Whitstable Town was the first ball drawn by Stuart Pearce at Wembley Stadium on Monday afternoon, meaning a home quarter final would be the reward for our Fifth Round win on Saturday. Visiting us at the Primcura Healthcare Stadium on Saturday 1st March will be Whitchurch Alport who will make the long trip from Shropshire. Unsurprisingly, the teams have never previously played each other!

Whitchurch were founded in 1946 and play in the Capelli Sport Midland Football League Premier Division, where they are currently in 7th place with 36 points from 20 games. They began their FA Vase journey this season much later than Whitstable as they were exempt until the Second Round after reaching the Fourth Round in 2023-24 before losing 2-1 at home to eventual runners up Great Wakering Rovers.

Their passage to the Quarter Finals this time has been:
Coalville Town (H) 2-2 (4-2 penalties) attendance 188
Lincoln United (H) 3-1 att 120
Clay Cross Town (A) 5-1 att 162
North Shields (A) 2-1 att 585

For the record, this is Whitstable’s longer journey to this stage for the first time:
Corinthian Casuals (A) 4-1 att 143
Hollands & Blair (H) 1-0 att 284
Virginia Water (H) 1-0 att 365
Lydd Town (H) 2-1 att 401
Jersey Bulls (H) 2-1 att 357
Walsham le Willows (A) 1-1 (3-2 penalties) att 267
Fleet Town (H) 2-1 Att 1,121

The full draw for the Quarter Finals, that also features fellow SCEFL Premier Division club Erith & Belvedere is as follows:

Whitstable Town v Whitchurch Alport
Hartpury University v Erith & Belvedere
Andover New Street v Heanor Town
AFC Whyteleafe v Bourne Town

Further details of our fixture will follow and hopefully we can build on the excellent support that we had during the exciting win against Fleet Town and push the attendance numbers even higher.

Here is the reaction to the draw from Whitstable manager Jamie Coyle:
“I’m so pleased that we have been drawn at home, in front of our supporters again. The atmosphere on Saturday was electric and to see how much it meant to everyone associated with the club was so rewarding. It’s going to be another tough test for our young group, but with the support we had on Saturday, anything is possible. Up the Oysters ?”

Head coach Matt Longhurst added:
“A fantastic draw for us, being at home. There will be no easy tie at this stage and to be honest there hasn’t been the whole way through. It’s great we can hopefully get a good crowd and try and hit 2,000 plus in the ground. Delighted for the club and its supporters, as well as the players and staff that we get to play at home. It’s great to be a part of this brilliant run, but it’ll be even better to continue it!”