WHITSTABLE TOWN 5 RUSTHALL 0
SCEFL Premier Division
Saturday February 14 2026 15.00

Having only played one league game in five weeks, but still with an eleven point lead at the top, Whitstable faced an intriguing home game against third place Rusthall. The visitors started quite brightly and created a couple of good chances, but two well taken goals by Javaun Splatt and Harvey Kedwell put Whitstable in control. Chances to extend the lead were missed, but Splatt scored again just before the break. Special goals by Bradley Schafer and another from Kedwell finished the game as a contest inside the first hour, so Whitstable took the opportunity to utilise all five substitutes. Chances to add further goals weren't taken, but the vast majority of the large crowd went home happy enough with an impressive win.

These two teams are both enjoying a good season and well in the hunt for promotion to Step 4. Whitstable held a good lead at the top of the table, but Rusthall were perhaps best placed to challenge, 17 points behind, with three games in hand. They were meeting for the first time this season, but during the 2024-25 campaign, Rusthall had won 3-1 in the corresponding fixture, but Whitstable later got revenge with a big 6-0 away win. Whitstable kept faith with the eleven that had started the previous game, the FA Vase loss to Cockfosters on penalties. Mikey Dalton, Dean Grant and Malachai Belboda were absent with injuries and Jack Nelson was playing the last game of his loan at VCD Athletic. Rusthall were hoping to bounce back from a 2-1 defeat at Hollands & Blair that had ended a four game winning sequence. Another excellent crowd of 630 was there to watch events unfold.

Some neat passing won Whitstable an early corner that was cleared, but it was Rusthall that had the first clear cut opportunity in the 8th minute when a good move involving several players led to Rahman Kareem finding an unmarked Charlie Clover in the box, but he dragged his shot across goal and wide of the post from ten yards. Javaun Splatt chested down a cross for Bradley Schafer who sliced a shot wide when under pressure from a defender. Dan Colmer then had to be alert when the ball was played in from the right and Louie Clarke's shot took a deflection off Ricardo Thompson before looping up towards goal, requiring the Whitstable goalkeeper to tip over the bar. The visitors had begun quite promisingly, but fell behind in the 15th minute to a clinical strike. Lewis Chambers won the ball inside his own half and played it down the right for Ronald Sithole who crossed for Splatt to steer it past Reece Hobbs. It was almost two shortly afterwards after Thompson made a timely interception and his clearance was hooked on by Chambers before reaching Sithole who drove forward to the right edge of the box and powered a shot just past the far post with Hobbs beaten. Kareem had a shot deflected for a corner then, as the game went from end to end, a Sithole throw caused problems in the Rusthall box and Finn O'Mara crossed for Will Thomas whose goal bound shot from a couple of yards was blocked by the last defender Frankie Griffin.

In the 21st minute, Whitstable doubled their lead when O'Mara sent Splatt away on the left and he passed to Harvey Kedwell in the box who got his shot away at the second attempt to find the corner of the net from 12 yards. A third Whitstable goal nearly followed as a low cross by Kedwell reached Splatt by the penalty spot, but his instant shot went fractionally wide. Another great chance went begging when O'Mara hooked a free kick back across goal and Thomas put his close range header the wrong side of the post. Rusthall had to make a change as the injured Thompson Adeyemi was replaced by Finlay Lovatt in the 36th minute. Schafer then made a run down the right before pulling the ball back for Splatt whose low shot was saved by Hobbs. After some early promise, Rusthall struggled to create much, but Clarke fired a free kick wide from around 28 yards as half time approached. Sithole chased down a long ball and took it around Hobbs, but was left with a narrow angle and the goalkeeper was able to recover sufficiently to push the ball away. Whitstable finally took one of their chances in added time after Thompson found Schafer on the right and his cross was finished expertly by Splatt whose left footed shot from a very tight angle nestled in the far corner. It was his 26th goal of the season and gave Whitstable a comfortable 3-0 half time lead.

Whitstable had to make a substitution early in the second half that saw Jake McIntyre return to take the armband off an injured Thomas. It really should have been 4-0 when Rusthall were caught short at the back as Thompson sent Kedwell away down the right and he crossed to Sithole on the six yard line with an open goal in front of him, but he couldn't get a proper contact and the ball went wide. The home supporters didn't have long to wait though as Whitstable scored a “goal of the season” contender in the 56th minute. Splatt played in Theo Osinfolarin on the right edge of the penalty area and his cross was spectacularly converted by Schafer with an overhead kick from ten yards into the roof of the net. It now appeared to be a question of how many goals Whitstable would add and another great strike brought a fifth just two minutes later. Schafer collected the ball from substitute Joe Healy on the left and rolled it into the path of Kedwell who took a touch before firing it into the top corner from 28 yards for his second goal of the game.

Both managers made further substitutions with the game effectively over. A great ball from Fin Cotton found Kedwell on the left and his cross was well defended by Robbie Bissett to deny the waiting Healy a chance to head in Whitstable's sixth. Hobbs then saved from Sithole at the near post as he tried to convert a Chambers cross. Cotton's corner was headed on by McIntyre for a stretching O'Mara to lift over at the back post. Cotton won the ball and slipped in Kedwell who was denied a hat trick by Hobbs. Healy had a shot blocked and Kedwell's free kick was saved by Hobbs. Whitstable continued to threaten without being able to add to their score, while Colmer was untroubled with the Whitstable defence protecting him well and an off target Finlay Lovatt header from a corner routine was the closest Rusthall came to a consolation. Whitstable will be delighted to have beaten third placed Rusthall 5-0, although will feel it could have been by an even greater margin.

Rusthall return for a Kent Senior Trophy semi-final next Saturday, but before that Whitstable have another home league fixture when Rusthall's neighbours Tunbridge Wells visit on Tuesday and Whitstable will be hoping to collect more points towards the 26 they mathematically need from their remaining 12 games to secure the championship.

Whitstable Town
Dan Colmer, Ricardo Thompson, Jayden Boulton, Harvey Kedwell, Finn O’Mara, Will Thomas (c) (Jake McIntyre 54), Ronald Sithole, Lewis Chambers (Jack Peters 81), Javaun Splatt (Joe Healy 57), Bradley Schafer (Fin Cotton 70), Theo Osinfolarin (Isaac Currie 85).
Subs (unused): none
Goals: Javaun Splatt 15, 45+2, Harvey Kedwell 21, 58, Bradley Schafer 56.

Rusthall
Reece Hobbs, Louis Anderson, Rahman Kareem (Jesse Hammond 61), Dan Blunn (Arun Suman 73), Robbie Bissett (c), Frankie Griffin, Josh Reid, Thompson Adeyemi (Finlay Lovatt 36), Charlie Clover (Jack Low 75), Jack Kirby, Louie Clarke.
Sub (unused): Jaevon Dyer

Attendance: 630
Referee: Thomas Reed
Assistants: Freddie Waldron & Mark Takacs