Two late goals weren’t enough for Faversham Town as they were on the receiving end of a 3-2 defeat to Whyteleafe.

The whites began the day in second position in the Ryman South, 11 points off first placed Burgess Hill Town with a playoff place all but guaranteed. They faced a Whyteleafe side who, after an inconsistent season, found themselves just one point outside the playoff places and, with Herne Bay playing against Burgess Hill this would be the Leafe’s best opportunity to push their way up the table.

Faversham manager Ray Turner made just one change from the Faversham side who won 2-0 at Guernsey, this came in defence with Matthew Bourne being replaced by John Scarborough. His side came into the game as favourites after only losing two games in 2015, being the league’s top goalscorers in the process.

Despite this, it was the visitors who began the game brightest, within the opening five minutes they showed what they were capable of when Jason Henry got onto the end of a perfect long ball from Jenson Grant before losing control of the ball as it went out of play for a goal kick.

Whyteleafe continued to put pressure on the hosts but soon Faversham were also able to create opportunities, after a long, tricky run from Josh Stanford he played a pass towards Jack Harris whose left footed shot across the goalkeeper rolled inches wide of the goal.

Just three minutes later the whites were given another chance to open the scoring when a corner was cleared to Josh Stanford who hit a powerful effort, forcing Sheike Ceesay into a good save.

With both sides piling on pressure either team could have gone 1-0 up but the opening goal eventually came from Whyteleafe’s Jason Henry when, after Rob French unsuccessfully tried to gather the ball, the striker was able to pounce on the loose ball and convert; putting the visitors 1-0 up after 24 minutes.

Less than ten minutes later Henry’s eye for goal showed again after a long ball forward was not dealt with by Aiden Sherlock, the defender’s weak header fell to the feet of Henry who was able to volley a low, powerful shot past Rob French, doubling his side’s lead as Faversham’s frustration continued.

Moments later another mistake nearly lead to a third first-half goal from Whyteleafe when a lapse in concentration from Ashley Brown allowed Jason Henry to look another opportunity, but when he cut the ball back he was unable to find any of his teammates.

A disappointing half for Faversham, in which they were outplayed, ended with a series of free kicks which Rob French was able to deal with, keeping the game at 2-0 at half time.

Faversham needed a good start in the second half if they wanted to work their way back into the game but, just two minutes into the half Whyteleafe were able to extend their lead even further when Josh Stanford’s cross-field pass was intercepted by Jason Thompson who quickly played a long pass into the path of Greg Andrews who hit a shot at Rob French, despite this, the goalkeeper allowed the ball to go between his hands, extending Whyteleafe’s lead to three and adding further frustration to Faversham’s players and fans.

It took ten minutes for the Whites to get back into the game when some good work between Jamie Maxted, Charley Robertson and Josh Stanford ended with Dean Grant unable to stab in Stanford’s low cross.

This pressure continued with Jack Harris getting into a good position to go one-on-one against the goalkeeper where, despite his shot being saved, the ball fell to the feet of Wayne Wilson whose shot was bravely blocked and cleared away by Osa Obamwonyi.

With time running out for Faversham they continued to push forward, looking for any way they could work their way back into the game and it finally came after shots from Harris, Wilson and Stanford were blocked, allowing the hosts to look for a goal from the resulting corner which fell to the far post. Josh Stanford picked up the ball, cut inside onto his favoured left foot before hitting a perfect low shot past Ceesay to give his side some hope.

Incredibly, their good fortune continued as just five minutes later, they were awarded a penlty after Charley Robertson was tripped within the penalty area. Wayne Wilson stepped up to take the spot kick and confidently placed it to the left of the goalkeeper, reducing the gap to just one goal.

Unfortunately for Faversham, despite throwing everything at their opponents in the final tem minutes, they were unable to score again, leaving them with their eighth league defeat of the season. Although they remain in second, that defeat, in addition to Folkestone’s win against Guernsey has meant that the whites are just two points above Invicta.

Another result in Kent effected Whyteleafe’s league position, with Herne Bay losing against Burgess Hill Town they have risen into the final playoff position with only eight league matches remaining in both team’s seasons.

Faversham Town: French, Sherlock, Maxted, Wilson, Scarborough (Botterill), Brown, Robertson, Monger (King), Harris, Grant, Stanford

Subs not used: Tenyue, Sullivan, Webber

Whyteleafe: Ceesay, Smith, Bird, Paterson-Boner, Obamwonyi, Thompson, Graham, Grant, Henry, Andrews, Clayton

Subs not used: Fowler, Thornton, Prat, Webb