A Bank Holiday crowd of over five hundred saw Whitstable comfortably beat Herne Bay at a very warm Belmont Ground. Marcus Elliott gave the home side an early lead with a low shot into the corner of the net. A John Walker cross was missed by everyone and found its way into the far corner to double the lead just after half time. Herne Bay offered very little in response, as Whitstable worked hard to stop them playing and Aaron Millbank added a third goal with a good finish towards the end. The visitors had a few late attempts, but mainly from distance and off target, leaving goalkeeper Dan Eason without a serious save to make.

Both teams made a few changes to the starting elevens from their FA Cup matches two days earlier. Whitstable manager Lloyd Blackman changed the formation, bringing in Liam Dickson for his debut, playing alongside Tom Bryant and Marcus Evans at the back. Connor Sanders was able to play his first game of the season, having served a suspension carried over from the last campaign, while Marcus Elliott returned up front. Herne Bay brought in Michael Turner, Jordan Johnson-Palmer and former Whitstable striker Ricky Freeman, following their 2-2 draw with AFC Croydon Athletic. The visitors also included in their squad other former Oysterman Laurence Harvey, George Crimmen, Danny Lawrence, Bola Dawodu, Gary Sayer and Kieron Campbell.

Herne Bay won an early corner, but it was Whitstable that generally had the better of things throughout and Bryant had the first attempt on goal when he headed a long throw into the arms of Jack Delo. Any derby day nerves were soon settled in the 7th minute, when Johnson-Palmer allowed Elliott an opportunity and he did well to make space for himself on the edge of the box before shooting low into the left corner with Delo unable to get down to save. Dickson, Millbank and Jake Mackenzie all had half chances to add to the lead before Zak Ansah tried an optimistic shot from distance at the other end that sailed over the bar. Whitstable were largely controlling the midfield with the energetic TJ Jadama and Liam Gillies chasing every ball, alongside the returning Sanders. Elliott turned and shot wide and Dickson hooked another long Sanders throw over the bar. Eason had one weak shot from the 18 yard line to deal with, as Ryan King-Elliott tried his luck.

Dickson headed a Mackenzie free kick over the bar, then the teams had a second drinks break in the oppressive conditions. Former Greenwich Borough winger Tushaun Tyreece-Walters looked the most threatening Herne Bay player and he made a good run down the right, into the box, before being stopped by Bryant with a timely challenge. There was one more chance at either end before the break, as Millbank had a good effort from a free kick saved by Delo and Harvey glanced a header just wide from a free kick at the other end. The half ended with Whitstable well worth their 1-0 lead.

Herne Bay’s top scorer Ansah curled an early shot wide when play restarted, but Whitstable scored again in the 49th minute after a long sequence of passing, when the ball arrived on the left wing and Walker swung in a cross that was missed by all in the box and Crimmen and Delo failed to prevent the ball going straight into the net. The hard-working Gillies went into the book for a foul in midfield, before taking a corner that Bryant headed down for Millbank whose overhead kick went wide. Herne Bay then introduced Campbell in place of King-Elliott and he did at least show some urgency that had been mostly lacking in the Herne Bay team. Freeman went down when challenged just outside the box, but it failed to impress the referee, who showed him a yellow card for simulation. Just past the hour mark, a long ball into the Herne Bay box was touched just over the bar for a corner that Dickson headed over.

Both managers made full use of their substitutes on a very sticky afternoon. Campbell did well to cut in from the left and try a shot that flew over the bar from a tight angle. Whitstable wrapped up the points on 79 minutes following a good piece of play by substitute Osman Proni, who played the ball to fellow substitute Luke Girt and he picked out Millbank who turned and hit a great shot into the far corner from the right edge of the penalty area. The majority of the Herne Bay goal attempts came in the last 10 minutes, but they were mainly from outside the box and only once was Eason called upon to make a save from another Campbell shot. Proni had one more effort saved low at the near post by Delo, as Whitstable ran out comfortable 3-0 winners.

It was a good Whitstable performance in weather that was certainly not ideal for football, as they effectively stopped their opponents from playing, but it was doubtful that many in the large Bank Holiday crowd expected such a lacklustre display from Herne Bay. Next up for Whitstable is a trip to Sevenoaks on Saturday.

Whitstable	Data	Herne Bay
6	Shots on target	2
8	Shots off target	10
1	Shots blocked	1
3	Corners	5
8	Fouls conceded	12
0	Offside	3
0	Penalties	0

Whitstable Town
Dan Eason, Jake Mackenzie, John Walker, Liam Dickson (Josh Spencer 90), Marcus Evans, Tom Bryant (c), Liam Gillies, Tijan Jadama, Aaron Millbank, Marcus Elliott (Osman Proni 74), Connor Sanders (Luke Girt 68).
Subs (unused): Tarik Ibrahim, Alex Anderson.
Goals: Marcus Elliott 7, John Walker 49, Aaron Millbank 79.
Yellow cards: Aaron Millbank 20, Liam Gillies 51.

Herne Bay
Jack Delo, Michael Turner (Bola Dawodu 60), Malachi Robinson, Laurence Harvey (c), George Crimmen, Danny Lawrence, Ryan King-Elliott (Kieron Campbell 55), Jordan Johnson-Palmer, Zak Ansah, Ricky Freeman, Tushaun Tyreece-Walters (Kyron Lightfoot 65).
Subs (unused): Gary Sayer, Joe Nelder.
Yellow card: Ricky Freeman 59

Attendance: 532
Referee: Peter Conn
Assistants: Dan Blades & Chris Cannon

Whitstable manager Lloyd Blackman gave his comments on the weekend’s football:
“A very pleasing Bank Holiday weekend not only saw us advance in the FA Cup on Saturday, but gain our first league victory of the season against arch rivals Herne Bay here at the Belmont on Monday. Two games in three days at any time is extremely challenging, yet even more so due to the extreme heat we’ve encountered. I thought our players dealt with the weekend very, very well and I’m immensely pleased with the outcome of the results.
Saturday, against unknown Newhaven, saw us secure our passage into the next round, thanks to goals from Aaron Millbank, Alex Anderson plus a an OG from a rehearsed set piece. We probably should’ve scored more goals, but we were thoroughly professional and had one eye on Monday’s fixture once we knew the result was safe.
Herne Bay arrived here after a good early start to their season with a win and draw. It was a pleasing performance and an even more pleasing result from this new group of young players. The players did everything I asked tactically to nullify the strengths of our opposition and execute our game plan. It requires serious levels of hard work and the boys had that in abundance.
There’s still lots more to come from this group of players, but if they continue to listen and show they want to develop, then I look forward to building on the weekend.
A big thank you to the marvellous attendance, especially for the Monday fixture. It makes such a difference to the team and the club as a whole. You support is greatly appreciated.”