Whitstable climbed to the top of the league for the first time this season after a battling away performance saw them overcome a good Fisher team to claim their fifth consecutive league win. Javaun Splatt gave them an early lead when home goalkeeper Isaac Ogunseri failed to deal with a long clearance by Dan Colmer. Fisher had plenty of possession during the first half, but rarely tested the Whitstable goalkeeper and the single goal separated the teams at the break. Whitstable started the second half with more attacking threat and Splatt headed in following a corner to double their lead. There were a couple of good chances to kill the game before Michael Sarpong gave the Fish some hope after a mistake by Colmer, but Whitstable held on to win 2-1 despite plenty of late pressure from the home team.

The last time the teams met was in the play-off semi-final in April when a late equaliser and a successful penalty shootout saw Fisher through to the final which they lost to VCD Athletic. This season Fisher have had a steady start, but will no doubt be expecting to challenge towards the top of the table once more. Whitstable were hoping to bounce back from their midweek league cup defeat by Bearsted and made seven changes to the starting line-up, including a debut for Jack Nelson following his move from Rochester United. Joe Healy was unavailable and Jayden Boulton was serving a one match ban. The game was watched by a crowd of 197 on a showery afternoon by the River Thames.

An early Fisher corner was swung in dangerously by Tom Jones, but cleared and Whitstable then had a sight of goal when Nelson made a run before passing to Javaun Splatt on the left and he tried a shot from a narrow angle that hit the side netting. Kesna Clarke got free on the right and his low shot was saved at the near post by the foot of Dan Colmer. Whitstable conceded an unnecessary corner that could have led to a goal when the delivery from Jones found an unmarked Jake Lovell who headed wide. A promising Whitstable move ended with Nelson shooting wide before Jones missed the target at the other end. Whitstable took the lead in the 16th minute when Colmer launched a goal kick into the other penalty area where goalkeeper Isaac Ogunseri appeared to misjudge the bounce, the ball rebounded off Splatt towards goal and the striker followed in to bundle it over the line.

Whitstable created another good opportunity ten minutes later when Splatt headed the ball on for Dean Grant who turned well and his shot hit a defender with the ball rolling across to Nelson whose effort was too close to Ogunseri. Fisher dominated the possession for the rest of the half without really troubling Colmer. Whitstable suffered a blow when Ricardo Thompson was caught in the face by an arm and had to be replaced by Theo Osinfolarin just before half time. The Whitstable bench were very unhappy when Splatt seemed to be unfairly penalised for a challenge, and even more so when the referee also pulled out a yellow card for the Whitstable number nine. They did lead 1-0 when the whistle signalled half time and the management team stood for a while on the pitch to discuss tactics for the second half.

Fisher won two early corners when play restarted, but a lot of the early action was at the other end as Splatt shot over and a Fin Cotton shot was blocked. Jake McIntyre took a free kick on the left touchline, some 40 yards from goal, that forced Ogunseri to tip the ball around the post. The corner that followed brought Whitstable a second goal in the 53rd minute. McIntyre delivered the ball to the back post where Will Thomas headed it back towards Finn O'Mara who acrobatically hooked it into the middle and Splatt rose to head home. Clarke went into the book for a late challenge on Thomas. Schafer headed the ball on for Splatt to run down the right and he tested Ogunseri who saved at his near post. Nelson did well to shield the ball and break forward before finding Splatt on the left and his cross picked out Schafer's run, but he shot wide when a third Whitstable goal would surely have settled the outcome.

The Whitstable bench withdrew Splatt on 61 minutes, presumably concerned about the officiating, as he was already on a yellow card; Bradley Walledge replaced the two goal striker. Sha'mar Lawson fired over the bar and Jack Gibbons shot wide as Fisher struggled to find a route through the Whitstable defence, but they were handed a possible way back into the game on 78 minutes. Clarke sent in a low cross from the right that O'Mara slid in to intercept, but the ball looped up to the back post where Colmer failed to catch cleanly under pressure from Michael Sarpong and the ball hit the Fisher player before ending up in the net.

Jones then shot wide, but when Whitstable lost possession in their own half in the 85th minute, Colmer saved a curling effort from Rafael Garcia. Grant headed a Whitstable free kick back across goal where a diving header by Schafer went wide. Fisher came closest to getting an equaliser in the 87th minute when a Jones corner from the left was headed against the top of the bar by Sarpong. The next Fisher corner from the other side was glanced wide by Gibbons as the late pressure continued. There were eight added minutes that included more substitutions and plenty of effort, but a low shot by Sarpong that skidded wide was the last chance for Fisher and Whitstable left with the three points that moved them to the top of that table.

On Saturday, Whitstable begin their defence of the FA Vase when they travel to West Sussex to play Infinity in the Second Round. Can they match last season's heroics in the competition? If you can get there to support the team, please do!

Fisher	Data	Whitstable
3	Shots on target	5
11	Shots off target	5
3	Shots blocked	3
10	Corners	3
7	Fouls conceded	10
3	Offside	3
0	Penalties	0

Fisher
Isaac Ogunseri, Jack Gibbons (c), Conor Darwish, Tyron Mbuenimo, Ange Djadja, Donald Macaulay, Tom Jones, Flavio Jumo (Lorenzo Duncan 60), Kesna Clarke, Sha’mar Lawson (Michael Sarpong 70), Jake Lovell (Rafael Garcia 54).
Subs (unused): Adejola Lahan, David Mata.
Goal: Michael Sarpong 79
Yellow card: Kesna Clarke 55

Whitstable Town
Daniel Colmer, Ricardo Thompson (Theo Osinfolarin 45+3), Jake McIntyre (c), Mikey Dalton, Finn O’Mara, Will Thomas, Dean Grant (Nathan Jeche 90+2), Fin Cotton, Javaun Splatt (Bradley Walledge 61), Bradley Schafer (Connor Wilkins 90+5), Jack Nelson (Chris Alhassan 90+5).
Subs (unused): none
Goals: Javaun Splatt 16, 53.
Yellow card: Javaun Splatt 45+4

Attendance: 197
Referee: Darren Kempson
Assistants: Silvester Aina & Santosh Raj Pandey