Whitstable were narrowly beaten by Ashford United on a wet and miserable afternoon in a game watched by 330 at the Belmont Ground. This was the only Boxing Day fixture in the division to take place, with the other scheduled games at Faversham and Burgess Hill beaten by the wet weather. Both teams gave everything and provided some entertainment for those that braved the elements, although the conditions certainly made things difficult, particularly in the second half. Josh Wisson fired Ashford ahead in the first half after Whitstable failed to clear a free kick. Whitstable almost equalised just before the break, but had to wait until Harry Stannard found the net with a great strike from distance early in the second half. Lee Prescott did well to restore his team’s advantage a few minutes later and although Whitstable went close on several occasions, Ashford managed to see out the game and collect the points to move them up to third in the table.

These two Kent rivals had met in the Velocity Trophy at the Belmont back in October, when Whitstable ran out 3-1 winners. Whitstable had also won the corresponding league fixture last season 1-0, thanks to a late Tom Walmsley goal, although the two goalkeepers and Wisson were the only three players from that game back in September 2018 that lined up again for this one. Whitstable were without Josh Spencer after his red card at Ramsgate, but Tom Bryant returned to captain the side.

Whitstable might have taken the lead in the 4th minute when a good cross by John Ufuah was missed by Mohammed Kamara and fell to Stannard on the six yard line, but he was unable to get a firm enough connection and Sam Mott was able to make the save. In the 16th minute, Luke Girt was fouled by Kamara just outside the box as he tried to shoot and Stannard curled the free kick inches wide of the far post. Ashford won their first corner a few minutes later when a Jay May shot was deflected behind and Wisson headed the corner wide. There were not too many obvious chances, but Ashford scored the opening goal on 31 minutes after Whitstable were unable to properly clear a free kick that had been curled in from the left by Aaron Condon and the ball fell to Wisson who shot low past the diving Dan Eason into the left corner of the net.

A good run down the right by Theo Osinfolarin nearly led to a second Ashford goal on 41 minutes, as he played the ball to May who then helped it on to Condon and his shot was almost deflected over Eason, but the goalkeeper did well to make an acrobatic save and push the ball away. Whitstable then had a great chance to pull themselves level when the ball was played into the penalty area, but Ashford defended well to deny them twice before Stannard’s blocked shot reached Ufuah at the far post, but his shot was deflected behind for a corner. There was a yellow card for a foul by Prescott just before the break as the rain began to fall more heavily and the teams retreated to the shelter of the dressing rooms with Ashford leading 1-0.

Whitstable won their third corner just after the restart, before Prescott curled an effort over the bar at the other end. The scores were level in the 52nd minute with a goal of the season contender by Stannard who found the top corner with a left footed shot from way out on the right after some good build up play on the wing with Jake Mackenzie making a significant contribution. Whitstable continued on the front foot with another corner, but then put themselves back under pressure with some sloppy defending that eventually led to Bryant collecting a booking for a foul. Shortly afterwards, Whitstable lost the ball in midfield and Prescott took it past several defenders before shooting past Eason to put Ashford back in front in the 57th minute. There were few opportunities for Whitstable to find another equaliser, as Ashford were quite happy to hold on to their lead in the deteriorating conditions.

Whitstable brought on Marcus Elliott for Ufuah, but the best of any chances were coming from set pieces. An Ashford corner was sent across goal by Condon and the ball struck May before rebounding wide. Whitstable had six second half corners and from one in the 76th minute, the ball found its way back to the taker, Marshall Wratten, who curled an effort just past the far post. Then a long throw by Connor Sanders was met by the head of Bryant, who nodded the ball back across goal, but just the wrong side of the post. Leo Mazzone replaced Girt for the last few minutes and a Wratten free kick was sliced behind by an Ashford player for a corner. Wratten delivered an in-swinger that Mott, under pressure, just managed to push out from under the bar. The referee awarded a free kick for a foul on Mott as Whitstable appealed optimistically that the ball had crossed the line. There was one more chance for the home team when Mackenzie was fouled on the 18 yard line and Stannard struck the free kick fractionally wide of the near post with Mott beaten. Ashford successfully wound down the clock in added time to hang on for a 2-1 win and a valuable three points to aid their promotion hopes.

Whitstable felt afterwards that they had deserved something from the game for their performance, but will now have to prepare for a visit to Herne Bay on New Year’s Day to see if they can complete a league double over their local rivals.

Whitstable	Data	Ashford
5	Shots on target	3
4	Shots off target	4
1	Shots blocked	2
8	Corners	3
9	Fouls conceded	14
2	Offside	3
0	Penalties	0

Whitstable Town
Dan Eason, Jake Mackenzie, James Brown, Luke Girt (Leo Mazzone 80), Connor Sanders, Tom Bryant (c), John Ufuah (Marcus Elliott 67), Tijan Jadama, Aaron Millbank, Harry Stannard, Marshall Wratten.
Subs (unused): Muhammed Cham, Liam Gillies.
Goal: Harry Stannard 52
Yellow card: Tom Bryant 56

Ashford United
Sam Mott (c), Theo Osinfolarin, Jerald Aboagye, Josh Wisson, Matthew Bourne, Mohammed Kamara, Tariq Ossai, Lee Prescott, Jay May (Levi Gold 84), David Smith, Aaron Condon.
Sub (unused): Tom O’Connor, Lee Hook, Tashi-Jay Kwayie.
Goals: Josh Wisson 31, Lee Prescott 57.
Yellow card: Lee Prescott 45+2

Attendance: 330
Referee: Joe Stokes
Assistants: Ryan Chantrill-Smith & Jak Hill