If you like your Bank Holiday derby games spicy, feisty, full of passion with a liberal sprinkling of goals, a red card and a generous helping of curious decisions on the side laced with controversy, then if you had been at The Belmont you would have been licking your lips.
At the end of it all, the beleaguered Oystermen grabbed their first league point of the season at the sixth time of asking, dragged themselves off the foot of the table and celebrated the fact as if it had been a cup final victory.
These two sides have history and although both might deny it they are like disagreeing brothers in the same football family. Each contains players that have played for both clubs separated by a mere four mile flight for a determined crow.
Bay manager Sam Denly was once a Whitstable player and Simon Halsey famously took Herne Bay to the brink of Wembley in the FA Vase.
“I’m pleased with the whole weekend for the football club to be honest”, said a delighted caretaker Whitstable manager Simon Halsey,
“Gary’s (Chairman Gary Johnson) asked me to come in and help out for a couple of games and we’ve put a point on the board and we’ve won money, come off the bottom of the table and won a game and drawn a game. I said at half time when we were two nil down we’d got to go for it and I thought we dominated the second half”.
The visitors started much the better and looked the more likely in the opening period but in the 20th minute came that first piece of controversy.
Town’s Callum McGeehan, once a favourite at Winch’s Field, turned villain when he felled Bay right back Michael Turner, play continuing for some while whilst Turner lay prone on the deck, the referee deeming the challenge strong rather than illegal. Either way, Turner had to be helped from the pitch unable to put pressure on one foot.
It was later confirmed that he will be having an x-ray for a suspected broken ankle. From the restart, more controversy, the visitors, instead of giving the ball back to Whitstable who had belatedly put it out of play so that the injury could be attended to, stormed up field with a powerful run from Nelder who put Danny Williams in and he made no mistake to open the scoring.
It was confirmed afterwards that Town players had been told that Bay would not be keeping with convention in view of the severity of the unpunished tackle.
Herne Bay had two more chances to increase their lead before they actually did. Almost immediately after scoring Williams had a shot tipped over the bar and in the 39th minute Sam Hasler drove just wide from the edge of the area.
Two minutes later Bay were two up when Mark Lovell dispossessed Scott Heard and powered forward to drive past Highstead in the home goal.
After the break, Herne Bay sat deeper as Whitstable put the hard work in to comply with Halsey’s half time orders but the visitors still had enough chances to secure the game.
Ita shot across the six yard box in the 55th and Lovell slid in to meet Hasler’s cross from the left only to see the ball flick off his instep and over the bar from no more than six yards in the 65th.
Whitstable still had the stomach for the game though and when Charlie Smith pulled a goal back with 14 minutes to go with a far post header it was game on. 8 minutes later Herne Bay were reduced to 10 men when Danny Williams was shown a second yellow card for a regulation derby game tussle swiftly followed by the red being produced.
Red cards at The Belmont seem to be in proliferation this season. Walton Casuals had four players sent off against the Oystermen on Saturday.
Bay were now forced back as Whitstable seized the advantage and deep into stoppage time were awarded a penalty when Connor Sanders was adjudged to have handled the ball.
Although Jack Delo in the visitors’ goal got a hand to Sam Bewick’s spot kick he couldn’t prevent the equaliser. The Oystermen grabbed their first point of the season, so might the caretaker manager like the job full time?
“That’s up to Mr Johnson”, Halsey said diplomatically afterwards, “as long as it’s right for the club and it’s right for me and there is a plan. I’m just happy that the lads have reacted and done what I’ve asked them to do over the last few games”.
Herne Bay manager Sam Denly was not so happy. Speaking afterwards, Denly said, “There’s a lot of factors gone against us today, I feel sorry for the lads, Michael Turner may have a broken ankle, we’ve got to get it x-rayed, we didn’t get anything today.”
“At two nil up the game should be dead and buried, we’ve got to take our chances, that’s one thing I’ve said to them they’ve got to learn, we battered Whitstable in the first half.”
“But that’s what happens at this level of football. If you don’t take your chances and you don’t get decisions going your way it’s going to cost you, and that’s what’s happened.”
“It was a terrible tackle on Michael Turner. Callum McGeehan didn’t mean it, he stopped immediately to see if Turner was alright, but the referee has waved play on. It was an awful tackle”.
Whitstable Town: Adam Highstead, Ollie Gray (Josh Algar 33), Reiss Crimmen (Ryan Cheek 45), Curtis Robinson, Callum McGeehan, Jamie Taylor (Craig Thompson 66), Scott Heard, Sam Bewick, Charlie Smith, Kane Rowland, Kieron Campbell.
Subs not used: Alfie Nunn, Harry Brooks.
Sent Off: None Cautioned: Curtis Robinson
Herne Bay: Jack Delo, Michael Turner (Joe Nelder 20), Nathan Eastwood, Dan Johnson, Liam Quinn, Connor Sanders, Danny Walder, Sam Hasler, Mark Lovell, Danny Williams, Steven Ita (Elliot Cutts 67).
Subs not used: Kane Butler, Harry Brown.
Sent Off: Danny Williams Cautioned: none
Referee: Stuart Butler Assistant Referees: Scott Rudd & DeQuincey Bailey.
Man of the Match: Danny Williams (Herne Bay)
Whitstable Town (0) 2
Charlie Smith 76
Sam Bewick 90 (pen)
Herne Bay (2) 2
Danny Williams 22
Mark Lovell 41
Attendance: 374
Ryman Isthmian League Division One (South)
Monday 31st August 2015.
(at The Belmont)
Picture supplied by Steve Barton.