Whitstable made it nine points from their last three games with a good win against Burgess Hill at a breezy Belmont. It was the visitors that had the majority of the possession in the first half and they would have been disappointed to find themselves trailing at half time, although it was an excellent free kick by Harry Stannard that gave Whitstable the advantage. The second half was a different story though, as the home team created most of the chances. Dan Eason had made a good save in the first half from Aaron Smith-Joseph and he did well to deny him again midway through the second, only to see his clearance strike James Brown and rebound into the net to level the scores. Another great free kick, this time by Aaron Millbank, soon restored the lead. The young Burgess Hill goalkeeper kept his side in the game with some good saves, but their best chance of salvaging a point disappeared when Pat Harding lifted a good opportunity over the bar.

Whitstable had lost 3-2 to a very different Burgess Hill team back in September, with just four of their starting eleven and two of their substitutes from that day featuring in this rematch. They have since appointed a new manager, Jay Lovett, as they look to climb the table. They started this game in 16th place, but had won at both Herne Bay and Ramsgate in their two January away fixtures. Whitstable manager Lloyd Blackman, recovering from a hip operation sat in the stand, alongside Connor Sanders, who dislocated his shoulder at Three Bridges. Whitstable were also without the unwell Luke Girt and Liam Gillies, who left the club during the week, having decided the “grass” will be greener at Sevenoaks. Ollie Rowe, Charles Etumnu and Harry Stannard started and new signing Jay Hards was on the bench, from where Mark Lane and Steve Nolan were overseeing affairs in the absence of the manager.

Following a couple of early Burgess Hill corners, a good low cross by John Ufuah was met by Stannard at the near post, but the ball was deflected just wide. The visitors continued to press forward however and a teasing cross by Louie Downey was headed wide at the back post by Smith-Joseph. Harding and Drew Matthews both tried shots that were easily caught by Eason in the Whitstable goal. At the other end, Etumnu had an effort from outside the box that was gathered by Fynn Talley on the bounce. Burgess Hill came close to opening the scoring on 17 minutes when Harding pulled the ball back from the left to Smith-Joseph, but Eason got down to deflect his low shot over the bar. After dealing with the two corners that followed, Whitstable managed to break down the right and Etumnu won the ball before driving forwards until he was brought down a few yards outside the penalty area. Stannard took the free kick, which beat the loose wall and the dive of Talley and the ball flew into the bottom left corner to give Whitstable the lead in the 23rd minute, somewhat against the run of play.

Burgess Hill were still looking threatening, but a looping Downey header and a wild shot over the top by Tom Cadman failed to trouble Eason. After Jordi Ndozid was booked for a foul, Jake Mackenzie created another half chance for Etumnu, following a promising run into the box, but his shot was well blocked. A long ball forward then dropped nicely for Smith-Joseph, who went down in the area when challenged as his shot went wide, but despite appeals for a penalty the referee awarded a goal kick. A free kick presented the visitors with their last chance of the half, but Matthews shot over the bar and Whitstable held on to their 1-0 lead at the break.

The majority of the 293 crowd would have been relieved to see Whitstable ahead at the break, but aware that they would most probably need to improve in the second half if they were to stay in front. They were not disappointed as it proved to be a different game with Whitstable looking stronger in midfield and seemingly coping better with the conditions on a windy afternoon. There were a couple of early goalmouth scrambles in the visitors’ box and in the 52nd minute, another goal seemed inevitable, but Etumnu had an effort saved and then Millbank could not get enough power on his header to beat Talley. Whitstable introduced Leo Mazzone in place of Etumnu on the hour mark and his performance complemented the energy of TJ Jadama to give his team more control in the middle of the pitch. A great cross by Stannard picked out Ufuah at the near post, but his left footed shot went inches wide of the post. Burgess Hill managed a brief spell of pressure that led to the equaliser in the 68th minute. A long throw into the box reached Smith-Joseph, who tried an overhead kick that Eason just managed to push out, but the ball hit defender Brown on the head and rolled back into the net.

It took just three minutes for Whitstable to regain the lead when Jadama was fouled on the edge of the penalty area just to the left of the “D” in a similar position to that from which Millbank had curled in a free kick in the previous game. He again struck it beautifully into the far corner giving the goalkeeper no chance. Millbank almost added another after winning the ball, but this time he was denied by a good save from Talley, who also did well to save the follow up effort from Ufuah. Burgess Hill had a golden opportunity to draw level again in the 77th minute, following another run on the left by the dangerous Smith-Joseph who pulled the ball back for Harding, but he failed to keep his shot down. Ufuah and Stannard then combined to set up Millbank, who was again thwarted by Talley and Marshall Wratten had his shot from the rebound blocked by a defender. The young goalkeeper, who has represented England at under 16 level, had a good first game since joining from Brighton. In the time remaining, there were a couple of half chances at each end and the 17 year old Hards was introduced in the 88th minute for his debut, but no further drama and Whitstable saw out the game for a 2-1 win.

The match sponsor Dan Fogarty chose Tom Bryant as the man of the match. Whitstable next face a trip to in-form Cray Valley on Tuesday, then Ramsgate visit the Belmont at the weekend.

Whitstable	Data	Burgess Hill
8	Shots on target	5
3	Shots off target	8
5	Shots blocked	1
4	Corners	6
8	Fouls conceded	12
3	Offside	3
0	Penalties	0

Whitstable Town
Dan Eason, Jake Mackenzie, James Brown, Charles Etumnu (Leo Mazzone 60), Ollie Rowe, Tom Bryant (c), John Ufuah, Tijan Jadama, Aaron Millbank, Harry Stannard (Jay Hards 88), Marshall Wratten.
Subs (unused): Josh Spencer, Luke Girt, Liam Dickson.
Goals: Harry Stannard 23, Aaron Millbank 71.
Yellow card: Tom Bryant 89

Burgess Hill Town
Fynn Talley, Drew Matthews (Charlie Pitcher 85), Tom Cadman, Charlie Bennett, Harry Pollard, Scott Kirkwood (c) (Andrew Briggs 80), Louie Downey, Jordi Ndozid, Pat Harding, Josh Short (O’Shaye Giraud-Hutchinson 68), Aaron Smith-Joseph.
Subs (unused): Mason Doughty, Kevin Moreno-Gomez.
Goal: James Brown og 68
Yellow card: Jordi Ndozid 35

Attendance: 293
Referee: Louise Saunders
Assistants: Piotr Zachwieja & Daniel Doyle