Anyone who has seen all three of City’s games so far this season, now knows that their matches will be at the very least – eventful!
Having beaten K Sports on Monday with a ninety-fourth minute goal, they had the tables turned on them today by Whyteleafe who scored a ninety-sixth minute winner less than sixty seconds after City thought they’d saved a point by levelling in the ninety-fifth!
It would be fair to say that Whyteleafe, on their longest league match journey of the season certainly enjoyed their day out at the seaside as they served up a bucket of reality to a depleted City side, who chipped in with their own spade full of naivety.
The first-half will not have gone down well in anyone’s memory with a distinct lack of quality from both sides in some very warm and bright, sunny conditions. A lot of heavy touches, mis-placed passes and needless offsides interspersed with a bit of football probably accounted for at least the first twenty-five minutes before either team could muster a near genuine attempt on goal as Aaron Watson hammered the ball into the side netting from a tight angle for the visitors.
City had been constantly trying to get Harry O’Donnell away though down the left with little success until the twenty-seventh minute when a well weighted and pin-point ball from Luka Radojevic over the Whyteleafe defence finally got him on his way. He cut inside near the by-line, fired in a low cross which visiting keeper Dan Smith failed to securely hold on to and under pressure from Tim Marapara, it just dribbled away from him allowing Rob Lawrence to pounce, shimmy some space and fire home to give City the lead at 1-0.
Despite the goal, the game still didn’t really spark into life and many more low-key minutes passed by before there was any further goalmouth action when Leafe’s Gus Ward fired in a shot from the angle that took the slightest of deflections and had City keeper Tom Benham back-pedalling and eventually making a very good save, clawing away the ball over his head at full stretch.
Finally the game was taking off and a City free-kick, central and thirty-five yards out, saw Lawrence strike it with loads of power but seeing the ball lift harmlessly a yard over the bar. Ward, who was looking the most likely to produce anything for the hitherto lack-lustre visitors then almost set up an equaliser when his low, firmly struck cross was deflected up and over the City bar by the inrushing Jesse Sentamu. Whyteleafe then failed to capitalise on a couple of other promising positions, but with the clock ticking into added time, they equalised. Ward again was on the end of a smart move and his ball across seemed to find Taurean Roberts in a bit too much space and he slammed the ball home, well out of the reach of Benham for 1-1.
A disappointing half – despite the two goals ended shortly after with Whyteleafe deservedly level and City ominously starting to leave some gaps and space for them to exploit.
City were then caught cold within five minutes of the restart when they lost the ball at a corner and Whyteleafe counter-attacked with determination and pace. Roberts sped up the field right into the heart of the City half before finding Watson, free, up and alongside him and with loads of space and time, he stroked the ball home with some ease for 1-2.
Just a few minutes later, another City corner broke down and Whyteleafe countered at speed again, this time with out the same result but clearly the visitors were now well into their stride and looking far more lively and likely.
However, it was City that probably had the better of the next few chances. A well placed free-kick came to nothing but a Darren Cooper corner almost proved menacing for Smith as it momentarily looked to be floating directly in under the bar, but with the keeper flapping it just drifted wide, before Sam Lawford drilled a shot in from the right which Smith appeared to have a hand in it missing the target although a goal-kick was given – not the first odd decision of the afternoon as it looked very clear that the officials were not working together as a team!
City then couldn’t prosper from another promising free-kick or a corner, whilst the visitors also saw a couple of opportunities pass them by although the lively looking Roberts saw his volley well saved by Benham while City’s Ben Binder spooned an effort over the Whyteleafe bar.
With eighty-one minutes on the watch, City were handed a possible helpline when visiting skipper Helge Orome got himself sent off after receiving his second yellow card – both of which were rather carelessly earned. Going down to ten men though just seemed to stiffen Whyteleafe’s resolve and City couldn’t gain anything from it, in fact it was Roberts that came closest to scoring next with some fancy footwork giving him some space only to be thwarted again by Benham.
With a minute to go of normal time, City were also effectively reduced to ten men for the rest of the game when O’Donnell, naively in the circumstances, managed to get himself sin-binned for ten minutes and thus ended his further participation in the game.
This handed the advantage back to the visitors who were now level in personnel, but far more importantly a goal ahead and they then eked several minutes out of the game, some with clever calculated game play and some not quite so clever. Either way, with five minutes of added time signalled, City were desperate to get the ball up-field and those five were rapidly disappearing.
With the clock just ticking onto ninety-five minutes, City at last forced a corner and with nothing to lose everyone piled forward and even the keeper came up. Substitute Mohammed Ali, a very late addition to the City squad drilled it in low and Radojevic was the quickest to react, when, from amongst a crowded box, he stabbed the ball home from close range for a very dramatic equaliser and 2-2.
City were ecstatic and the celebrations were immediate believing they had snatched a draw out of defeat. Ali, for his part provided the assist but in a rather foolish move threw his shirt in the air, thus earning himself a needless yellow card.
When the game restarted, with City probably still mentally celebrating, Whyteleafe just caught them completely cold again, pinging the ball forwards they went straight for the jugular and direct from the kick-off, a strong low cross was deflected in off one of many bodies flailing about in the box to leave City stunned and the visitors somehow victorious.
Worse was to come for City though as they tried to respond again when, in an attempt to hurry the game along, Ali was straight red-carded for throwing the ball at an opponent and City were reduced to nine, albeit for about the final thirty seconds before the final whistle blew.
After such an exhilarating start from them, this defeat will be a stark reminder of some of the challenges that lie ahead for City. They are generally a young side and they were undoubtedly hamstrung today with a depleted squad and you could argue that Whyteleafe, many people’s pre-season title favourites, when they got going today are a very strong side and certainly looked up to that billing but even so, City will no doubt look back, have a lot to learn and will quickly see how and why they didn’t exactly help themselves!
It’s another free Saturday coming up, with City not in action next until Bank Holiday Monday 28th at home to Faversham Strike Force.
Final score: Canterbury City 2 Whyteleafe 3
City: Tom Benham, Luka Radojevic, Nico Cotton, Ryan Cooper, Ben Binder, Harry O’Donnell, Rob Lawrence (George Adams), Harry Maher, Sam Lawford (Mohammed Ali), Darren Cooper (Alfie Eyles), Tim Marapara.
Unused Subs: Dan Binder, Petar Radojevic.