The first day of the league season saw Sittingbourne visit the Belmont for a game that attracted a good crowd of 318 and Whitstable will feel that they had more than enough chances to start with a win. Marcus Elliott and Luke Girt both went close early on, but Sittingbourne took the lead against the run of play when Roman Campbell scored from the penalty spot after the referee adjudged a foul on Chris Barnard to be just inside the box. The goal scorer, who is on loan from Gillingham, then made things harder for his team, when he was sent off just before half time for picking up two yellow cards for needless off the ball challenges. Whitstable failed to make the most of their numerical advantage for much of the second half, but did eventually find an equaliser when goalkeeper Tom Benham spilled a low shot by Osman Proni and TJ Jadama reacted the quickest to fire home the loose ball. Whitstable had a number of opportunities to find a winner, but often failed to hit the target and in the closing minutes Sittingbourne threatened at the other end with several late breaks, but in the end the points were shared.

The Whitstable team that started this season under new management contained a number of changes from the one that finished the last at Three Bridges in April. Jake Mackenzie, Luke Girt and TJ Jadama all returned to the club, having previously played for Whitstable. Marcus Evans, Liam Gillies, Marcus Elliott, Aaron Millbank and Osman Proni were making their debuts, as were all five substitutes. Sittingbourne arrived with some familiar faces, but also a few new ones and former Oysterman Jason Fregene was amongst their substitutes.

The home team had enough early chances to have wrapped the game up, but were unable to find a finish. In the 3rd minute, Proni swept the ball out to Millbank on the right and his low cross was met by Elliott, but he failed to get enough on his shot and the ball ended up rolling just the wrong side of the far post. There followed a couple of Whitstable corners, taken by Proni, with the first being deflected just wide and the next was scrambled clear. Girt had two attempts, trying a long shot that was comfortably saved, before his good hooked effort following a free kick was touched around the post by a diving Benham. Sittingbourne had tried a few counter attacks, but it was a long throw by Lewis Chambers that caused the home defence the most problems, before the ball was hacked away. The complexion of the game changed in the 27th minute when the Whitstable defence were too slow to clear their penalty area, Sittingbourne stole the ball and in an effort to win it back, Chris Barnard was caught and the referee had to decide whether the contact was inside the area. After a little thought, he pointed to the spot and Campbell stepped up to place the ball into the bottom left corner.

A few minutes later, Campbell appeared to kick out at a Whitstable player off the ball and the incident was spotted by the assistant, resulting in a yellow card being shown. Millbank had a shot saved by Benham and Campbell struck a Sittingbourne free kick into the defensive wall. Proni swung over a dangerous free kick from near the left corner flag that was headed over the bar by Elliott. In the 42nd minute, Campbell was involved in another off the ball incident, this time with Tom Bryant, and once more lashed out, this time in full view of the referee who immediately brandished a second yellow and a red card, leaving the visitors with ten men. Nothing further of note happened in the first half and Whitstable trailed 0-1 at the break.

As has often been the case in previous seasons, Whitstable once again found it difficult to play effectively against a team with fewer players on the pitch. A good John Walker cross was met by a stooping Millbank, but his header was off target. Shaun Brown, who had been introduced as a half time substitute, let fly with a long shot that sailed over the bar. A dangerous swinging corner by Proni was headed out from under the bar, before a low shot by Jadama was saved by Benham. Brown curled a great effort just wide of the far post for Sittingbourne. Both managers made more changes around the hour mark, but Whitstable were finding it hard to break through, as Millbank flicked another effort over the bar. Then, a mistake by Cory Walters-Wright was seized on by Millbank whose shot was blocked before the ball eventually reached Proni on the edge of the box and his low shot was saved by Benham, but he failed to hold the ball and Jadama was on hand to score the equaliser in the 72nd minute.

Tyrone Guthrie was cautioned for pulling back Whitstable substitute Alex Anderson, but the resulting free kick was cleared. Proni rolled another free kick across for Girt whose effort went just over the bar. There was then a period of a few minutes that saw Whitstable pressing for the winner, but their shooting was wildly inaccurate, with a few efforts ending up in the trees behind the goal. As the game entered its closing stages, it became quite open and Sittingbourne had a few promising moments in the Whitstable box without being able to test Dan Eason. A late Whitstable free kick saw a scuffed clearance fall to Anderson, but he only managed to find the battered tree once again. Benham denied Whitstable in the final minute of added time, when Evans met a Proni corner, but the goalkeeper did well to save his glancing header at the far post.

The teams had to settle for a point each and both will feel they did well at times, but also be disappointed at some aspects of their performances. Whitstable next face a midweek trip to Hythe, before a busy Bank Holiday weekend sees both Newhaven and local rivals Herne Bay visit the Belmont.

Whitstable	Data	Sittingbourne
10	Shots on target	1
10	Shots off target	4
2	Shots blocked	3
7	Corners	3
12	Fouls conceded	17
0	Offside	1
0	Penalties	1

Whitstable Town
Dan Eason, Jake Mackenzie, John Walker, Luke Girt, Marcus Evans, Tom Bryant (c), Liam Gillies (Alex Anderson 63), Tijan Jadama, Marcus Elliott (Tarik Ibrahim 63), Aaron Millbank, Osman Proni.
Subs (unused): Josh Spencer, Danny Patterson, Muhammed Cham.
Goal: Tijan Jadama 72

Sittingbourne
Tom Benham, Lewis West, Abdel Ndew, Lewis Chambers, Cory Walters-Wright, Lex Allan, Enoch Ako-Adjei (Shaun Brown 46), Chris Webber (Tyrone Guthrie 60), Roman Campbell, Tommie Fagg, Chris Barnard (Festus Lori 75).
Subs (unused): Jason Fregene, Johan Caney-Bryan.
Goal: Roman Campbell 27 pen
Yellow card: Tyrone Guthrie 76
Red card: Roman Campbell (two yellows 30, 42)

Attendance: 318
Referee: Graeme Ions
Assistants: Joshua Smith & Bo Wang