Whitstable departed the FA Cup on Saturday, but pushed their Isthmian Premier Division opponents all the way to the final whistle in an entertaining match at the Belmont. Wingate & Finchley were relatively comfortable in the first half, although Whitstable failed to make the most of one excellent opportunity to open the scoring before Anointed Chukwu and Ruben Carvalho gave the visitors a two goal lead at half time. Whitstable kept themselves in the tie during the second half and Liam Gillies pulled a goal back with a quarter of an hour remaining. When Dan Eason was unable to keep out another Carvalho shot, it seemed the game was over, but a long range Gillies effort found the net and Whitstable threw everything into an exciting ten added minutes to try to force a replay. Two penalty appeals were waved away, but it wasn’t to be and Wingate & Finchley held on to progress to the next round.

Two good away wins at fellow Step 5 opponents earned Whitstable the chance to test themselves against a Step 3 team and perhaps progress further in the FA Cup than they had managed for a number of years. Wingate & Finchley only entered the competition in this round, but have enjoyed a good start to their league season, having won three and drawn one since losing on the opening day to Folkestone Invicta. Steadman Callender returned to the Whitstable starting eleven in place of Josh Williams, who had picked up an injury at Faversham, in an otherwise unchanged line up. A crowd of 453 had turned out to watch the action unfold on a fine September afternoon.

Both teams played plenty of controlled, patient football in the first half, although “The Blues” of Wingate & Finchley generally looked the more likely to break the deadlock. Anointed Chukwu had an early shot deflected for a corner in an otherwise quiet opening spell. Whitstable suffered an early blow when Ben Cheklit had to depart after just 10 minutes, to be replaced by Jack Palmby who went on to have a good game in midfield. Josh Oliver was a little unfortunate to concede a free kick in a dangerous position just outside the box, but Alkeo Bani lifted his shot over the bar. Dan Eason saved two long range efforts from Matty Achuba and Bani, then Ahmet Biler volleyed well over from the left and Elliot Long shot wide. Whitstable had not threatened at the other end, but created a great chance in the 34th minute. Oliver sent Callender away on the right and his cross picked out Tyler Anderson in the box with just the goalkeeper, Ben Goode, to beat. He elected to take the ball around him, but Rhamar Garrett-Douglas had raced back and got in a timely block when Anderson looked certain to score. Whitstable fell behind in the 38th minute when Garrett-Douglas intercepted a Tom Mills pass, accidentally catching Anderson in the face in the process, but play was allowed to continue and he ran through before finding Chukwu who had time to place his shot beyond Eason. It became 2-0 in the 44th minute when Achuba won possession on the halfway line and Ruben Carvalho played a one-two with Biler on the left before firing the ball past Eason into the left corner from 22 yards. That was the way things stayed until the break.

Jake Mackenzie blocked a Carvalho shot at the start of the second half, then Eason easily gathered a low effort by Long. Whitstable utilised their remaining two substitutes, introducing Williams and Eri Akintimehin, while Wingate & Finchley also made a couple of early changes. Eason did well to keep out an Achuba shot following a run across the box. Whitstable finally broke through in the 75th minute when Will Seager ran into trouble and George Sheminant found Akintimehin on the left and his cross was collected by Gillies who sidestepped Ola Williams before shooting past Goode. This seemed to swing the momentum towards the home team and Akintimehin cut in before lashing a shot well over the top, then a great run by Mackenzie set up Oliver who shot just wide of the near post. It was Wingate & Finchley though who restored their two goal advantage on 87 minutes when they won the ball in midfield and Zack Newton found Carvalho who shot from 22 yards and a stretching Eason tried to tip the ball over the bar, but it only dropped into the net. Whitstable kept going and were rewarded with a second goal in the 90th minute. A couple of Wingate & Finchley players stood over a Whitstable free kick on the halfway line, but Palmby managed to slip the ball to Gillies who drove forward before hitting a fierce shot from around 30 yards that went through the hands of Goode and crossed the line.

There was still some drama to follow in just under ten minutes of added time. Oliver sent Akintimehin into the box and he went over when challenged by Seager, but with the home fans hoping for a penalty, the referee only showed the Whitstable winger yellow card. He was then fouled just outside the area as Whitstable piled forward again, but Oliver’s free kick rebounded off the wall for a throw on the left. Sheminant’s throw was hooked towards goal by Palmby and when the ball rebounded to him, Achuba threw himself down to block the shot. There were even louder penalty shouts as the ball appeared to strike his hand when on the ground, but referee Gary Caley was unmoved and the final whistle soon followed. A 3-2 win earned Wingate & Finchley a place in the next round when, following Monday’s draw, they will entertain Farnborough of the National League South.

Whitstable return to league action on Saturday with a trip to Sutton Athletic.

Whitstable	Data	Wingate & F
2	Shots on target	7
2	Shots off target	4
4	Shots blocked	2
0	Corners	2
11	Fouls conceded	10
0	Offside	3
0	Penalties	0

Whitstable Town
Dan Eason, Jake Mackenzie, George Sheminant, Ben Cheklit (Jack Palmby 10), Will Thomas, Tom Mills (c), Tyler Anderson (Eri Akintimehin 62), Liam Gillies, Steadman Callender, Harry Gamble (Josh Williams 55), Josh Oliver.
Subs (unused): Ed May, Josh Robson.
Goals: Liam Gillies 75, 90.
Yellow cards: Josh Oliver 78, Liam Gillies 90+6, Eri Akintimehin 90+8.

Wingate & Finchley
Ben Goode (c), Ola Williams, Will Seager, Alkeo Bani (Fahad Nazor 55), Ben Frempah, Matty Achuba, Rhamar Garrett-Douglas, Ruben Carvalho, Anointed Chukwu (Ben Ward-Cochrane 69), Elliot Long (Zack Newton 81), Ahmet Biler.
Subs (unused): Kraig McLeod, Fergal Hale-Brown, Miles Mitchell-Nelson, Tommy Roberts.
Goals: Anointed Chukwu 38, Ruben Carvalho 44, 87.
Yellow card: Alkeo Bani 15

Attendance: 453
Referee: Gary Caley
Assistants: Matthew Pointer & Matt Charles