Lordswood have been relegated from the SCEFL Premier Division. Thursday night’s 3-0 home defeat to Whitstable Town was the final straw for the Lords.
They slipped almost un-noticed out of the SCEFL Premier as FA Vase finalists Whitstable Town playing their third game in six days as they moved to within three points of securing a play-off place.
Ashdon Day put the Oystermen ahead early on before just after the break Ronald Sithole pounced to settle the visitor’s nerves and by the time that Sithole netted his second and Whitstable’s third, the white flags were well and truly out as the relegation trapdoor shut on Lordswood’s slide out of the Premier Division.
The opening exchanges offered hope of a good contest. Skipper Jake McIntyre’s header flew past the Lordswood left post just moments before defensive mayhem meant that Day was on hand to put Whitstable ahead.
Tunde Aderonmu then saw a shot deflect inches past the Whitstable left post and from the corner a towering header from Charlie Palmer went down into the ground and looped into the grateful arms of keeper Dan Colmer.
Lordswood on the stroke of the break had a golden opportunity to level the scores – George Miles’ cross was met by a diving header from Sam Wright, but Colmer made an excellent low save.
The visitor’s lead was doubled just after the break as Sithole broke down the left and from his centre, Day was brilliantly denied by keeper Josh Bexon, but it really wasn’t to be the home sides night as the ball rolled bay to Sithole who made no mistake.
If the game was finished at that point, the “full-stop” on Lordswood campaign was duly applied fifteen minutes from time when Sithole made it 3-0.
Lordswood then are relegated to Division One of SCEFL as the club suffer its first ever relegation, whilst Whitstable march on with the next stop of their play-off quest Rusthall on Saturday afternoon.
LORDSWOOD – Bexon, Miles (Brown), Leach, Sains, Humphrey, Osideko (Peck), Thomson, Horley, Aderonmu, Plummer, Wright
Subs – Samwell, Williams, Meseorisa
WHITSTABLE TOWN – Colmer, Aboagye, Boulton, Wilkins (Dalton), Thomas, McIntyre, Cotton (Gillies), Day, Sithole, Schafer (Rees), Grant (O’Mara-Knapp)
REFEREE – Mr. Clark