This Christmas derby attracted a very large crowd, many of whom had made the short trip to support Whitstable, and they were the ones making themselves heard at the start, and especially when their team raced into a two goal lead in the first few minutes. Liam Gillies and Josh Oliver both finished from close range to raise hopes of an away win against second placed, title favourites Faversham. The team then appeared to sit back a little and were completely undone within a costly seven minute spell during which they conceded three goals, two from Tashi-Jay Kwayie and one from Danny Parish, as Faversham turned things around to lead 3-2 at the break. The second half was less explosive but Faversham extended their lead when Kwayie completed his hat-trick with another close range finish. Whitstable, seemingly inspired by some substitutions, finished the game strongly and Dean Grant made it 4-3, but despite mounting pressure, Faversham managed to hold on for the win.

Faversham Town have tasted defeat in the league only once this season, to Larkfield and New Hythe, so Whitstable's recent uplift in form made this a much anticipated festive season local derby. A quite different Whitstable team had lost the reverse fixture very tamely on August bank holiday, going down 3-0 in front of 868 spectators. Whitstable started with the same eleven that had beaten Kennington 3-0 in the previous game. Faversham had not played for two weeks, following a 2-1 win against Bearsted, and made just one change from that game, with Danny Parish replacing Frannie Collin. A huge crowd of 1,193 were packed into the Aquatherm Stadium, with a large contingent supporting the visitors.

There was plenty of noise from the Whitstable supporters as the game kicked off on a cloudy and cold afternoon and that noise only grew louder as their team got a dream start by scoring two early goals. A persistent Ashdon Day did well to hold the ball up before finding Dean Grant on the left and his low cross was stabbed into the net by Liam Gillies at the second attempt in the 3rd minute. Whitstable added a second in just the 6th minute when Fin Cotton robbed Sam Hasler in midfield before a good build-up on the right gave Mikey Dalton the chance to cross for Dean Grant to head on towards the back post where Josh Oliver arrived to prod the ball over the line. Day and Grant continued to cause problems for the slow starting Faversham team before Hasler tested Dan Colmer with a speculative shot. Day then cut in from the right, but was unable to beat Jacob Russell in the home goal. Johan Caney-Bryan did put the ball in the net for Faversham in the 20th minute, but only after Tashi-Jay Kwayie had used a hand to divert Tariq Ossai's low cross into his path, for which he was cautioned. In the 26th minute, a long ball by Grant released Day who went past Russell, but Bradley Simms got back to deny Whitstable the chance of a third goal.

Faversham then began to build some pressure and Whitstable had to withstand a series of long throws by Simms. The referee spotted a raised leg on one and awarded a foul throw, but another which also looked questionable wasn't spotted by the officials and Callum Davies rose to flick on for Kwayie to force the ball in at the back post in the 31st minute. The scores were soon level when the ball was swung from left to right where Nathan Wood sent the ball back across goal and Danny Parish arrived to sweep in and make it 2-2 in the 34th minute. Wood, who looked a constant threat on the right, fired into the side netting before Faversham took the lead in the 38th minute. A Parish shot was deflected for a corner, which the Whitstable defence struggled to clear and eventually the ball dropped to Kwayie to fire in from close range. The last moments of the half saw Will Thomas booked for a foul before Hasler lifted the resulting free kick over the bar.

Whitstable made a change at the break with Harvey Smith, who had been delayed in traffic, coming on for Oliver. There was an early scare when Colmer failed to gather a low cross and the ball was subsequently put into the net, but the offside flag had been raised. Caney-Bryan was next into the book for a late challenge on Colmer before a promising Whitstable move saw Jayden Boulton cross for Smith who turned and shot wide. Wood was sent to the sin bin in the 57th minutes after a lengthy, heated debate with the referee. Faversham went close when a low Kwayie cross flashed across the box, then at the other end, a good delivery from Boulton was headed over by Grant. Chances at both ends came and went, but it was Faversham who made one count in the 68th minute when a deep cross from the right rebounded off Jamie Coyle and the ball fell kindly for Kwayie who once again shot in to complete his hat trick and give his team a two goal cushion.

Whitstable responded by making a double substitution, introducing Adem Ramadan and Ronald Sithole. Faversham missed a great chance to wrap things up in the 80th minute when Whitstable gave the ball away and Wood and Parish combined to set up Caney-Bryan who shot over the top when he seemed certain to score. Whitstable kept possession well and eventually Coyle sent the ball into the box and Ramadan managed to roll it back for Grant who took a touch before shooting into the corner from around 12 yards on 83 minutes to give Whitstable hope. In the time that remained, including nearly nine additional minutes, Whitstable pushed forward seeking a late equaliser. Both teams made further changes and there were yellow cards for Dalton and Simms. Faversham were mostly content to run the clock down, but had a couple of attempts as Wood curled one just wide and Kwayie tried a low shot that was held by Colmer. Grant and Smith had efforts blocked and Smith headed wide as Faversham survived a free kick and a couple of late corners before the referee blew, leaving the hosts 4-3 winners. Both teams were applauded by their supporters for their efforts in an entertaining derby, although Whitstable will be a bit disappointed with their defending in the seven minute spell that changed the course of the game.

Whitstable return home on Saturday when Stansfeld visit for another league fixture.

Faversham	Data	Whitstable
6	Shots on target	4
6	Shots off target	3
2	Shots blocked	5
4	Corners	4
9	Fouls conceded	10
4	Offside	1
0	Penalties	0

Faversham Town
Jacob Russell, Tariq Ossai, Bradley Simms, Matt Newman, Callum Davies (c) (Frannie Collin 73), Ben Gorham, Nathan Wood, Danny Parish (Jarred Trespaderne 90+3), Johan Caney-Bryan (Bradley Schafer 88), Tashi-Jay Kwayie, Sam Hasler (Kieron Campbell 82).
Sub (unused): Billy Bennett
Goals: Tashi-Jay Kwayie 31, 38, 68, Danny Parish 34.
Yellow cards: Tashi-Jay Kwayie 20, Johan Caney-Bryan 51, Nathan Wood (sin bin) 57, Bradley Simms 90+4.

Whitstable Town
Dan Colmer, Jerald Aboagye, Jayden Boulton, Mikey Dalton, Jamie Coyle, Will Thomas (c), Josh Oliver (Harvey Smith 46), Fin Cotton (Nico Grierson 90), Dean Grant, Liam Gillies (Adem Ramadan 71), Ashdon Day (Ronald Sithole 71).
Sub (unused): Kai Jeffrey
Goals: Liam Gillies 3, Josh Oliver 6, Dean Grant 83.
Yellow cards: Will Thomas 45+3, Mikey Dalton 89.

Attendance: 1.193
Referee: Matthew Pollington
Assistants: Rudin Preca & Christopher Bowdery