Whitstable progressed to the last sixteen of the Kent Senior Trophy with a narrow win over Division One opponents FC Elmstead.
This was a closer affair than the FA Vase tie five weeks earlier when Whitstable came away from Bromley with a comfortable 5-1 win.
The visitors created the best chances in the first half and could well have been in front at the break. They did take the lead when Christian Howell found the net with a cool finish after an attempted clearance by Dan Eason went straight to the Elmstead skipper.
Whitstable struggled to get any fluency, but Ricky Freeman got on the end of a Danny Williams cross in stoppage time to send the teams in level at half time.
The home side had the better of the second half and well taken goals by Williams and Freeman put them in control. Elmstead goalkeeper Larry McArdle made some great saves, but his team rarely threatened the Whitstable goal until a corner was nodded in by Lekan Bakare to give them a late consolation.
| Whitstable | Elmstead | |
| 21 | Attempts | 9 |
| 10 | On Target | 4 |
| 10 | Corners | 5 |
| 4 | Offside | 5 |
| 10 | Free Kicks Won | 12 |
Whitstable Town
Dan Eason, Louis Sprosen, Josh Burchell (Charlie Smith 68), Tom Bryant, Rob Gillman, Jack West, Macauley Murray, James Morrish (c) (Nick Treadwell 86), Ricky Freeman, Stuart West, Danny Williams.
Subs (unused): Craig Cloke, Chris Saunders, Dean Ruddy.
Goals: Ricky Freeman 45+1, 84, Danny Williams 54.
Yellow card: Josh Burchell 67
FC Elmstead
Larry McArdle, Kamal Charles-Reid, Daniel Carpenter, Christian Howell (c), Joe Hart, Marcus Howell, Ben Lockett, Ollie Lacey (Charlie Sharman 60), Marcus Black, Jordan Samuel, Lekan Bakare.
Sub (unused): Rob Curtis
Goals: Christian Howell 18, Lekan Bakare 90+1.
Attendance: 105
Referee: Jack Owen
Assistants: Joanne Park & Daniel Blades
Images courtesy of Les Biggs