Bank Holiday Monday brings another Kent clash to the YMS Stadium as the Oystermen welcome Margate for a 3:00pm kick-off.

After Friday night's FA Trophy trip to Chichester to face AFC Portchester, Lee Martin's side have another quick turnaround as attention switches straight back to Isthmian League South East Division action.

There is plenty of history between Whitstable and Margate, and with the two clubs competing in the same division again this season, Monday provides the latest chapter in a fixture that stretches back generations.

A Kent derby, Bank Holiday football and another afternoon at the Belmont await.

The games continue to come thick and fast for the Oystermen.

Friday evening sees Whitstable begin their FA Trophy campaign against AFC Portchester at Oaklands Park, home of Chichester City, before the squad returns to Kent and has little time to prepare for Monday's league fixture.

The Oystermen picked up their first league victory of the campaign on Tuesday evening with a 3-1 win over Deal Town at the YMS Stadium.

Alex Wall, Jack Nelson and Perri Iandolo were all on target as Lee Martin's side followed up the previous weekend's 5-0 FA Cup victory over Newhaven with another positive result.

Monday brings a different challenge against a Margate side who know this division extremely well.

With both clubs having fixtures to negotiate over the weekend before they meet, the Bank Holiday encounter will provide another test of the respective squads during a demanding period of the season.

Margate are one of Kent's historic non-league clubs, with a history stretching back more than 125 years.

Originally formed in 1896, the club have spent much of their history competing in the Southern and Isthmian leagues and have played at Hartsdown Park since 1929.

The Gate have experienced football much higher up the non-league pyramid during their history.

One of their most successful periods came at the beginning of the 2000s, when Margate won promotion to the Football Conference – now the National League – and spent three seasons competing at the highest level of non-league football.

Their history also includes several memorable FA Cup campaigns, with Margate reaching the Third Round Proper on two occasions.

The most recent came in 2002/03, when victories over Leyton Orient and Slough Town earned a Third Round trip to Premier League Fulham.

Margate currently compete alongside the Oystermen in the Isthmian League South East Division, making Monday another Kent fixture in a division packed with familiar local opposition.

Whitstable and Margate have been crossing paths for considerably longer than most of the players taking to the field on Monday have been alive.

Meetings between the clubs can be traced back through more than a century of Kent football, including encounters in the old Kent League and Kent Senior Cup.

In January 1909, Whitstable recorded a 2-1 Kent Senior Cup victory over Margate, while another cup meeting later that year produced a remarkable 7-2 victory for the Oystermen.

The clubs were also regular Kent League opponents during the post-war years.

On 29 August 1953 – almost exactly 73 years before Monday's fixture – Whitstable travelled to Margate and earned a 1-1 draw in the Kent League First Division.

More recently, the clubs have regularly met in pre-season fixtures, but Monday sees competitive league action between the two once again.

Different eras, different players and different competitions – but the Kent connection between Whitstable and Margate has endured.

There's nothing quite like Bank Holiday football and we're looking forward to welcoming supporters from both clubs to the YMS Stadium.

The Scoreboard Shack will be open serving a range of hot food, while the clubhouse and bars will also be open offering a selection of beverages and drinks throughout the afternoon.

Smokey Joe's will also be serving hot food.

Kick-off is at 3:00pm and, with a larger Bank Holiday crowd anticipated, supporters are encouraged to arrive in plenty of time.

Concession admission is available for disabled visitors, senior citizens aged 65 and over, and students with a valid NUS card.

Please provide proof of age and/or eligibility when claiming these benefits.

Under-14s will only be admitted when accompanied by a responsible adult.

Season tickets are valid for this fixture.

To make arrival as quick and easy as possible, supporters are strongly encouraged to purchase their tickets online in advance.

Automatic turnstiles are available at both the Car Park entrance and Belmont Road, allowing supporters with online tickets to simply scan the QR code on their phone and head straight into the ground.

Belmont Road entrance:
Online tickets only via the automatic turnstiles.

Car Park automatic entrance – East Side of the Main Stand:
Online tickets only via the automatic turnstiles.

Car Park staffed entrance – West Side of the Main Stand:
Cash and card payments accepted on the day.

With a Bank Holiday Kent fixture likely to attract plenty of interest, purchasing online before matchday is the quickest way into the YMS Stadium and will help reduce queues at the turnstiles.

Purchase your tickets here.

For those travelling by car, please use CT5 4LN for navigation. This will take you directly to the drive leading to the stadium car park.

Please note: All cars parked in the car park are left at the owner's risk.

First-team manager Lee Martin knows his side face another demanding turnaround over the Bank Holiday weekend but is looking forward to welcoming another Kent opponent to the YMS Stadium.

"It's another quick turnaround for us after Friday night and that's part of the challenge over the Bank Holiday weekend. We'll make sure we recover properly and then all of our focus will turn to Margate.

"Tuesday's win against Deal was important for us. There were plenty of positives in the performance and it was good to get our first league win on the board, but we know we have to keep working and keep improving.

"Margate will be another really difficult test. They're a club with plenty of experience at this level and we know we'll need to be at our best.

"It's a Kent derby on a Bank Holiday afternoon and they're the games everyone wants to be involved in. Hopefully there will be a really good crowd and atmosphere at the Belmont.

"Our supporters have been excellent so far and we'll need them again. If we can get the place full, noisy and behind the boys from the first whistle, it can make a massive difference."

More than a century of history sits behind this fixture, but Monday is all about the next 90 minutes.

The Oystermen return to the YMS Stadium looking to build on their first league victory of the campaign, while Margate make the journey from Thanet for another chapter in a long-standing Kent football fixture.

Bank Holiday Monday. Two Kent clubs. League points at stake.

Get down to the Belmont and get behind the boys.