After a year of turmoil on and off the pitch, including four managers, Whitstable Town’s hopes of avoiding relegation to the Southern Counties East Football League still hang by a thread after a 3-1 victory over Chipstead; one of two teams they mathematically could catch, along with East Grinstead Town.
However, to claw back a 14-point deficit with 5 games remaining to East Grinstead, and 15 points and -34 goal difference to Chipstead, does appear to be in the realms of fantasy and attention will now turn to Monday’s derby against Chatham Town.
The Oystermen were given a real shot in the arm through Michael Yianni’s thunderous strike on 14 and doubled their lead after half-an-hour, although whether Sam Bewick’s freekick should have been allowed to stand is a matter of some conjecture.
Dan Summers sent jitters through the Belmont crowd with a goal back for Chipstead just before the hour, but a timely deflection from Ollie Brown sealed a much needed three points for Whitstable.
Whitstable’s new manager, Scott Porter, admitted his side still had a monumental task to achieve ‘the impossible dream’ of survival, saying, “since I’ve come here, they’ve shown that desire and passion, and it was a must win game for us today. The boys have deserved that because every single one of them has battled their heart out. I still believe that we can stay up, we’ve just got to get as many points as we can to get a better position. You never know what happens in (non-league) football, so we’ve got to get as many as possible.”
“He (Yianni) has got that in his locker and I don’t think he could have hit it any better. But to score three goals today was impressive, and we have lacked goals, and we’ve had a solid defensive performance as well. Second half, we knew it would be tough with the conditions, and it was nice to kill the game off with the third goal.”
When asked about the second goal and the collision between Charlie Smith and Chipstead keeper, Alex Kozakis, Porter did add that “we haven’t had much luck, so to get that bit, I’ll take it all day long. Nine times out of ten that would be given as a foul, but I think the keeper might have gone over a little easy.”
Desperate for the win, Whitstable had to absorb early pressure from Chipstead, who are also looking to secure their Ryman place for next season. Anthony Kozakis turned Joe Kennett on the corner of the box and clipped a cross to the back post, where Grant McIlheron blocked a volley from Dan Summers.
It took 10 minutes for Whitstable’s first meaningful attack, as Craig Thompson battled through two challenges on the left edge of the box, and rolled a ball across to Sam Bewick, arriving from midfield, but the Oystermen captain’s shot was blocked by Harry Knock and trickled through to Alex Kozakis in goal.
Whitstable keeper, Dan Eason, was almost caught out by an audacious 45-yard lob from Summers, who had seen the custodian too far off his line, but the effort dipped just over the bar.
The home side immediately switched play to the other end, with Thompson feeding a ball into the path of Stuart King behind the Chipstead back four, but King’s shot cannoned off the body of Kozakis for a corner. From the set-piece, Kozakis came flying out to punch, but the ball dropped to Michael Yianni 25 yards out, who took a touch and fired an unstoppable shot into the top left corner.
Charlie Smith had two half chances for Whitstable; unable to make a clean contact on a King shot that whistled through the 6-yard box, then turning quickly to force Kozakis into a full-length save to his right.
Eason was called into action again on 28 to parry a volley from Anthony Kozakis behind as Whitstable continued to struggle with Chipstead set-pieces, and the value of the save was realised with the home side’s second within two minutes; although there was an amount of controversy about it.
Bewick lofted a freekick from 10 yards inside the Chipstead half into the box, which looked to be going straight to Alex Kozakis, until Charlie Smith challenged the keeper, leaving Kozakis on the ground, with the ball drifting over both and into the net on the bounce. Despite vehement protests from the Chipstead players and three minutes of treatment for the keeper, the goal was allowed to stand.
Frustrations boiled over on 35 with three players being cautioned after a mass ‘brawl’, which seemed to affect Whitstable more than their visitors. In the closing minutes of the half, Eason twice had to be at his best, saving from another Anthony Kozakis volley, and diving at the feet of Sol Pinnock, who had weaved through the Whitstable defence.
Playing into the teeth of the wind in the second half, Whitstable struggled to clear their lines for long. Anthony Kozakis was given space for a header from Sam Charles’ cross, which drifted over, but the visitors got a lifeline on 59 with Whitstable’s defence being caught out upfield. Billy Marshall’s long ball released Summers in behind, and despite Eason closing the angle, the Chipstead forward slid his shot into the bottom right corner.
Marshall produced a deft turn on the byline to deceive Ollie Brown and lifted a cross to the back post, where Sol Pinnock somehow managed to blaze his volley high over, when the goal was at his mercy.
Even when they could get the ball and numbers forward, Whistable were unable to capitalise on the half-chances they created. Yianni and Aiden Blanchard both fired high over from outside the box, and King seemed content to appeal for a freekick rather than chase down the free ball after a collision with keeper Alex Kozakis at the edge of the area.
However, Whitstable’s third on 79 came from the endeavour of King, who was tripped while holding the ball on the right wing. Blanchard swung his freekick into the middle, where Thompson glanced a header towards the left upright, only for a deflection off Ollie Brown divert the ball into the opposite corner with the keeper wrong-footed.
The maths for Whitstable are simple now; five wins from five games and hope that Chipstead fail to gain another point and concede a 34 goal deficit, or that East Grinstead Town fail to gain more than one point. All attention will turn to Maidstone Road, Chatham on Easter Monday, which could be Whitstable’s day of destiny.
WHITSTABLE TOWN: Dan Eason, Ollie Brown, Scott Punton, Grant McIlheron, Joe Kennett, Aiden Blanchard, Michael Yianni (Harris Rodgers 78), Sam Bewick, Stuart King, Craig Thompson (Jerry Adeji 82), Charlie Smith.
Subs not used: Harry Brooks, Connor Ives.
Goals: Michael Yianni 14, Sam Bewick 30, Ollie Brown 79,
Cautions: Scott Punton 35, Craig Thompson 35,
CHIPSTEAD: Alex Kozakis, Sam Charles, Dominic Ogun, David Graves, Harry Knock, Saidou Khan, Anthony Kozakis (Alex Filipe 71), Francis Quarm, Dan Summers, Billy Marshall, Sol Pinnock.
Subs not used: Josh Fuller, Tony Stone, Charlie Carter, Adam Moriarty.
Goals: Dan Summers 59,
Cautions: Anthony Kozakis 20, Billy Marshall 35, Francis Quarm 82.
Attendance: 163
Referee: Mr S Cutler
Assistants: Mr G Heron and Mr J Godfrey