The mood at the club was sombre with the news of a young boy who played for Tankerton FC dying suddenly & also this was the first home match being played without Gary Johnson who resigned earlier in the month.

The mood didn’t get any better as they lost for the 28^th time in the league in this season of woe. The Whitstable team gave it their all but as of most of this season they came up with no points.

The first chance of the game came in the 13^th minute when Sam Bewick tried his luck from 25 yards but returning keeper Adam Highstead saved it.

This woke Whyteleafe up & in the 2^nd minute they took a deserved lead when Shawn Lyle muscled his way to the by-line & his low cross was diverted into his own goal by Cameron Hefferon.

Whitstable nearly equalised straight from the kick off when Charlie Smith passed to Stuart King in the area & he pushed the ball from his right foot to his left & saw his curling effort palmed away by Highstead & then cleared for a corner.

In the 26^th minute Leafe doubled their lead when Sam Clayton’s free kick to the near post was headed in by Vernon Francis from 3 yards.

Two minutes later & it could have been worse as Reiss Crimmen’s back header did not reach Dan Eason & Clayton latched onto it went round Eason but his shot came back of the post & into the hands of Eason.

In the next minute there was hope for Whitstable when Jack Goldsmith received the ball wide on the right & his cross into the area found Stuart King who controlled it & sent his curling shot into the top left hand corner.

For the next five to ten minutes Whitstable upped their game but in the 40^th minute it was nearly a third for Leafe as Jamie Byatt got away on the left & his low cross into the 6 yard box was cleared away for a corner when Crimmen slid in & knocked it out.

In the 43^rd minute Whitstable could or maybe should have equalised when Crimmen’s cross into the area was met on the back post by Bewick but he headed over when it looked easier to hit the target & score, but in the next minute it was three for Leafe when Lyle in the area finally got the ball & his shot from 6 hit Crimmen’s leg deflecting past Eason.

The second half started with Leafe carrying on from the first half & in the 49^th minute it was game over as a Sam Clements corner into the area saw a looping header from Francis 10 yards out beat Eason.

The visitors were now in total control & in the 53^rd minute Clayton in the area saw his shot palmed away by Eason.

Then in the 54^th minute a rare thing happened as the ball burst after a tackle on halfway. In the very next minute Whitstable had a half chance when a Crimmen corner to the near post saw Charlie Smith head just wide.

Another half chance came in the 62^nd minute when a long ball forward was flicked on for King who ran forward before seeing his shot from 20 yards go just past the post.

In the 68^th minute another chance came & this probably summed up their season so far when a corner was half cleared to Bewick 25 yards out & his cross forced Highstead to tip over the bar & from the resulting corner Joe Kennett saw his header saved.

Ten minutes later Hefferon passed forward to King who spun around & his shot from 10 yards was saved. In the 85^th minute Whitstable got their second when a corner to the back post was retrieved by King who passed back to Crimmen who passed it forward into the path of King in the area & he turned & twisted before seeing his shot hit the back of the net.

Three minutes later it could have been three when Hefferon on the right crossed into the area where Smith was & his near post header went just wide. The final whistle went & the Whitstable team came off with another defeat but they tried their best but that at the moment is not good enough.

Off the field it seems that there might be good news for the fans as a ‘Consortium’ is looking at taking over the club & as for Gary Johnson it seems that there was mixed views about him & that maybe some of volunteers might come back to help the club, but as they say let’s wait until the ink has dried on the paperwork.

 

WHITSTABLE TOWN:

1. EASON 2. C.HEFFERON  3. R.CRIMMON   4.  S.PUNTON  5. J.KENNETT  6. J.SAYER  7. J.ADEJI (58)  8. S.BEWICK 9. S.KING 10. C.SMITH  11. J.GOLDSMITH

SUBS USED:  14. R.SMITH (58)

SUBS NOT USED:  12. L.ONIGUI  15. L.BULL-ANTHONY  16. L.MATTHEWS

BOOKINGS: 10. C.SMITH (90+4)

 

WHYTELEAFE:

1. HIGHSTEAD 2. D.HAMLIN  3. N.SIMPSON (90+4)  4. V.FRANCIS  5.  T.PRATT  6. T.SMITH  7. S.CLEMENTS 8. R.FOWLER 9. S.LYLE (72)  10. S.CLAYTON (83)  11. J.BYATT

SUBS USED: 12. IFEEHI (72)  14. R.D’SANE (83)  15. J.KING (90+4)

BOOKINGS: NONE

 

REFEREE: Mr D.BUSHALL

ASSISTANTS:  Mr O.BENTLEY  &  Mr D.RICHIE

ATTENDANCE: 155