Whitstable extended their winning run to maintain a five point lead at the top of the table with a comfortable 6-2 win against Corinthian. It was by no means the perfect performance, but certainly provided plenty of goals and entertainment for the thousand plus pre-Christmas crowd. A fast start saw Jack Nelson and Finn O'Mara give Whitstable a two goal lead after a quarter of an hour. A Tom Mitcham header brought hope of a fightback for the visitors, only for Bradley Schafer to add a third Whitstable goal just before half time. Malachai Belboda and Nathan Jeche soon put the result beyond doubt early in the second half and although Kieran King reduced the deficit with a fine volley, Whitstable added a late sixth when Schafer's cross found its way into the net, There could well have been more goals, but the Whitstable supporters would have been happy enough with the result and their team's form going into the festive period.

Former Whitstable manager Keith McMahon brought his Corinthian team to the north Kent coast for this SCEFL Premier Division game on the Saturday before Christmas. They were in the bottom four, but after a slow start to the campaign had recently proved hard to beat, with a 3-0 defeat by Larkfield & New Hythe being the only loss in their last eight league games. Since Whitstable's last league defeat in September, they had played seventeen games in all competitions, winning fourteen and drawing one, with the only defeats coming in the FA Cup and SCEFL Challenge Cup; that run had taken them to a great position at the top of the table at the season's halfway point. They were without leading scorer Javaun Splatt who was serving a one game ban after picking up his fifth yellow card in the previous game. An impressive attendance of 1,084 was recorded for this match, as crowds at Whitstable's home games continue to grow.

In contrast to some previous games, Whitstable began positively and a dangerous cross by Malachai Belboda reached Bradley Schafer whose shot was blocked, but the opening goal arrived just inside the two minute mark. Ricardo Thompson created some space on the right for Schafer to send over an inviting cross that was headed in by Jack Nelson. A few minutes later, Belboda's cross was only cleared as far as Nelson whose shot was deflected off Oliver Fryer for a corner that was eventually cleared away. It became 2-0 in the 15th minute when Corinthian struggled to clear a Schafer free kick and when the ball came back out to Schafer on the left side of the box, his low cross was fired in by Finn O'Mara at the near post. The pressure continued and Belboda curled in a nice cross from the left that was stabbed just wide by Nathan Jeche at the back post. Then suddenly, and somewhat controversially, Corinthian got themselves into the game when they pulled a goal back in the 21st minute. Isaac Currie appeared to be pushed over in the middle of the pitch, but the referee allowed play to continue and the ball was switched out to the left where Fletcher Carnell-Davis whipped in a good cross for a diving Tom Mitcham to head past Dan Colmer.

The game became more even for a while with a few half chances for Corinthian as Mitcham headed a free kick wide and after Whitstable had lost their captain Jake McIntyre to a toe injury in the 34th minute, Jamie Billings blasted a long range effort well over the top. Nelson won possession on the right before crossing to Jeche whose first attempt was cut out by Fryer and when he tried again, his shot was deflected behind for a corner that Jeche headed wide. Whitstable restored their two goal margin when O'Mara took a free kick on the halfway line just as the board was being held up to show the first half added time. The ball was headed out by Billings, but dropped to Schafer on the 18 yard line who instantly volleyed it low past Fletcher Hegarty into the net. There was enough time left for Mikey Dalton to thread a great pass through to Belboda who cut into the box, but his shot was deflected wide at the near post. There was a late yellow card for Fryer, who joined Jack Holland in the referee's notebook, and Whitstable led 3-1 at the break.

When play restarted, Whitstable had some early chances to extend their lead, Will Thomas got his head to the second of two quick corners, but Hegarty saved low down and Nelson's follow up shot struck a defender. A Schafer long throw then gave Belboda an opportunity to try from a tight angle, but his rising shot was too high. Mitcham scuffed a shot wide when a cross fell kindly for him in the box before Whitstable scored again in the 53rd minute. Schafer took a quick free kick to find Belboda on the right and with a great strike he lifted the ball over Hegarty into the far top corner from the edge of the area. Things quickly got worse for Corinthian when a long ball forward by O'Mara picked out Jeche's run and he got past Caleb Afoke before beating Hegarty with a low shot to make it 5-1 in the 56th minute. Corinthian instantly made a double substitution, but Whitstable were still looking threatening and Schafer fired over after a good run by Nelson. Another promising attack saw Schafer and Nelson combine to create a chance for Jayden Boulton whose shot was saved. A stooping Nelson headed a Schafer corner over the bar before both managers made changes.

Corinthian scored a spectacular second goal on 71 minutes following a free kick that was only partially cleared and Kieran King volleyed the ball into the net from 22 yards. Back at the other end, Nelson crossed for Schafer whose header was saved, then a great run by Nelson and a one-two with Joe Healy almost brought another goal. Schafer made room for a shot with a smart turn, but was denied by Hegarty. A quick Corinthian break then led to some discussion when Mitcham was adjudged to have been pulled back by O'Mara a couple of yards outside the box, although it was only seen by the assistant and a yellow card was subsequently shown to the wrong Whitstable player, but Oscar Housego could only hit the wall with the resulting free kick.

Healy set up Dean Grant whose shot was deflected behind at the near post. Whitstable scored their sixth goal in the 87th minute when Dalton hooked the ball into the box and it was pushed out to Schafer on the left who curled it back into the middle and it might have hit a defender on its way, but ended up in the net. Five minutes were added before the final whistle and the teams were applauded from the pitch for their efforts in a very entertaining afternoon. Whitstable head into Christmas as league leaders and still in the FA Vase and Kent Senior Trophy.

Next up for Whitstable is an away game at “home” because it is against Faversham Strike Force who currently share the ground. Another large holiday crowd can be expected for this local derby.

Whitstable	Data	Corinthian
11	Shots on target	2
7	Shots off target	4
8	Shots blocked	3
12	Corners	0
11	Fouls conceded	11
2	Offside	0
0	Penalties	0

Whitstable Town
Dan Colmer, Ricardo Thompson, Jake McIntyre (c) (Jayden Boulton 34), Mikey Dalton, Finn O’Mara, Will Thomas, Nathan Jeche (Joe Healy 71), Isaac Currie (Brad Walledge 89), Jack Nelson (Fin Cotton 82), Bradley Schafer, Malachai Belboda (Dean Grant 65).
Subs (unused): none
Goals: Jack Nelson 2, Finn O’Mara 15, Bradley Schafer 45+1, 87, Malachai Belboda 53, Nathan Jeche 56.
Yellow cards: Dean Grant 67, Finn O’Mara 79.

Corinthian
Fletcher Hegarty, Jack Holland (Akash Santhosh 77), Fletcher Carnell-Davis (Akshar Santhosh 70), Ernie Cheeseman, Jamie Billings (c) (Oscar Housego 57), Caleb Afoke (Alfie Cragg 77), Kieran King, Shay Adegbehingbe, Ross Obazee (Jack Billings 57), Tom Mitcham, Oliver Fryer.
Subs (unused): none
Goals: Tom Mitcham 21, Kieran King 71.
Yellow cards: Jack Holland 42, Oliver Fryer 45+5, Ernie Cheeseman 89.

Attendance: 1,084
Referee: Benjamin Marshall
Assistants: Steven Tunnicliffe & Keith Stone