Three goals in a crazy nine minutes of stoppage time on a very soggy SCEFL Saturday gave Welling Town an extremely unlikely win at the Belmont as their unbeaten record against Whitstable Town was somehow retained.
It was 1-1 on ninety minutes – Josh Williams’ penalty replying to Marcus Elliott’s ninth minute opener – when Harvey Smith magnificently volleyed home Josh Oliver’s fine centre to seemingly grab Whitstable’s sixth win out of seven home SCEFL games.
What happened next was nothing short of incredible as Elliott poked home his second as a hopeful ball into the Whitstable box dropped between a defender and keeper Dan Eason.
That though had none of the drama that came in the game’s last attack as Welling broke down the right and when the ball found its way to sub Perez Goumou who hammered the ball beyond Eason to silence the Belmont and seal just Welling’s second League win of the season.
The first half had no indications of the drama that was to follow after the break with chances very rare at both ends.
Elliott put the visitors ahead with a fine side footed effort into the bottom corner on nine minutes and the home side will have been disappointed with their response as they huffed, puffed, and stumbled on the greasy surface.
The closest they came was from the boot of Williams as his deflected shot looped onto the post past a wrong-footed keeper, but the assistant’s damp flag was already waving!
And so, to what was an amazing second period that for the neutral will live long in the memory!
Williams was sent racing through ten minutes after the break and as a sliding Jack Rankin sprinted from his goal to attempt a sliding tackle on the edge of the box, the keeper misjudged the challenge sending Williams sprawling.
Penalty said referee Cannon with little complaint, and Williams drove the ball beyond the diving keeper to level the score.
The home side then went to work to gain the three points. Smith was at the heart of most good things – his lob was brilliantly clawed away by Rankin before Mikey Dalton had an effort a yard wide.
Sub Oliver then did brilliantly to catch a seeming lost cause and his cross was drilled goalwards by Smith only for Rankin to pull off a stunning tip-over.
The personal dual between Smith and Rankin continued as the Whitstable man was again brilliantly denied by the keeper as Williams found him as the game became stretched at both ends and both sides saw the ball whistle across their own goals with no opposition on hand to score.
And so, to the incredible finish and on any other day, Smith’s incredible finish to finally get the better of Rankin was a goal good enough to win any game and any “Goal of the…” competitions it would be entered in.
But on this strangest and eariest – and wettest – Saturday of the year, no one told Welling and Elliott and Goumou sealed the win as Whitstable missed a chance to jump into the Play Off places and Welling pulled themselves four points clear of the foot of the table.
WHITSTABLE TOWN – Eason, MacKenzie Sheminant, Dalton, Thomas (Akintimehin), Mills, Anderson (Oliver), Liam Gillies, Oloyede (Reece Gillies), Harvey Smith, Williams.
Subs – May, Palmby
WELLING TOWN – Rankin, Hearn, Vincent (Bacon), Mott, Awokere, Joe Smith, Kasai (Goumou), White (Adesina), Elliott, Rowland, Samuel.
REFEREE – Mr Cannon