fantastic fingertip

save from Wonderfewell after their tricky No.11 started

switching flanks and creating the Burgess Hill play.

On 29 minutes, Curd fired wide after Hossie put him under

good pressure.

The balance of play was tipping definitively Burgess Hill's way

as they camped out in the Whitstable final third. A header over

on 32 minutes was followed three minutes later by a

goal-line clearance from Greg Smith as Fewell was

well-beaten and stranded in the middle of the goal.

The hillians

continued their onslaught, playing some neat one-two

football with both Lansdale and Barnard making

space for themselves in the final third. Whitstable's response

was characterised by some panicked play with more than

one ball being hoofed anywhere.

Whitstable did make it into the Burgess Hill final third

once more before the end of the half when Vahid's

neat first touch saw him spin free from his marker,

but his hurried shot from distance went high and wide.

Burgess Hill got the last chance of the half on 45

minutes after a long ball fell to Cotton whose shot was

tipped around for a corner by Fewell.

Burgess Hill were out early for the second half, no doubt

having been told to carry on what they were doing.

Their No.11 launched a snap shot five minutes into the

second half causing yet another good save from Fewelly.

The passage of play then became quite frenetic and for a

short while end to end stuff. Burgess Hill put one wide

on 57 minutes after a good break down the right hand

flank and Vahid headed wide two minutes later. Good

play between Elmes and Vahid saw Gess receive the

ball on 63 minutes, but he too shot just wide.

Munday took Vahid and Gess off who were replaced by

Wisker and Parker. Perhaps the idea was to protect the lead,

but the passing became a little more sloppy although

Wisker came very close with a backwards looping header

on 78 minutes. Elmes was half a yard off the rebound.

Burgess Hill thought they had scored a minute before time,

but it seems that Fewell kept the ball in play. When Burgess

Hill got the ball back, Cotton put it into the side netting.

Whitstable held out and just about deserved the three points,

although they will need to up their game against future opposition.

A good start to the season but despite the head to head form
against Croydon, Wednesday night will be tough against a revamped Athletic side.

Sorry about the formatting here - it just does weird things sometimes

WTFC 1 Godalming 1 - 25.04.09

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 18:41:45 +0100

Marc Seager.

Thanks for the success you have brought the club

Perhaps unsurprisingly, this was a very scrappy game, especially the first half. Neither team had anything real to play for. Whitstable wanted to surpass their points-tally from last season. I can't quite work out where Godalming were last season, but if they were promoted, they had already done very well. Of course, as it turns out, the game itself was eventually overshadowed by the news that Marc Seager had resigned his position as manager of the club. Everyone wishes him the best of luck in his future endeavours, and because he says his resignation is to spend more time with his family, it is to be hoped that the majority of the club's players will remain as Oystermen next season under whichever new management the club appoints.

Gordon shows Seags his appreciation

Godalming had the best of the game. In the 7th minute they forced GS to clear off the line - not the first time I've said that this season! And a couple of minutes later Liam Quinn and Kevin Fewell had an uncharacteristic mix-up in the box which Fewelly eventually managed to clear.

Whitstable's first real attack saw Tom Parker shoot tamely towards goal after the trademark 'switch throw' on 11 minutes. This led to an immediate counterattack. Jack Tanner tried to shield the ball out of play at the other end, but a pacey No.11 dribbled round him and got his cross in for Campbell to clear. Soon thereafter, Dave Cory handballed but somehow the ref saw a corner from which Whitstable failed to capitalise.

Cory handles

The Whitstable players have a laugh with a Godalming player

Pullie has a shot through a throng of Godalming players

The first half half continued in similar scrappy vein and no-one really seemed up for it. Only Tanner put in some dangerous looking runs and crosses and Campbell looked tidy at the back.

Jack Tanner steaming forward

Jake Gess battles for the ball whilst Pullie gets one in the face

The game became a little better in the second half even if Godalming continued to have the best of the play. However, on 70 minutes Whitstable scored a well-worked goal after Cornhill and Cory played some good one-touch football. Cory eventually crossed for his strike-partner who was unmarked at the far post and headed home his 20th goal of the season in all competitions.

Pullie came close with this one

But this was better. Goaaaaaal

Five minutes later, Fewell was forced to make an excellent stop. Considering he was playing with a dodgy ankle he had yet another fantastic game between the sticks. However, despite making a fabulous double save some three minutes before the end, he could not keep out the rebound as Godalming equalised. Probably a fair result in the end and Whitstable end the campaign on 50 points, the same total as last year.

Some budding Oystermen?

Walton Casuals 1 WTFC 2 - 18.04.09

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 18:40:00 +0100

In a game in which neither side had much to play for and after a gruelling Cup Final against Welling United on Thursday, a fairly low tempo opening was perhaps not that unexpected. But it was also heartening to see that Seags decided against fielding a team made up exclusively of fringe-players. Many who started against Welling also played on Saturday, and surprisingly played with an unexpected level of energy for which they should be commended.

There was an interesting lesson to be learned from Saturday’s game, a trait which has been apparent for some time now: Whitstable is a very ‘reactive’ team – it often responds to the quality put before it. This is great against the better teams, but not quite as welcome against poorer sides. And Walton Casuals were surprisingly poor given their recent run of form. The net result: a very scrappy affair, especially in the first half.

Of course, the lesson that should be drawn from this is the fact that Whitstable needs to concentrate on playing their own game rather than taking their cue from the opposition. As suggested in the last match report, and echoing the point made by Seags made time and again, Whitstable can be a very good team, and they need to put that realisation consistently into practice.

Despite a low key opening on Saturday, Whitstable took the initiative and opened their account within 10 minutes of the start. From memory, the goal slotted calmly past a mouthy Casuals keeper by Pullie was set up by Dan Wisker playing on the left wing.

Dan Wisker

Wisker saw a lot of the ball on Saturday, but he is some way off making the left wing his permanent berth and he was clearly short of confidence on Saturday given the number of questionable decisions he made. But like the manager, I think Wisker has great potential once he finds his best position. I suspect it’s a roving attacking midfield role behind a solitary striker and between two out and out wingers.

Within a minute of Whitstable’s goal, Casuals came close to equalising but Quinn put in a good last ditch tackle. Wisker continued to see much of the ball and on 14 minutes, he inter-changed well with Tanner who in turn crossed for Cory who headed just over.

The game then became quite uneventful apart from some pretty shocking play by Tom Parker who was partnering Gooding in the middle of the park. The only redeeming feature of Parker’s game was his willingness to tackle hard and his constant encouragement to his team-mates.

With 25 minutes on the clock Tanner got off a shot, perhaps testing his range. But repeating the pattern of the game, within minutes of a good Whitstable attack, Casuals responded in like manner.

Three minutes after Tanner’s effort and Fewell was forced to make a good double save which ironically caused the Casuals players to argue with each other.

OK, Casuals weren’t exactly looking that threatening, but the kind of personal abuse that they were meting out to eachother was a little uncalled for.

Wisker with an overhead kick

Erm, you're supposed to be on the same side!!!

The Oysterboys creating their own spectacle!

Cory shows some chest control

Whitstable seized on their apparent psychological advantage and on 41 minutes Jack Tanner netted his fourth of the campaign with yet another good free kick from distance.

Tanner has the beating of the Casuals keeper

Tanner is congratulated by his team mates

Whitstable came close to getting their third a minute into injury time after Pullie shot hard at the keeper who could but spill. He saved Cory’s rebound.

Because Whitstable looked so comfortable, there was a risk of complacency entering their play in the second half, and that complacency duly manifested itself.

Cornhill had replaced Perona before the break (I assume an injury) and he was guilty of a couple of poor touches towards the beginning of the second half. It would seem it is taking him a bit of time to regain that certainty of touch that characterised his impressive start for the Oystermen. Fortunately, both Quinn and especially Campbell were having very solid games alongside him.

Quinn keeps control at the back

how camp is that ref...

Cory kept running throughout

Just before the hour mark Pullie shot weakly at the keeper. He followed this with a better shot 30 second later, but his effort skimmed the bar. Not to be outdone, Cory took a leaf from his strike-partner’s book and also shot over a couple of minutes later. A minute later Cory came closer forcing the keeper to tip his shot over the bar.

Tanner takes on someone a few feet taller than him!

One of the best moves of the game came on 68 minutes when Cornhill passed to Pullie who flicked the ball over his head to set up Cory breaking through. His shot bounced off the keeper and hit him in the face.

Pullie flicks it on to Cory

Seags shows his admiration (and somehow makes the ball float!!!)

Moments before hi comedy fall (maybe it was Fewell's exercise in the background)

Cory has a giggle about his fall

5 minutes later, Wisker dribbled through the middle of the park (he clearly feels much more comfortable there) and set up Pullie who in turn put the ball wide.

Cory kept running

Wisker battles for the ball

Seags chucks it to Cornhill

With a quarter of an hour left to play, Walton earned a penalty and Fewell was sent the wrong way yet again. The goal galvanised the Casuals, but it wasn’t enough to spur the Casuals along despite Whitstable’s apparent inability to finish and Cory’s comedy attack (running with the ball in acres of space down the right hand side he somehow managed to trip himself up to the merriment of all concerned).

A good solid win, and as has been pointed out elsewhere, 3 points against Godalming on Saturday will see us with more points than last season – surely evidence of progression?

It is to be hoped that Seags can keep the bulk of the team together next season – even better with an addition or two – with a view to building on the achievements to date. A solid enough season, with an unexpected Cup Final.

Looking forward to Saturday and am gutted that the season is almost over! You Reds!

Welling United 6 WTFC 1 - Kent Senior Cup final - 16.04.09

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 18:35:58 +0100

What a cracking game of football! Whitstable had not really expected to get this far in the competition and they should be credited for this acheievement: the first outing in this Final in their history. Although the score-line suggests a rout, as has been said elsewhere, that score-line may be a little deceiving because The Oystermen kept playing until the end - and had they put their chances away, this game could have looked more like a rugby score. The players were clearly disappointed at the final whistle, but in my view they stood up well to the mammoth task before them.

There was a good turn out at Welling. Before kick-off some had speculated that there would be more Oysterboys there than Welling fans, but by the time of the whistle, hardened Welling fans had found their way to the stadium and made up a large proportion of the 617 crowd. Perhaps the size of the crowd scared little Archie off from his duties as mascot for the evening, but that aside, he has a mean pass. Sign him up!

All round the ground there were fans in red, making for a cracking atmosphere...

The committee etc

Good to see the real Choirmaster back

(tho he clearly did not approve of his under-study!)

Happy Birthday Mr Bruce!

Some Whitstable Juniors out for the night

Welling had plainly learned from Bromley's mistakes in the semi-final and they took the game to Whitstable from the off. In the first few minutes they earned a number of corners which Whitstable dealt with comfortably enough. But Whitstable played well on the counter-attack, a number of which were set up by veteran Marcos Perona who had a decent game back at right back.

The problem for much of the first half was that Whitstable did not seem able to beat the Welling offside trap and found themselves caught time and again (even if some of the linesmen's decisions were suspect to say the least: my favourite when Gess's backpass caused the lino to raise his flag for offside against a Welling player!).

Welling looked threatening down the left flank courtesy of a very swift Adamola who just did not stop running all night. He also put in some decent-looking crosses. A mere 5 minutes into the game and Fazakerley was clean through on goal having beaten the red men for pace but put his blistering shot wide. A couple of minutes later, however, a Whitstable player (I did not see who) was adjudged to have brought down a Welling player in the area. Charlie Sheringham (son of Teddy) sent Fewell the wrong way, and Welling got off to the start they presumably wanted.

Whitstable were not to be outdone: they pressed the play and on 11 minutes they hit the post. Munday attempted the follow-up, but was somehow adjudged to have been offside - or perhaps it was a free kick. Either way, it seemed a poor decision.

Denly heads goalwards (hits post?)

Munday follows up

Gess concedes a free kick (how?)

The players in red seemed buouyed by their performance and despite facing a technically gifted Welling side, they continued to press. Both Gess and Gooding harassed players in the middle of the park and on the quarter hour mark, Cory broke through after winning the ball from the sprightly and omnipresent Sinclair, and fired viciously straight at the keeper.

Cory has the beating of Sinclair

and shoots...

Moments later, however, Whitstable earned a free kick some distance outside the area which Pullie dispatched with aplomb past the outstretched Wilkinson. It was just reward for some hard work and the delight amongst the Whitstable players and fans was palpable.

Wilkinson tries to reach Pullie's freekick

Pullie slides across the turf on his knees

and Munday jumps on the pile

Perhaps sensing another upset, Welling upped the tempo and within 5 minutes of Pullie's wonder-strike, the Welling left back, Parkinson fired home from an acute angle at Fewell's near post. It was a goal that should not have been conceded even if it was an expertly taken shot. It was 2-1 to the home side, and the game was definitely on with barely 20 minutes on the clock.

On 26 minutes, GS made an excellent run from the left back position and dribbled his way to within yards of the Welling goal, but it was perhaps hoping too much to witness a second goal from the tough-tackling full back in one season! But Welling were well and trule rattled by the failure of Whitstable to give up.

Gess exemplified Whitstable's resistance to rolling over

(and played at right midfield)

Unfortunately, on the half hour mark, Welling's other full back, Protheroe, scored a screamer from about 30 yards that left Fewell rooted to the spot. Although he did not move, it was probably pointless - but who was supposed to be closing down? And from this moment on, it seemed that the two Welling full backs were in competition to see who could score the most as 5 minutes later Parkinson went close again with a shot that grazed the bar.

Five minutes before the half time whistle and Cory finally beat the offside trap and forced a good save from Wilkinson that lead to a Whitstable corner. The Oystermen failed to capitalise on their advantage and a couple of minutes later saw another ball graze their own cross bar.

Wilkinson saves from Cory

The Welling defender seems upset about something!

Wilkinson beats Gess to the high ball from the corner

On 45 minutes Denly made a fantastic last-ditch crunching tackle on Fazakerley who would otherwise have been clean through on goal which was followed closely by a super save from WonderFewell from close-range.

The ref blew for half-time and time for everyone to catch their breath.

Whitstable should have been encouraged by their performance, and it did not look like a game that was over. Unfortunately, within 3 mminutes of the restart, Ademola scored after a mix-up in the penalty area. But Welling did not take their foot off the pedal. They were hungry for more goals. Yet Whitstable continued to attack whenever they could. Danny Tipple showed some great trickery and started to push forward whenever he got the ball. He interplayed well with Pullie, Gooding, and when necessary, GS. Gooding did a great back-heel pass to Pullie at one point who in turn unsuccessfully tried to lob the keeper.

Welling resorted to some strong-man tactics on Tipple

Pullie tries to lob the keeper

A few minutes later, Tipple started another driving attack down the left and put Cory through. His shot went a little awry but Gess followed up and struck the post from close range.

Cory shoots

Gess hits the post

and moments later is out wide winning the ball

Meanwhile, at the back, Denly and GS were putting in some stunning tackling. I suspect that the Welling right winger (Sanchez Ming) was for a bath and some bandages by this point.

On the hour mark, the linesman gave the comedy offside decision, but this did not deter Welling who scored their 5th of the night after some good play down the left hand side with the ball being caressed from player to player until Johnson received it just to the right of the area and then blasted it into the back of the net: to chants of "Easy, Easy". In fact, it wasn't easy, Welling were just more clinical than Whitstable could muster.

With 20 minutes or so to go, Gooding back heeled to Pullie who shot just wide. Andy Ford threw on some fresh legs with Greenhall the pick of the bunch at left wing. He came close with 13 minutes on the clock and 5 minutes later, Fewell made another fantastic save, except that the rebound landed nicely for Parkinson who scored his second of the night. It was 6-1 to the hosts, but most would say, unfairly so.

Whitstable tried to make the scoreline more respectable with Pullie getting in another couple of shots and Perona continuing his excellent distribution, but alas, it was not to be.

At the final whistle, the better side had won, but Whitstable can be proud of their overall performance. The game showed what is required to move up a couple of levels, and it seems that this is some way off. However, if that sort of performance is put in week in, week out, moving to the next level should not be the most difficult task in the world.

The players were knackered and disappointed as they watched the Welling side celebrate winning the cup, but taking this performance into the next couple of games and overhauling Walton & Hersham in the League table is the best response to the disappointment.

Jack Tanner, on as a sub, sweating...

Liam Quinn looks on

Perona, Denly and Tipple

Seags commisorates Campbell

The Oysterboys ...

Well played! You Reds!

The winners

WTFC 1 Sittingbourne 1 - 13.04.09

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 18:35:37 +0100

The game was far from being a spectacle. In fact, most of this performance was pretty poor. It was just as well that Sittingbourne seemed to have forgotten their shooting boots as well or else this could have been a very different story. It wasn't even a game of two halves: rather it was a game of 80 minutes rubbish followed by 10 minutes of some really attractive play by Whitstable - when they could almost have picked up an unlikely three points. But a point is not to be sniffed at, so well done You Reds!

Sam Denly was back in action at the back alongside Quinn. Both had pretty solid performances - neit doing anything spectacular. What they did, they did with the minimum of fuss.

Cornhill was back at right back and although he made a couple of early errors and was arguably not marking his man closely enough, he came into the game as it progressed. GS reverted to his role at left back with Tipple on the bench. It will be interesting to see what happens at the Cup Final tomorrow with all this competition in the full back roles. That said, one thing was pretty clear, Wisker did not feel very comfortable at left midfield so it would be staggering to see him in that berth tomorrow I would have thought.

Perona operated at right midfield and although guilty of a couple of wayward passes as a result of not checking whether there was in fact a colleague to pass to in the first place, he made amends for those mistakes with some good tracking back as well as some determined attacking play in the final few minutes of the game. Gooding had a pretty solid game in the middle of the park, but Parker was poor.

Up front, Pullie worked pretty hard but for work rate was probably pipped to it by his strike partner Dave Cory who has already picked up the gong for Oysterman of the Match as well as now having socred more league goals this season than Pullie. I'm not sure whether the Golden Boot relates only to league goals or whether it also includes Cup goals.

Pullie got the first shot in some 15 minutes into the game but his effort just skimmed the top corner of the goal with the keeper well beaten.

Within a minute, however, Sittingbourne scored as their No.11 found himself completely unmarked in acres of space almost drectly infront of the goal and fired past an unprotected Fewell.

Fifteen minutes later, Quinny and Cornhill got themselves in a mess and Fewell could only spill a ball which he eventually managed to clear. A couple of minutes Parker took the worst free kick ever as the ball barely met the wall and five minutes later he gave away a needless freekick just outside the Whitstable area which fortunately came to nothing.

Some 15 minutes into the secon half saw a good free kick from Marcos Perona, headed on by Denly to Cory who scored, but the referee chalked it off apparently due to Denly's climbing over his man. Probably about right although another ref may have let it pass.

With a minute or two to go Cornhill set Cory up for the second time in the space of a couple of minutes with a nice pass from the edge of the area.

Cory slotted it calmly into the back of the net - it has to be said against the run of play.

However, it set up a frantic last few minutes durinng which Whitstable could have taken all the points, but were happy with just the one point.

WTFC 1 Folkestone Invicta 1 - 23.09.08

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 18:31:48 +0100

I went to The Belmont on a one-man protest: by not taking my camera and deciding instead to make use of my season ticket from the stands. Maybe this is the way forward because Whitstable played really well for the first time this season. I gather some words were had after the Eastbourne game, and whatver was said seemed to have had the desired result!

There is very little to add to what has already been said about the game. In the first half, Whistable was in complete control against a team that was lying third in the table. Munday and Gooding in the middle of the park dominated creating some good chances. Twenty minutes in, Munday slotted a through ball to Jack Tanner whose cross cum shot deflected off a Folkestone defender narrowly missing the post. Five minutes later Whitstable played to the whistle after a potential foul in the middle of the park. Dave Cory and Clint Gooding played some good one-two football (when did we last do that?) - Gooding was clean through on goal with Munday backing him up. Clint tried to place his shot in the bottom right hand corner forcing a good save from the veteran Folkestone stopper.

The attacks kept coming. On 22 minutes Jack Tanner again broke down the right after Gooding intercepted a pass from deep, but Tanner's reward for breaking through was to be subjected to two crunching tackles in quick succession that sounded painful from the stands. The referee saw nothing wrong and allowed play to go on. Probably the only bad decision the referee made all night. he may have been relying on his assistant who was yards away, but everyone could see the second tackle was terrible.

At the other end Kevin Fewell made a great save in a goal mouth scramble following an Invicta corner on 32 minutes.The attempt motivated Folkestone who had a ten minute spell of control of the game culminating in a good attack down the left. The cross narrowly missed an incoming attacker. But a minute before half time, Folkestone again attacked down the left. Rob Thomas was outmuscled by a Folkestone player who fired across the box for an easy tap-in on the far side.

It's not always good to go in at half time having just conceded, but given Whitstable's recent form, it may not have been that bad as it meant that heads would not drop. In fact, Whitstable came out in the second half firing scoring almost from the off. The ball moved swiftly from Liam Quinn, through Dan Wisker, who crossed to Jake Gess in space on the left hand side of the area. His header was placed in the top right hand corner looping beautifully over the Folkestone keeper.

A couple of minutes later, Dave Cory almost replicated Maradonna's Hand of God goal from a Jack Tanner cross. The referee failed to spot the handball!

Tanner must have been carrying a knock because he was replaced by Marcos Perona twenty minutes into the second half. After Tanner's withdrawal, Whitstable started to lose their shape and Folkestone were right back in the game. It felt as if it were only a matter of time before they scored again. Fewell was forced to make yet another excellent save on 75 minutes and Rob Thomas made at least one goal-line clearance making up for his first half mistake. With further substutions (Parker and Pulman), the shape disintegrated further, not helped by the fact that Gooding's passing suddenly fell to pieces.

But Whitstable held on and a point was an excellent result given recent form. The sting in the tail is that Whitstable still go bottom of the table. But it is tight down there and if The Oystermen can replicate this performance, they should start climbing the table. That said, this is no time for complacency. It was one result, one point, and there is much football to be played.

Oysterman of the match may well also be a tight affair given a number of impressive performances. It made a huge difference to the team with Tipple back in the left back positiion and given that Gess is the only scorer in the league so far, he almost has to be an automatic choice until someone else starts scoring.

I won't be at the Leatherhead game for reasons unconnected with football. I hope to hear good news of continued improvement.

Sittingbourne 3 WTFC 0 - 27.12.08

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 18:31:23 +0100

Somewhere between jimmygreaves, steveparsons and myself, there lies a jinx: I’m pretty sure none of us have witnessed many if any wins this season (come to think of it, I saw the win against Croydon towards the beginning of term). On the other hand, such talk is pure superstition and detracts from the real causes of yet another average performance (if only I had seen the apparent brilliance against Chipstead). Some of those causes have already been identified: some very odd selections, hurried passing, balls over the top, lack of tactical nous, lack of service to the front two, belated substitutions etc.

Sittingbourne won this game when they scored their second towards the end of the first half. Their first was a very well-taken corner powerfully headed into the back of the net by one of their tall centre-backs. The corner was taken short, passed back to the taker who then floated a beautiful cross directly onto the head of the incoming defender. Someone should have been picking him up, but even so, it is unlikely much could have been done about it.

Sittingbourne’s second, however, was down to poor defending. Pure and simple. Like the first, the second came courtesy of a corner, but this time the ball pin-balled around the area and was poked in when it should have been cleared.

That was pretty much the story of the first half but for a Pullie shot that clipped the bar on 7 minutes and a second attempt by the same player on 26 minutes after Dave Cory flicked a ball nicely on for Danny Tipple whose through-ball found Pullie bursting through. But his shot only found the solid Sittingbourne keeper well-positioned to save.

Whitstable hardly came out all guns blazing, but Seags made a double attacking substitution when he replaces Duffy and Tanner by Wisker and Jon Neal. Attacking, yes, but it took some time to work out who was then playing where. It looked like a 4-3-3 with Pullie dropping into the hole and Wisker at right mid-field. To be fair, this produced some better football and the Sittingbourne keeper was heard to shout “we’re falling apart”. Both subs made a big difference – Jon Neal, who I’ve given some stick about after his last spell with the club, looked like he has benefited from playing at clubs higher up the league: his positioning, passing and ball-holding play were pretty good on the whole and Wisker, despite making a couple of mistakes at least showed a willingness to chase the ball as well as put in the odd tackle. This is more than can be said for many other players.

Despite misplacing a few balls, the creative heart-beat on Saturday for me was Perona. True, some of his passing was too hurried and both he and Campbell were guilty of some wayward balls. But Perona made up for his mistakes by some clever distribution. I’m not convinced the same can be said of Campbell, who for me, still has something to prove.

Danny Tipple also came into his own when moved back to his usual position at left back. GS also looked more comfortable at right back – funnily enough, also his usual position. The highlight for me was a lovely attacking move by Tipple as he cut inside after his neat inside-flick that caused gasps from some sections of the crowd.

Sittingbourne showed their class, however, and scored their third after Tom Parker lost the ball in midfield. Sittingbourne’s powerful No.9 took advantage and slotted past the advancing Fewell. The final score did flatter a little, but across the park Sittingbourne were simply better than Whitstable.

There is clearly work to be done and despite the score, this was not the worst performance of the season. Sittingbourne actually looked pretty ordinary in the first 20 minutes, but after the Oystermen went two down and until the substitutions, they did not look like they wanted it.

Fortunately, many of the other results went our way too and things do not look as desperate as they otherwise might.

Chipstead 2 WTFC 1 - 16.08.08

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 18:29:40 +0100

One of last season's fellow promotees, Chipstead, still play in green. But Whitstable's new strip (tight shorts apart) made them look more imposing on the pitch and for the first half hour or so, they also looked the more threatening. In fact, there was a general air of confidence about the team in red. Liam Quinn's excellent pre-season appears to have been rewarded with the captaincy. Perona found himself on a strong bench with Seags reverting to a 3-5-2 formation which, if my memory serves me, had been rejected by Simon H as a failed experiment after the friendly against Maidstone. There are two sound reasons for trying it: to prevent last season's haemmorraghing of goals and to utilise the strong centre backs at Whitstable's disposal. But at the moment, it isn't working. It is also difficult to see how that formation will accommodate either GS or Eastwood. It is, of course, entirely possible that both of them were injured for yesterday's game.

Throughout the match, Whitstable's most threatening play came down the right hand side courtesy of Jack Tanner who had an excellent game. Time and again, Chipstead left him in acres of space. The fact that he stuck doggedly to the right hand touch was also strong evidence against the Oystermen's tendency to bunch up prior to Kevin Fewell's kicks. It must surely be clear by now that Whitstable do not win the second ball too often when they're all clogged up on one side of the pitch? But when there is more space between the players, they increase their chances of winning that elusive second ball.

Whitstable's cause was hampered by some dodgy refereeing. A mere 5 minutes into the game, Ian Pulman was clearly fouled just outside the area (although he fell inside it). The referee, who was badly positioned, let the game continue.

On 26 minutes, and it has to be said, against the run of play, Chipstead broke down the right hand side through their impressive Findlay who crossed for Watson to head comfortably into the back of the net as Fewell and one of his defenders got in each other's way. The goal boosted Chipstead who started a series of attacking movements. Liam Quinn made two crucial blocks.

At the other end, Clint Gooding penetrated the Chipstead defence on the right and whipped one in for Ian Pulman who was half a yard too short to make proper contact. And this pattern was repeated as both Jack Tanner and Dave Cory put some great crosses into the six yard box with no-one at the end of it. But in the 44th minute, Dave Cory squared nicely to Jake Gess just inside the area who fired into the bottom right hand corner to continue his impressive goal scoring.

Chipstead came out quickly in the second half forcing Quinn to make yet another important defensive header a minute into the half. Campbell then lost his cool a little as he gave away two unnecessary free-kicks. Fortunately Chipsetad failed to capitalise. On 53 minutes, the Chipstead keeper clearly brought down Ian Pulman inside the 6 yard box and although he claimed he was kicked in the head, the picture shows an obvious rugby tackle. What did the ref so? He gave Ian Pulman a yellow card presumably for simulation. A terrible decision.

Tom Parker who had an energetic game at defensive midfield then broke through on a couple of occasions with some impressive dribbling, but his final cross left a little to be desired. Danny Tipple who seemed to be playing at left midfield was surprisingly quiet in his new role, but this could have had something to do with the fact that the Chipstead right back was both quick and an excellent tackler and therefore kept him quiet. And when Tipple finally did zoom down the left on 71 and 72 minutes, both his crosses went way out.

At the back, Liam Quinn continued to discharge his impressive defensive duties and Paul Ainsworth made a wonderful last ditch tackle on 76 minutes. But with 13 minutes to go, Quintyne, the Chipstead substitute, dribbled the ball from the left hand side, past 3 or 4 Whitstable players to the centre and - encouraged by the watching fans to shoot - duly delivered and banged the ball from distance into the bottom left hand corner.

Five minutes later, the Oysterboys bore witness to internal divisions as the Whitstable players started arguing with each other. Not a professional sight it has to be said. But this did lead to three more attacks by the Oystermen punctuated by a Chipstead claim for a penalty. Cory crossed only for Pullie to head over 7 minutes from time. 4 minutes later, Danny Tipple put Pullie through but he shot just wide and the final action of the game was a good Jake Tanner cross which went just ahead of Dave Cory who failed to connect.

In short, it was a game of missed opportunities and the common theme was a failure by the Whitstable front line to be in the right place at the right time. There were some dangerous crosses particularly from the right, but the strikers were about a yard off on nearly every occasion. With the pace of Pullie and Cory, this should be capable of remedy. I left the game feeling disappointed but on reflection, there were plenty of positives. There is still the tendency to give the ball away too cheaply, but this is improving. There is also the tendency to lose shape in the middle of the park and as is often the case, it was difficult to work out who was supposed to be playing what position in the middle. Total football is a great concept, but Holland we are not! The two best players for me were also the two who stuck doggedly to their positions: Jack Tanner and Liam Quinn. Tom Parker also came close. And there is a lesson in that.

Oysterman of the match, by a whisker, Jack Tanner.

Chatham 1 WTFC 2 - 15.03.08

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 18:27:52 +0100

Tommy Martin is delighted with the second goal

This was a six pointer that Whitstable was in danger of throwing away. The first half display by the Oystermen was dire - the only saving grace being that it did not look like Chatham was going to score: Whitstable's back line was relatively solid despite the lack of control in midfield, and Chatham seemed to have left their finishing boots in the dressing room. But for the vast majority of the first half, Whitstable was pegged down in their own half with few Whitstable players relishing the task of closing Chatham down. The players in red often found themselves positioned in small, neat triangles usually facing a single uninspired Oysterman who wasn't about to get involved in any piggy-in-the-middle. On the few occasions that the Oystermen made forays into the Chatham third, there was little evidence of threat even if Marcos Perona tried his best to lead by work-rate example.

Marcos Perona gets in a tangle with a Chatham defender

There was a short passage of play about 20 minutes in when Whitstable spent more than 3 minutes in the Chatham half. Ian Pulman made one angled dribble across the goal but having held onto the ball for too long kicked tamely into the waiting arms of the Chatham keeper. But the general problem was that the ball spent too much time in the air and the second ball invariably landed at the feet of a Chatham player.

Having taken the ball for a dribble,
Pulman lets off a weak shot towards the Chatham goal

Cory challenges.

Jake Gess battles aerially

The Chatham keeper punches clear

Despite the apparent lack of threat at the other end by Chatham, score they did in the first half and a come-back looked unlikely given the performance of the Oystermen during the first half on what was a pretty terrible playing surface.

After the whistle for the second half, the signs were ominous as Chatham came out firing on all cylinders. For about 5 minutes it looked as if Chatham would extend their lead after a period of sustained early pressure. But within a few minutes, a Chatham defender headed the ball weakly back to his keeper who flapped at it in the face of an onrushing Ian Pulman. Pully rounded the keeper and slotted the ball calmly into the back of the net for his 11th of the season. Game on.

Pulman rounds the keeper and scores

Perona congratulates the prolific Pulman

Chatham did not let up and as the drizzle started, so too did increased pressure. There was wave after wave of Chatham attacks with a number of free kicks and corners in the Whitstable third. But Kevin Fewell was solid in the air and commanded his area with aplomb. Particularly notable at the back was GS who after cutting his head against Kingstonian last Saturday seemed a little (understandably) reluctant to get stuck in during the first half. In the second, however, he was back to his previous best with some tight marking and crucial interceptions. His forays forward and link play with Tommy Martin also ensured some good attacking wing play.

Kevin Fewell rises and saves

GS, playing with a stitched eye had a great game,
especially in the second half.

Against the run of play (despite Whitstable playing much better), the Oystermen then scored a second. Marcos Perona had come close seconds before as he closed in on the keeper only to chip too high (he was probably too close to goal to chip - but it was a good try all the same). But from the middle of a scramble in the area, the ball emerged at speed through the crowd and into the bottom of the net. Quinn had scored his second of the campaign. There was some confusion on the sidelines about who had scored (mostly caused by me), but the goal scorer has now been identified!

Marcos Perona tries to chip the keeper
but puts it over.

From a scramble in the area,
Liam Quinn scores through the crowd.

The second goal settled Whitstable into their recently more familiar solid cruise control and from that moment the feeling was that Chatham would not claw one back despite their continued pressing. With that goal, they lost the upper hand and with it their coolness. Their frustration was almost palpable.

Waiting for the set piece.

Whitstable had to play out a slightly nervy 7 minutes (!) of extra time. But with Chatham losing their control, they ended up giving away a series of corners which ensured that Whitstable could run down the clock. On the issue of corners: Whitstable seem to get a lot of these and it seems to me that they should try to do more with them as they rarely lead to a goal.

GS has a disagreement with the ref about something
in the closing minutes.

The travelling support applaud the captain
who also had a very good game.

To be fair on Chatham, I think Whitstable were fortunate to come home with 3 points. But it's a results business and any win will do. However, playing like that, especially in the first half, is going to make the rest of the season a very uninspiring affair and hopefully the lads will continue to push towards and beyond the 40 points and a respectable finish.

Oysterman of the match for me: GS but this is subject to the view of the Oysterboys vote...

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