Sutton Athletic were the visitors to the Kent coast on a blustery Saturday afternoon for a game that ended in a very comfortable Whitstable win. The first half had a bit of an “end of the season” feel to it, although both teams still, just about, had something to play for at opposite ends of the table. There were plenty of misplaced or overhit passes in the tricky conditions, although Whitstable did create several good opportunities and eventually scored in the final minute of the half when a Josh Oliver cross ended in the net as Emmanuel Oloyede and a defender slid in at the back post. The second half was dominated by Whitstable who soon moved into a three goal lead with Will Thomas and Oliver both finding the net. A rare headed goal by George Sheminant and a James Jeffrey penalty made it 5-0 near the end and it might have been more, but for a couple of missed chances and some good saves by Toby Waller.

With just four games remaining, Whitstable still had a mathematical chance of reaching the play-offs, but with several injuries picked up in the previous game, it was a patched up defence that took the field, including a few players who passed late fitness tests. Tom Mills and Ollie Gray were ruled out, but Will Thomas and George Sheminant had recovered sufficiently to start, as had Jake Mackenzie who was moved to central defence and made captain. Sutton Athletic had six games left and were six points clear of bottom placed Welling Town, so were looking for points to ensure they stay away from the relegation spot. Former Whitstable player Simon Kabamba lined up for the Sutts, now fortunately recovered from the bad knee injury that cut short his time at the Belmont. The reverse fixture had resulted in a 3-0 Whitstable win back in September.

Toby Waller made two saves to prevent Whitstable taking a 7th minute lead when a long ball forward by Reece Gillies found its way to Liam Gillies whose shot was kept out at the near post and the goalkeeper got down quickly again to save when Emmanuel Oloyede poked the rebound towards goal. Josh Williams made a good run down the left into the box and shot past Waller, but Kabamba cleared off the line. There were few opportunities at the other end, although when Whitstable lost possession in midfield, Louis Lovell and England Kurti both had shots blocked by the home defence. Daniel Emmanuel did try a shot from the left that was safely collected by Jordan Perrin by the near post. Oloyede crossed for Tyler Anderson whose shot hit a covering defender, then Reece Gillies got free on the right, but Waller was out quickly to save. A good build up on the left gave Liam Gillies the chance to flick the ball on to brother Reece whose shot from just outside the box was heading for the top corner, but was acrobatically tipped over by Waller. Whitstable finally broke through in added time when Oliver beat Fraser Daniels to the ball and from a tight angle did well to send the ball across goal where Sam Huckle tried to prevent it reaching Oloyede, but a tangle of legs saw the ball roll into the goal to leave the score 1-0 at the break.

The goal was scored at a great time, at the end of a slow first half, and Whitstable played much better in the second. A pinpoint right wing cross by Williams was headed against the post by Oloyede and Waller grabbed the rebound. An Oliver free kick was turned around the post by Waller and Whitstable scored from the resulting corner in the 51st minute. It was played short to Oliver whose low cross was turned in at the back post by Thomas. Whitstable took the opportunity to introduce James Jeffrey who is due to miss the remaining games due to suspension. Oliver raced through, but was denied by the busy Waller and once again the corner that followed led to a goal. The ball was initially cleared, but chipped back into the box by Thomas, Mackenzie headed it down and it was volleyed into the far corner by Oliver to make it 3-0 in the 55th minute.

Whitstable might have added several more goals and Anderson set up Liam Gillies whose shot was cleared off the line, then Jeffrey’s shot was also saved. Reece Gillies crossed from the left to find Harvey Smith who shot over the top from a good position. Whitstable, who were able to give some more experience to two under 23 players, Alfie Wood and Manny Cuttress, scored a fourth in the 80th minute. The ball went across the box a few times following another corner and when Mikey Dalton headed it back into the middle, Sheminant was on hand and his close range header was deflected in off Lovell. There was a rare opportunity for the visitors when the ball was pulled back for Daniels 12 yards out, but he lifted his shot over the bar. It was 5-0 in the 89th minute when Anderson found Jeffrey who was challenged by Marcel Brown as he was about to shoot and the referee awarded a penalty that was fired in by Jeffrey. The Whitstable defence went missing somewhat in the six added minutes and twice Simon Walton found himself completely unmarked on the 18 yard line, but his first effort was easily saved by Perrin and Mackenzie got across to block the next, but the game had long been over as a contest.

Following three home games, Whitstable are back on the road next Saturday with a visit to Glebe FC to play Stansfeld.

Whitstable	Data	Sutton Ath
16	Shots on target	3
3	Shots off target	2
2	Shots blocked	4
8	Corners	2
5	Fouls conceded	13
3	Offside	3
1	Penalties	0

Whitstable Town
Jordan Perrin, Reece Gillies, George Sheminant, Mikey Dalton, Will Thomas (Harvey Smith 61), Jake Mackenzie (c), Tyler Anderson, Liam Gillies (Alfie Wood 75), Emmanuel Oloyede (James Jeffrey 54), Josh Oliver, Josh Williams (Manny Cuttress 81).
Sub (unused): Dan Eason
Goals: Emmanuel Oloyede 45+1, Will Thomas 51, Josh Oliver 55, George Sheminant, 80, James Jeffrey (pen) 89.

Sutton Athletic
Toby Waller, Danny Divine (Bailey Casey 84), Simon Kabamba (Mustafa Hashemi 60), Sam Huckle, Alfie Hawkins (Simon Walton 60), Fraser Daniels, England Kurti, Emmanuel Oduguwa, Marcel Brown (c), Louis Lovell, Daniel Emmanuel (Lewis McIntyre 70).
Subs (unused): none
Yellow card: Daniel Emmanuel 57

Attendance: 363
Referee: Luke Morley
Assistants: Tyler Diminieux & Adam Mortimer