Whitstable came out on top in a game of six goals against Kennington who were playing their first home game of the season due to the pitch renovation at the ground they share with Ashford United. Josh Oliver gave Whitstable the lead that was doubled just before half time when Emmanuel Oloyede turned in a cross to score a debut goal. Jordan Griffin fired a shot past Dan Eason early in the second half to give Kennington hope and they then had a shot cleared off the line, but Whitstable continued to threaten and although Oliver had his penalty saved after Josh Williams was fouled, further goals by Will Thomas and Harvey Smith made sure of the points. More goals could have been scored at both ends, but there was only a very late consolation for Kennington when Ryan Philpott netted in the final seconds of added time.

With no weekend game, Whitstable were playing for the first time in ten days, seeking their fourth win on the bounce. Kennington, who had lost 3-0 at the Belmont in the reverse fixture back in August, were still awaiting their first league win of the season. They started this game sitting bottom of the table with just two points from nine games, but have not been helped by needing to play all of their previous games away due to the delays in the work to install the new pitch at Homelands. There were two new faces in the Whitstable squad, with striker Emmanuel Oloyede making his debut up front, while midfielder Mikey Dalton was named among the substitutes. There was a familiar name in the home team, Muhammed Cham, the former Whitstable player who recently returned to Kennington after featuring for Margate earlier in the season. A healthy crowd of 265 was at the ground to see it host its first competitive football match of the season.

Whitstable began confidently and after a low Liam Gillies shot was saved, Harvey Smith rose to head a Josh Williams free kick just wide of the far post. Kennington did threaten in the 10th minute from a corner when Tom Scorer had an effort blocked and the rebound off James Haylock-Ashdown went narrowly wide. Whitstable tried a couple of long range shots without success, then when Cham set up Scorer on the left edge of the box, Dan Eason got down quickly to save at the near post. George Sheminant did well to get in the way of a Cham shot before Whitstable opened the scoring in the 27th minute. Smith won the ball in his own half before being fouled, but the referee allowed play to continue and Reece Gillies sent Oliver away down the left and when he tried his luck from 20 yards, goalkeeper Stefan Lawrence was unable to keep the ball out despite getting a hand to it.

Whitstable went looking for further goals, winning five corners in quick succession and almost succeeded when Tom Mills gave Oliver another chance to test Lawrence, but this time the goalkeeper made a good save, tipping the ball around the post. The second goal did arrive when Whitstable cut through the home defence in the 43rd minute. Oliver made another good run from the left before finding Williams in space on the right and he easily went past his marker to pull the ball across for Oloyede to fire in at the back post. The half time advantage might have been greater as Whitstable went close twice in added time. Smith sent Williams through, but Adam Phillips got back to block as he was about to shoot, then Liam Gillies drilled a low 25 yard shot just wide, so Whitstable had to settle for a well deserved 2-0 lead at the break.

Early in the second half, an Oliver cross from the left was helped on by Oloyede for Smith to finish at the far post, but he was denied by a very tight offside decision. Kennington suddenly found a way back into the game in the 55th minute when a cross field pass by Ryan Philpott was collected on the right by Jordan Griffin who took the ball inside Sheminant and powered a left footed shot past Eason from 20 yards. Following substitutions by both managers, Whitstable lost possession in their own half and Fin Dent went around two defenders in the box and shot past Eason, but Sheminant got back to clear off the line. Whitstable had a great opportunity to settle any nerves when Williams was brought down in the area by Max Sutton in the 68th minute, but for once, Oliver failed from the spot as Lawrence dived to his left to save.

Whitstable did extend their lead in the 79th minute when Lawrence failed to cut out a Williams corner from the right and Will Thomas was on hand to prod in at the back post. Kennington were not quite finished and Williams got back well to make a defensive clearance, then Scorer put Dent through, but he dragged his shot past the far post. The game was over in the 87th minute when Dalton and Liam Gillies combined to find Anderson on the left and he sped past Ed Miller before crossing for Smith to steer in from 10 yards. More late substitutions took place and in the last of the five added minutes, Scorer nodded the ball into the path of Philpott who beat Eason from 18 yards. There was no time to restart, so a 4-2 away win gave Whitstable their fourth successive win.

Whitstable return to the Belmont on Saturday for a home league fixture against VCD Athletic.

Kennington	Data	Whitstable
6	Shots on target	8
6	Shots off target	4
4	Shots blocked	5
3	Corners	6
12	Fouls conceded	9
5	Offside	2
0	Penalties	1

Kennington
Stefan Lawrence, Jordan Griffin, Max Sutton, Adam Phillips (Fin Dent 62), Liam Whiting (Ed Miller 56), Matt Kirby, Muhammed Cham, Tom Scorer (c), Ryan Philpott, Charlie Owen, James Haylock-Ashdown.
Subs (unused): Joe Fisher, Ziyad Ghali, Michael Wills.
Goals: Jordan Griffin 55, Ryan Philpott 90+5.
Yellow card: Charlie Owen 86

Whitstable Town
Dan Eason, Jake Mackenzie, George Sheminant, Reece Gillies (Jack Palmby 87), Will Thomas, Tom Mills (c), Josh Oliver (Mikey Dalton 74), Liam Gillies (James Brown 90+1), Emmanuel Oloyede (Tyler Anderson 58), Harvey Smith, Josh Williams (Eri Akintimehin 89).
Subs (unused): none
Goals: Josh Oliver 27, Emmanuel Oloyede 43, Will Thomas 79, Harvey Smith 87.
Yellow cards: Tom Mills 64, Reece Gillies 71.

Attendance: 265
Referee: Chandon Chapman
Assistants: Matthew Burchett & Simon Jackson