U14s v St Margaret's

On a very windy afternoon but with the pitch at Radfall in good condition, Whitstable's return match with St Margaret's was much closer than the first which took place in January. The opposition had a full squad this time and were determined throughout with a lightning fast centre forward who caused the home defence a few worries throughout the match but particularly for a 15-minute spell at the beginning of the 2nd half.
Whitstable made a great start to the match with a penalty awarded in the fifth minute. Stanley Griffiths dispatched the spot kick with aplomb. Whitstable were trying to play some good football in the blustery conditions but just weren't quite at their best throughout. St Margaret's had two good chances to equalise but were thwarted by keeper Theo Bentley-Hussey. A second goal by Stanley Griffiths after 34 minutes gave us some breathing space.
After half time the match continued in a similar fashion. Whitstable dominated play in the middle third with Tom Farley making tackles all over the pitch but had to watch out for a number of quick breaks made by St Margaret's. Their persistence paid off with a through-ball which Whitstable failed to deal with and the pace of the striker was enough to give him a chance to score, which he duly did. For the next ten minutes St Margaret's were in the ascendency but some good goalkeeping and a bit of good fortune kept the reds ahead. Kiernan Bramley went close with a great cross shot then with four minutes remaining Herbert Dunn went on a mazy dribble on the edge of the opponents' penalty area, beating four or five players (some of them twice) before hitting a great shot into the corner of the goal. In the very last minute an impressive combination between Kiernan Bramley and Harvey Baughan resulted in Jacob Couzens drifting into the box, taking a touch and slotting home.
The score line was a bit unfair on St Margaret's but a much needed win for Whitstable.