This game saw a closely fought first half, littered with free kicks and yellow cards, during which Aaron Millbank went close to opening the scoring on several occasions, whilst Dan Eason and the Whitstable defence dealt well with a growing threat from the home side. Whitstable fell behind soon after the interval to a penalty, when the assistant spotted an infringement in the box and a physical Sevenoaks team then cruised to a comfortable victory. Kyle De Silva was the scorer from the spot and Jack Miles then added a second when the ball fell invitingly to him following a corner. Whitstable were unlucky when a Marcus Evans header cannoned off the bar, but late goals by Ainsley Everett and substitute Tyrell Richardson-Brown sealed a big home win.

These two teams were promoted together from the SCEFL Premier Division just over a year ago and both finished respectably in mid-table last season, having fought out two 1-1 draws during the campaign. This time around, there are some new faces in both teams, who each had four points from their first three games. Whitstable kept faith with the team that had beaten Herne Bay on Bank Holiday Monday.

Bradley Schafer was spoken to by the referee for a late challenge on TJ Jadama in the opening minutes and from the free kick, the ball was worked out to Jake Mackenzie, whose cross reached Millbank and his shot was saved. It took only 9 minutes for the first card to be shown, for a foul by Connor French. On 21 minutes, Millbank played a one-two with Marcus Elliott before his shot was comfortably saved by Ben Bridle-Card. Good clearances by Mackenzie and Liam Dickson helped to prevent the home team having a chance to test Eason, following good balls into the Whitstable box. The hard working Liam Gillies won the ball just outside the Sevenoaks 18 yard line, but his shot lacked direction, then Millbank managed to control a long ball out to the right touchline before sending over a cross that grazed the bar.

In the 31st minute, Schafer hit a powerful shot that Eason did well to push out. Mackenzie looked a little unfortunate to be booked when he appeared to win the ball in a challenge just afterwards, but Eason got down to save the resulting free kick by Dan Parkinson. John Walker was next to be shown a yellow card, as Sevenoaks began to ask a few more questions and just before half time, Louis Collins went over when blocked in the area, but the penalty claims were dismissed. There was a lengthy delay in added time when Collins, the manager’s son who was at Scunthorpe United last season, needed treatment for an ankle problem before being carried from the pitch to be replaced by former Whitstable striker Frankie Sawyer. There remained just enough time for Everett to be cautioned for a foul on Walker and the teams went in at the break with the score still 0-0.

Tommy Whitnell had a low shot saved by Eason just after the restart, but the key moment in the game came in the 50th minute, when Walker was adjudged by the assistant to have clipped a Sevenoaks player in the box, after the referee had originally awarded a corner. Following some Whitstable protests, the Sevenoaks “man of the match” De Silva stepped up to send Eason the wrong way and give his team the lead. Whitstable tried to respond, as Jadama released Millbank for a shot that was pushed around the post by Bridle-Card and from the corner, the goalkeeper also managed to keep out a Tom Bryant header. Sevenoaks then won a corner themselves and when the cross came in from De Silva, Everett had his close range effort well stopped by Eason. A booking for Whitnell, which looked a little unfortunate, prompted some vocal protests from the home bench that resulted in a warning for manager Micky Collins. In the 63rd minute, Sevenoaks gave themselves a two goal cushion when following another corner, the ball eventually dropped nicely for Miles around 15 yards out and he struck a powerful left footed shot that Eason could not keep out despite getting a hand to it.

Both teams then made substitutions, with Whitstable sending on Tarik Ibrahim and Osman Proni in an attempt to turn things around. Newly introduced Richardson-Brown headed a good opportunity from a corner well wide and then Whitstable almost pulled a goal back when Proni curled in a free kick that was met by Evans, who was unfortunate to see his great header strike the bar and rebound to safety. Gillies shot over the bar following a corner, but Whitstable could not find a way through the home defence. On 80 minutes, Mackenzie was the victim of a very late challenge that was missed by the officials, but was able to continue and then Whitstable sent on their last substitute Alex Anderson. Richardson-Brown had another shot blocked and Eason had to be alert to prevent a deflection leading to an own goal. On 86 minutes, the ball was played across from the right to Everett just inside the box and his shot was deflected past Eason for a third home goal. There was a little late pressure by Whitstable, with no end product and Gillies collected the final yellow card of the game, making that count 3-3, as the game entered added time. Schafer had a shot blocked, but then in the final minute, Walker was caught in possession on the halfway line and Richardson-Brown raced clear to tuck the ball past Eason to complete the scoring and a 4-0 home win.

Whitstable will feel they had several good chances and a four goal defeat maybe flattered the home team slightly, but once behind, they failed to cope effectively with a strong and quick Sevenoaks team, especially in midfield. The FA Cup returns to the Belmont next weekend, with an attractive fixture and tough test against Folkestone Invicta, who are top of the BetVictor Isthmian Premier Division with five wins and a draw from their opening six games.

Sevenoaks	Data	Whitstable
10	Shots on target	4
3	Shots off target	4
3	Shots blocked	0
6	Corners	2
20	Fouls conceded	13
3	Offside	1
1	Penalties	0

Sevenoaks Town
Ben Bridle-Card, Fraser Walker, Kyle De Silva, Dan Parkinson (Daniel Cumber 78), Jack Miles, Ben Gorham (c). Tommy Whitnell, Bradley Schafer, Connor French (Tyrell Richardson-Brown 61), Louis Collins (Frankie Sawyer 45+4), Ainsley Everett.
Subs (unused): Adrian Stone, Alec Fiddes.
Goals: Kyle De Silva pen 50, Jack Miles 60, Ainsley Everett 86, Tyrell Richardson-Brown 90+3.
Yellow cards: Connor French 9, Ainsley Everett 45+5, Tommy Whitnell 58.

Whitstable Town
Dan Eason, Jake Mackenzie, John Walker, Liam Dickson (Osman Proni 61), Marcus Evans, Tom Bryant (c), Liam Gillies, Tijan Jadama, Marcus Elliott (Alex Anderson 81), Aaron Millbank, Connor Sanders (Tarik Ibrahim 61).
Subs (unused): Luke Girt, Josh Spencer.
Yellow cards: Jake Mackenzie 33, John Walker 38, Liam Gillies 90.

Attendance: 143
Referee: Ian Fissenden
Assistants: Daniel Friar & Howard Collins