Whitstable put in their worst performance for many months as they lost their first league match since mid-January. The game had a few controversial moments, but Sutton Athletic fully deserved their win. A key point in the game came right at the end of a fairly uneventful first half when the referee mysteriously awarded the home team a corner. The aftermath saw Joe Healy sent to the sin bin for complaining before Whitstable switched off to allow Taylor Fisher to give the Sutts a half time lead. Things soon got worse for the ten men of Whitstable after the restart as the defence parted allowing Conor Evans to double the advantage before some comical hesitation led to a penalty that was converted by Fisher. An unmarked Frank Little then added a fourth from a corner kick. Whitstable did pull one back when Ashdon Day finally beat Jack Glassborrow, who curiously was the busier of the two goalkeepers. Ricardo Thompson was then harshly dismissed for picking up two yellow cards to complete a miserable afternoon for the Oysters.

Both games between these teams were drawn last season, so another tight encounter might have been expected in this rural setting. Once again, Whitstable supporters travelled in good numbers to push the crowd up to 152. Mikey Dalton and Jack Peters were serving bans, but Ricardo Thompson was on the bench having returned from holiday. There was a new face in the team as Parish Muirhead was brought in as midfield cover.

This return to league action, following a 9-0 FA Cup win, presented a different challenge for Whitstable and they were never really able to reach the standards they had set for themselves in recent months. There was an early sight of goal for Marc Nouble who got free, but was denied by Dan Colmer's outstretched foot. Joe Healy tried a long range shot when home goalkeeper Jack Glassborrow was caught out of his area, but was off target. Referee Dan Davis, who would go on to play a significant part in this game, issued his first yellow card to Jayden Boulton for a mistimed tackle in the 18th minute. Whitstable almost scored in the 24th minute when a Theo Osinfolarin cross was met by Javaun Splatt whose downward header was well saved by Glassborrow and Bradley Schafer's attempt to follow up was blocked. Ben White tried a long shot at the other end that was a simple save for Colmer. Taylor Fisher struck a free kick wide after Jake McIntyre was cautioned for a foul just outside the box.

The referee had a few words with the Whitstable bench when he failed to award a free kick, then Boulton hit a good shot from outside the box that was deflected just wide and Whitstable were unable to make the most of the two corners that followed. Osinfolarin was denied by Glassborrow who was out quickly to block. It looked like the first half would remain goalless, but all that changed in the 45th minute. A Sutts corner appeared to be headed wide for a goal kick, but as the players retreated, the referee thought differently and gave another corner. The Whitstable players were unhappy and Healy was sent to the sin bin and the defence went missing when the corner was played short and Conor Evans sent in a low cross that gave Fisher the simple task of finding the net from a few yards out. The final action of the half might have brought a quick equaliser, but Glassborrow was on hand again to save when a Schafer throw was diverted towards goal.

Trailing by the late goal, Whitstable had to begin the second half with ten men while the remainder of the sin bin time was served. They did change things around though, as Boulton was replaced by Thompson. Things soon got worse for Whitstable when they lost an aerial challenge and the ball dropped kindly for Nouble who picked out the run of Evans and he shot past Colmer in the 48th minute. Whitstable were still creating opportunities and Splatt headed a McIntyre cross just wide. On 52 minutes though, they fell further behind when they conceded an unnecessary penalty kick. McIntyre tried to shield the ball back to Colmer who reacted too late, giving Nouble the chance to nip and when he went down, a penalty was the outcome; Fisher made it 3-0 from the spot. Dean Grant replaced Healy when his ten minutes in the sin bin had been served.

There was more bad news for Whitstable as Thompson was shown two, rather debatable, yellow cards twenty minutes apart, resulting in his dismissal in the 75th minute. Sandwiched between those were two more goals, one for each team, plus a few missed chances. Nouble rolled the ball past the far post before Splatt put the ball in the net following a collision with Glassborrow, but the effort was ruled out for a foul. Grant them set up Osinfolarin, but his shot lacked the power to beat Glassborrow who then tipped a Splatt free kick over the bar. Just as Whitstable were threatening a goal, another came at the wrong end and once again the defending wasn't great as Frank Little met a corner at the near post and headed the ball over Colmer and into the net. The game was effectively over, although Whitstable did finally beat Glassborrow in the 69th minute and it was Ashdon Day, a recently introduced substitute, who tucked away the rebound after two Splatt shots had been kept out. Splatt then fired into the side netting and Glassborrow managed to prevent Grant turning a long throw into the net. After Thompson had departed, Grant shot wide after being put through by Day. There were four late substitutions by the home team as they looked to kill the game, but Whitstable almost scored again close to the end when another throw caused problems and Splatt's shot hit a defender before striking the post, but it was all too late and a 4-1 loss put an end to Whitstable's run of good results.

There is an opportunity for Whitstable to bounce back quickly as they entertain Faversham Strike Force on Bank Holiday Monday.

Sutton Ath	Data	Whitstable
6	Shots on target	11
5	Shots off target	7
1	Shots blocked	6
10	Corners	6
4	Fouls conceded	12
2	Offside	1
1	Penalties	0

Sutton Athletic
Jack Glassborrow, Luke Mercer, Jake McCarthy, Billy Muckle (Joel Wakefield 86), Ryan Mahal, Frank Little, Marc Nouble (Neil Spencer 86), Oliver Farmer (Reggie Rye 65), Ben White (Emmanuel Oduguwa 90+1), Conor Evans (c), Taylor Fisher (Louis Lovell 90).
Subs (unused): none
Goals: Taylor Fisher 45+1, (pen) 52, Conor Evans 48, Frank Little 66.
Yellow cards: Oliver Farmer 63, Luke Mercer 80.

Whitstable Town
Daniel Colmer, Theo Osinfolarin (Ashdon Day 68), Jayden Boulton (Ricardo Thompson 46), Parish Muirhead, Finn O’Mara, Will Thomas, Jake McIntyre (c), Fin Cotton, Javaun Splatt (Jake Abrahams 90), Bradley Schafer, Joe Healy (Dean Grant 53).
Sub (unused): Luke Mandry
Goal: Ashdon Day 69
Yellow cards: Jayden Boulton 18, Jake McIntyre 30, Joe Healy (sin bin 45).
Red card: Ricardo Thompson (two yellows 55, 75)

Attendance: 152
Referee: Daniel Davis
Assistants: Ashley Barnes & Alexis Stacchini