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...