Browsing Archive: November, 2009
Posted by Per Laleng on Wednesday, November 25, 2009,
 Whitstable suffered a heartbreaking lesson tonight in the art of concentrating until the final whistle, squandering a deserved lead to two late goals at thekrbs-Belmont. This was a game where they deserved at least a share of the points outplaying the visitors for much of the game. This was some improvement compared with the 3-0 drubbing suffered earlier in the summer. Alas, despite two great goals from captain Liam Quinn - who continues to lead by example - defensive frailties let the team d...
Where is it all going wrong? There was a strange sense of optimism before the game, but as has been noted elsewhere, it was short-lived. After Eastbourne scored their first, Whitstable disintegrated and this has to go down as the worst performance I have seen in some time: and that is saying something after some of the recent games! The cause wasn't helped by probably the worst referee I have ever seen, whose crowning glory was to give Eastbourne a free kick after James Campbell tried to h... Continue reading ...
 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...
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 ... Continue reading ...
Posted by Per Laleng on Sunday, November 15, 2009,
This took place at the Marine last night and was good fun. Woke up with a cracking hangover although I can't remember drinking that much. I assume it was too much sun ...
Bruce got a standing ovation from the room to recognise all the hard work he has put into the club over the years and it was well deserved. The best news of all is that there will now be an annual fixture known as the Bruce Smith shield between Whitstable and, yes, you guessed it, Herne Bay. This year's fixture is on 5th Au...
A Divided House?
(Not by the looks of things)
Not only did a large majority of the more vocal Oysterboys fail to turn up for this Boxing Day historical derby, but so too did some of Town's players. In fact, I'm not convinced I was wholly there either!
This was a game from which Town could, and probably should have taken some points after their league cup clash earlier this season. Whitstable won that one 1-0 away, Steve Marshall bagging the only goal.
Marshy scores in the Cup Tie
However, with a...
Pullman seeks solace from the ref
after failing to claim the match ball.
Horsham feel the heat.
Whitstable went into this six-pointer on the back of a good win in a friendly against Ryman Premier side Folkstone Invicta midweek, and the team seemed to be oozing confidence and determination from the first whistle. Horsham YMCA had notched up a mere 5 wins before this encounter. That included a double against newly promoted Eastbourne Town, who in turn had beaten and drawn with the Oystermen. For ... Continue reading ...
A dull afternoon at The Belmont
It's frustrating being a Whitstable fan at the moment - both on and off the pitch. It can only be hoped that non-football differences can play themselves out and find a resolution soon because it is becoming increasingly obvious that the absence of a united support can have a detrimental effect on the players. During a notable moment yesterday afternoon, veteran striker Steve Marshall shouted at the fans several times for some encouragement. Did the fans reac... Continue reading ...
A beautiful sky over Chipstead.
But are the Chips down for the Oysters? Pullie rues a squandered chance
This was always going to be a tough game. Chipstead have not only been flying in the league, but they play in green. So the omens were not good. The Chipstead side looked like a completely different team from that which won 2-1 at The Belmont earlier in the season. Unfortunately, they looked even better: tall, strong and solid in central defence and a tricky pairing at right back and ri... Continue reading ...
On arrival at Walton Casuals' ground set near a leisure centre, river (or canal) and a couple of massive reservoirs, there was a general sense of optimism in the air - like Whitstable Town FC were exuding belief from the dressing room before even entering the pitch. It helped tremendously that there was a hard core of singing Oysterboys and girls in good spirits behind the Walton goal.
 This game bore some of the hallmarks of the phrase heard bandied about pre-season: that in the Ryman leag... Continue reading ...
After the four-nil pasting by the excellent Tooting on Saturday, tonight's game should have been a comfortable win against bottom of the league Chipstead. A member of Tooting management had suggested to the Oysterboys that although Chipstead were a physical side, we should beat them even playing as poorly as we had against Tooting. This six-pointer did not go to plan - if indeed there was one.
In the first half, Whitstable were plain awful. No other word will do. There was not a single shot ...
Continue reading ...
Posted by Per Laleng on Friday, November 6, 2009,
Fair play to Seags, he said he would turn it round, and he did against Horsham YMCA on Saturday. Still reeling from the FA cup exit against Thamesmead last weekend, he made a number of changes to the team that limped out so ineffectually from the greatest cup competition in the world with the two most significant changes being the relegation of Steven Lloyd and club captain Marcos Perona to the bench, with Tommy Martin donning the captain's armband: a bold and surprising move given that Tom... Continue reading ...
Posted by Per Laleng on Friday, November 6, 2009,
(Marcos Perona contemplates the score-line: at this stage, like his armband, 3 to nil)
Expectation was running high with the visit of title contenders Tooting & Mitcham who had battled hard against Ashford midweek and got a good result with 10 men. It was thought in some quarters that Whitstable raise their game against the better sides. Alas, the bubble was pricked in the first 5 minutes as Tooting scored two in the blink of an eye. It is fair to say that Rob Thomas has put his hand up f... Continue reading ...
 The first game in the Ryman League for Whitstable Town in its 122 year history was always going to be an exciting occasion and the oystermen generally acquitted themselves well. They came out of the blocks, firing on all cylinders, and scored early from a set-piece. Veteran striker, Steve Marshall, held up the ball and set it up for captain Marcos Perona to fire a scorcher home from about 25 yards (left).
After the goal, Whitstable seemed to go to sleep for most of the rest of the first half. ... Continue reading ...
With
the football season drawing to an unwelcomely swift conclusion I
thought I would check out the most likely title challenger for next
season by visiting Hayes Lane for this play-off final between Cray and
Met. As both teams had progressed to the final via 1-0 wins, a similar
score-line looked the most likely. And omens proved correct in a
slightly nervy game between two physical and well-organised teams which
was punctuated by some moments of brilliance. The
first half was evenly balanced.... Continue reading ...
Hello hello hello?
It
was a beautiful day at the Met Police ground which, as steveparsons has
already noted, is probably the best ground in our division. And for the
first 5-6 minutes looked like we might cause an upset. Apart from a
recent win in a cup, Met Police really had failed to flatter in recent
games, and during the opening exchanges, they looked all over the
place. Whitstable looked in control. But a disallowed goal in the
fourth minute from the Met was an inauspicious sign. The goa... Continue reading ...
Seags put himself on the bench, but clearly felt the cause was hopeless!
The Manager had called for a performance from the team that proved that they had moved on from the Kent League, especially after recent decent displays against tough opposition. Unfortunately, the team didn't really respond to that call. True, the Oystermen remain beset by injuries but more significantly, they were missing GS at right back and the skipper in the midfield through suspension. And boy were they missed!
Steven... Continue reading ...
On
Tuesday 21 August Whitstable travelled to the newly laid pitch at
Metropolitan Police FC (inset above). A punter suggested that the
lights used to belong to Chelsea and it has to be said that they were
some of the best lights I have seen at this level of football -
although they could have done with having some by the half way line!
The
game promised to be a difficult one with the Police challenging for
promotion last term. With that in mind, manager Marc Seager appeared to
field a 4-5-1 fo...
Continue reading ...
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