WHITSTABLE TOWN 3 HOLLANDS & BLAIR 1
SCEFL Premier Division
Tuesday April 14 2026 19.45

The last home fixture for Whitstable was against Hollands & Blair who were still in with a chance of earning a playoff spot after a great recent run. Blair caused Whitstable some problems in the first half and it was no great surprise when Dieko Falade put them ahead after a quick break. There was a response before half time when Tyler Hatton fired in an equaliser following a corner. Whitstable showed why they have already been crowned champions in the second half and goals from Joe Healy and Bradley Schafer ensured they signed off in front of their home support with a 3-1 win.

After wrapping up the league title at Rusthall in March, Whitstable were left with five league matches to play and it would have been understandable if the intensity levels had dropped a little, but there was still a points total and a county cup final to target. A narrow loss to Fisher was followed by two wins, while also giving injured players a chance to recover. Top scorer Javaun Splatt was back in the team for this game and, after a long injury absence, Jake McIntyre was able to return on the bench. Hollands & Blair did not start the season well, but have been on an impressive run that has taken them to the edge of the playoffs and they had won eight and drawn two of their last eleven games, that included eight clean sheets. Their team contained plenty of players with connections to Whitstable. Simon Kabamba, Matt Gething, Reece Gillies, Mo Cham, Bola Dawodu and Ollie Gray were all former Oystermen, while Bobby Dunn and George Byrne had also been part of a pre-season campaign with Whitstable. It could have been more, but Kane Rowland was unavailable for this fixture. The attendance for this last game at the Primcura Healthcare Stadium was slightly down on recent numbers, but nevertheless 471 for a midweek game with little riding on the result for Whitstable was by no means bad; it meant the average for home league games finished on an excellent 713.

The game took a while to produce much in the way of a goal threat, with a few stoppages for injuries punctuating the play. The first opportunity was in the 18th minute following a good clearance of a ball into the box by Finn O'Mara before Gillies sent over a cross that was headed wide at the back post by Charlie Weston. Whitstable carved out a chance when Tyler Hatton and Joe Healy worked the ball down the left to Belboda whose cross picked out Bradley Schafer and his header rebounded off a defender for Splatt to try an overhead kick that went over the bar. Healy then found Connor Wilkins on the edge of the penalty area, but his shot was blocked. A promising run into the box by former Whitstable academy player Cham led to a cross that was lifted over the top at the near post by Dieko Falade. That was the last involvement for the unfortunate Cham who had to leave the field injured before play resumed and he was replaced by Ade Batula in the 24th minute. A Blair corner was knocked down before the ball was fired over the bar by Weston.

Shortly after a Healy effort was blocked, Blair broke quickly down the left and the much travelled Gil Carvalho drove into the box where his low shot was saved by the legs of Robson, but the ball ran out to Falade who shot into the net from close range to give the visitors a 30th minute lead. Two Whitstable players saw yellow cards in quick succession for fouls as Blair continued to pose a threat going forward and one of the resulting free kicks was headed over by Weston. Falade tried a shot from the 18 yard line that went straight into Robson's hands, but Whitstable managed to get back on level terms in the 41st minute. Schafer's corner kick from the left was attacked by Will Thomas at the far post who jumped with a couple of defenders and the ball fell kindly for the alert Hatton to power into the net. The remainder of the half passed with few incidents apart from a caution for Matt Longhurst following a heated exchange near the home dugout and the teams were tied at 1-1 when the half time whistle blew after seven added minutes.

Whitstable made a change when the teams reappeared, with Jayden Boulton replacing Ricardo Thompson and Belboda switching from left to right wing back. Not for the first time this season, Whitstable put in an improved performance during the second half and gradually began to take control, although the opening minute was especially dramatic. Whitstable passed the ball back to Robson from the kick off and his attempted clearance was changed down by Falade who elected to pass to Carvalho, but Robson saved his shot and O'Mara got back to prevent any further danger and won a free kick. Robson launched it forward and the ball was collected by Boulton who passed to Splatt near the left corner and he crossed low for Healy to score from six yards. Schafer's throw was helped on by O'Mara for Splatt whose looping header was claimed by Dan Ellis. Whitstable extended their advantage in the 58th minute when Schafer collected a pass from Thomas and found Boulton on the left and his cross was headed away by Luke Exall, but only as far as the 18 yard line where Schafer volleyed it back towards goal. His connection wasn't perfect, but Ellis let the ball pass through his hands and legs on the line and it rolled into the net. Batula escaped the Whitstable defence on the right and flashed an effort across goal and wide. Wilkins then had a couple of shots closed down after Splatt had got free on the left. Whitstable were starting to knock the ball around confidently and Schafer brought the ball down from a Belboda cross and fired wide after a period of pressure.

Both managers made frequent substitutions, with all eventually being used. There was a brief interlude when the floodlights went out at 9.30 pm; this game had been brought forward from Saturday because of Sunday's cup final and the lights were still programmed for training, but were quickly reset and the game was able to continue after 15 seconds of darkness! In the 83rd minute, McIntyre came on to replace Thomas and make his first appearance for almost two months after an injury suffered against Tunbridge Wells. Whitstable's sixth, and last, corner of the game was headed back across goal by O'Mara and headed off the line by Weston. A tiring Blair team struggled to create much of a goal threat as the game progressed, although did have two very late corners, but were unable to find a consolation goal and results elsewhere made it unlikely they will claim a playoff spot. Whitstable meanwhile move on to 86 points, 22 above second placed Fisher.

Whitstable take on Punjab United at the Gallagher Stadium, Maidstone on Sunday in the Kent Senior Trophy final. The teams are currently the top two in the recent form table, so it should be a tight contest as Whitstable aim to go one better than when they were beaten by Larkfield and New Hythe in last year's final. The league season then concludes the following Saturday with a trip to Corinthian.

Whitstable Town
Josh Robson, Ricardo Thompson (Jayden Boulton 46), Tyler Hatton, Mikey Dalton, Finn O’Mara, Will Thomas (c) (Jake McIntyre 83), Malachai Belboda (Jack Peters 80), Connor Wilkins (Fin Cotton 69), Javaun Splatt, Bradley Schafer, Joe Healy (Ronald Sithole 68).
Subs (unused): none
Goals: Tyler Hatton 41, Joe Healy 46, Bradley Schafer 58.
Yellow cards: Ricardo Thompson 36, Tyler Hatton 37.

Hollands & Blair
Dan Ellis (c), Luke Exall (Bola Dawodu 90+2), Simon Kabamba (Ollie Gray 87), Matt Gething, Charlie Weston, Kristian Wigg (George Byrne 53), Emmanuel Oluwasemo, Reece Gillies (Bobby Dunn 75), Dieko Falade, Muhammed Cham (Ade Batula 24), Gil Carvalho.
Subs (unused): none
Goal: Dieko Falade 30

Attendance: 471
Referee: Tyler Diminieux
Assistants: Bailey Williams & Michael Donnelly