After a couple of disappointing defeats, Whitstable put in a much improved performance to beat fellow play-off hopefuls Snodland Town on a very cold evening at the Belmont. A relatively quiet first half sprung to life in the last few minutes when Mikey Dalton took advantage of a loose pass to put Whitstable ahead. The lead did not last long though as Robbie Bissett headed in a corner soon afterwards, but just before half time Harrison Carnegie pounced on another defensive mistake and curled a great shot into the net to send Whitstable in 2-1 ahead. The second half started with some good Whitstable pressure, but Snodland stayed in the game until an eventful ten minutes of added time when Whitstable missed two great chances before Liam Gillies finally settled the outcome with a good finish from distance.

This was the first league meeting between the two clubs, with this game being postponed earlier in the season due to FA Cup commitments. Both teams came into the game in the top eight of the table, with Whitstable four points ahead having played four more games. Snodland were promoted with Lydd Town in 2023 and both clubs have assembled strong squads for this level. Former Oysters Taylor Fisher, Jordan Wells, George Monger and Matt Gething were in the Snodland team. For Whitstable, dual registered Harry Brooks made his second appearance of the season, replacing the injured Dan Eason in goal. Josh Oliver and Emmanuel Oloyede were also out injured, but Liam Gillies was back after a one game ban, Josh Williams was fit to return and Harrison Carnegie also started. New loan signing from Chatham Town, Jabari Christmas was named as a substitute. There was unsurprisingly a much lower than average attendance of 204 on a cold night and they were made to wait because the kick off was delayed by 15 minutes due to traffic problems.

The majority of the first half saw both teams passing the ball around tidily on the 3G pitch, trying to keep possession, but there were few clear cut goal chances created. There was an early opportunity for Francis Babalola however, but he headed a left wing Fisher cross just over the bar. There were some shouts for a Whitstable penalty when Harvey Smith was prevented from getting his head to a corner and Carnegie and Williams saw attempts from narrow angles miss the target. Liam Gillies brought the ball forward and found Dalton on the edge of the box, but his shot lacked the power to beat Sam Freeman. George Sheminant sent the ball towards Smith who flicked it into the path of Carnegie whose shot was deflected for a corner. Fisher drilled a long range free kick wide, as the goalkeepers remained relatively untroubled until Whitstable were gifted the opening goal in the 38th minute. Henry Muggeridge attempted to play the ball across the pitch from his right back position, but only picked out Dalton on the 18 yard line and he shot past Freeman.

The game then livened up and Snodland were awarded a corner when Sheminant was attempting to see the ball out before being challenged from behind by Babalola. Robbie Bissett rose between the Whitstable defenders to head in Muggeridge’s delivery at the back post and equalise in the 41st minute. Muggeridge then did well to get in the way of a goal bound Reece Gillies shot and Whitstable won two corners with Smith and Dalton both having efforts blocked by the Snodland defence. At the other end, Reece Gillies got back to prevent Isaac Thompson testing Brooks, then in added time Liam Gillies chipped the ball forward down the left where Muggeridge tried unsuccessfully to clear and Carnegie stole in before curling a great shot into the far corner to restore Whitstable’s lead at the break.

Whitstable began the second half well, putting pressure on the Snodland defence, with Williams and Smith both trying shots that were kept out. The home bench were up again when Williams appeared to be impeded as he was challenged by Fisher in the box, but play continued and when Brooks dropped a cross under pressure, Jake Mackenzie was on hand to clear. Babalola tried a shot on the turn, but the defence were back in numbers. In the 62nd minute, a long clearance by Brooks was missed by Bissett who then brought Smith down as he looked to be through on goal, but after lengthy deliberations with his assistant, the referee decided Jack Bath was close enough to the action, so no red card was shown – despite the advice from the Whitstable bench! Williams eventually took the free kick that hit the wall. Gething poked a shot just wide when the ball dropped nicely for him in the box, then Snodland went close in the 79th minute from another corner when Bath headed the ball on to Bissett whose shot was deflected towards goal off Mackenzie but Brooks was able to collect safely.

The referee left the field briefly for treatment before Christmas was introduced for his debut in place of the injured Reece Gillies and he collected a yellow card just 60 seconds after his arrival, but in the time added, created two great chances for Whitstable to put the game to bed. He played a return pass to put Eniye Amgbaduba clear in the box, but he blasted over the top, then he slipped Williams through and he went past Freeman before incredibly putting the ball wide of the open goal. The third Whitstable goal was eventually scored in the 100th minute, when the Snodland goalkeeper Freeman went up for a free kick and corner from which Williams broke away and although his attempt was blocked by Fisher, the ball rebounded to Liam Gillies and, with Freeman making little attempt to get back, he lobbed the ball into the net from 35 yards to seal a valuable and deserved win for his team, although they could have made it a little easier with more clinical finishing.

On Saturday, Whitstable will need another good performance when travel to play a Corinthian team that currently sit third in the table, having won their last six league matches.

Whitstable	Data	Snodland
5	Shots on target	1
4	Shots off target	4
8	Shots blocked	4
5	Corners	4
11	Fouls conceded	13
2	Offside	1
0	Penalties	0

Whitstable Town
Harry Brooks, Jake Mackenzie, George Sheminant, Mikey Dalton, Will Thomas, Tom Mills (c), Harrison Carnegie (Tyler Anderson 68), Liam Gillies, Harvey Smith (Eniye Amgbaduba 67), Reece Gillies (Jabari Christmas 89), Josh Williams.
Subs (unused): Victor Aiyelabola, Josh Robson.
Goals: Mikey Dalton 38, Harrison Carnegie 45+2, Liam Gillies 90+10.
Yellow cards: Tom Mills 54, Jabari Christmas 90. [Craig Coles 58]

Snodland Town
Sam Freeman, Henry Muggeridge, Taylor Fisher, George Monger, Robbie Bissett, Jack Bath (c), Francis Babalola (Jeff Duah-Kessie 81), Ben Davisson (Connor Pring 72), Matt Gething, Jordan Wells, Isaac Thompson (Nathaniel Olawole 60).
Subs (unused): Byron Walker, Scott Andrews.
Goal: Robbie Bissett 41
Yellow cards: Robbie Bissett 62, Jordan Wells 90+3.

Attendance: 204
Referee: Chris Cannon
Assistants: Jeff Davis & Nic Derrane