Under 14s win epic county cup match

On a beautiful autumn afternoon the U14s made their first ever foray into the Kent County Cup. Drawn away to Kent Youth League opponents, Faversham Town, the team put in a performance to make their coaches and the watching parents proud. On a bumpy pitch the boys put together some great passing moves and didn't look out of place against a team playing in a higher league.
Most importantly the determination and effort levels from all 14 of the squad for the whole match were fantastic.
Going into half time at 0-0, the team was unlucky to concede a goal early in the second period when a shot from the edge of the box hit a bump in the pitch and bounced half a metre in the air over the diving keeper. Unperturbed by the set back Whitstable continued to press forward and were rewarded by a great goal from Stanley Griffiths which flew over the Faversham keeper from distance. Inside the final 10 minutes a huge throw by Kobey Love caused panic in the Faversham defence, leading to a second goal for Stanley Griffiths, this time from inside the penalty area.
When it seemed as if the team had done enough to win, an incredible Faversham shot from a tight angle hit the far post and bounced up to hit the side netting at the near post just under the bar.
No further goals were scored during extra time so it went to penalties. Faversham chose to go first and Whitstable's debutant keeper Theo Bentley-Hussey made a great save with his feet. Jacob Couzens scored Whitstable's first, followed by Oscar Leggett, Tom Farley and Kobey Love. Faversham scored their 2nd, 3rd and 4th penalties but Theo was the hero by saving their fifth with a good dive to his left. The match ended there at 4-3 with Whitstable not needing their final penalty.
This was a great advert for the junior game - some great skill and lots of endeavour on show.
Back to league action next week for Whitstable with a tough game against Wye Juniors.