Whitstable put in a great away performance to take all three points in Guernsey, despite having five senior players missing. Guernsey started well, but a combination of poor finishing and several good saves by Dan Eason prevented any first half goals. Whitstable started to look more threatening towards the interval and were the more effective team for long periods in the second half. John Ufuah was brought down in the penalty area and Marcus Elliott made no mistake from the spot to give his team the lead with just ten minutes remaining. Ufuah then struck the post following some good possession football and Elliott was on hand to stab the rebound into the net. Elliott missed a great chance for a hat trick soon afterwards and Tijan Jadama and Ufuah both went close to adding further goals, although Harry Tobin hit the bar and Ross Allen had a shot saved by Eason in the closing moments at the other end.

This was a fixture that should have taken place in early November, but a stronger Whitstable squad only got as far as Gatwick before having to return home as problems with the airline meant it was not possible to get the game played on that Saturday. The timing of this midweek game meant that Whitstable had to travel without Tom Bryant, Connor Sanders, James Brown, Aaron Millbank and Harry Stannard, so a squad of fourteen including academy player Muhammed Cham and back up goalkeeper Lewis Mitchell made the trip. Guernsey have started well this season, especially as they were unable to play any home games until October, and were looking for a win that would have moved them up to fourth place. Their leading marksman Ross Allen has returned to the club for this campaign and was looking for a goal to take him to 250 for the club. Josh Addison made his first appearance in goal for a couple of years.

It was a very wet day in Guernsey and there were several heavy bursts of rain during the game, which started with the home team on the attack. Allen crossed from the right and Carlos Canha saw his header saved by Eason. Charlton Gauvain also had a shot saved by the Whitstable goalkeeper and Tom Strawbridge shot over the bar following the corner. The overworked Whitstable defence, already missing Bryant, Sanders and Brown, suffered a further blow when captain for the day, Liam Dickson had to be helped off with a calf injury after 14 minutes, to be replaced by midfielder Charles Etumnu, on his return from suspension. A reshuffle was required and Leo Mazzone dropped back into defence and did a good job against an attack that also featured young Alex Scott, who has just been signed by Bristol City. Guernsey also had to make an early change, as Simon Geall came on for Strawbridge. In the 24th minute, Leo Mazzone was penalised for a strong challenge and Allen struck the free kick from distance that Eason elected to punch out to the edge of the area where it was volleyed back by Kieran Mahon and Eason made another great block.

Whitstable had a chance on 29 minutes when a stray pass by Liam Mahon sent Marshall Wratten on a run before he was fouled by Geall just outside the box, but Liam Gillies saw his free kick strike the wall and loop over the bar. Elliott then sent over a dangerous cross from the left that was inches away from Wratten. Gauvain broke through again for Guernsey on the right, but his low cross was well cut out by Mazzone. A couple of minutes later, Tobin met another Gauvain cross, forcing Eason into another good stop low to his right. On 42 minutes, Gillies won the ball and sent Ufuah away on the right and he crossed to Wratten whose shot was parried by Addison and his second attempt was cleared off the line by Jamie Dodd. Whitstable were now having much more of the game and in driving rain, Wratten had another shot blocked for a corner. Guernsey won a corner right on 45 minutes and Geall’s header was saved by Eason. In added time, Ufuah had a shot blocked and an Allen effort was deflected wide at the other end, so the teams went in with the score still goalless.

Whitstable started the second half quite positively, but the first real opportunity went to the hosts when a foul by Spencer gave Liam Mahon the chance to fire in a free kick that Eason could only push out as far as Allen, who headed the ball over the bar from close range. A driving run by Etumnu created an opening for Elliott, but the flag was raised just as his shot hit the side netting. A deep Wratten free kick was helped back into the box by Ufuah, but Jadama could not get enough power in his header to beat Addison. The tide was turning in Whitstable’s favour as several of the home players appeared to be tiring and giving the ball away too easily, but Gauvain did try his luck with a long shot that was comfortably held by Eason. Guernsey then had to make a double substitution due to injuries, bringing on Tyler McKane and Matt Loaring, who scored penalties in both games between the teams last season.

The deadlock was finally broken in the 80th minute, when Jadama released Ufuah on the right and as he tried to go past Tobin, he was brought down and the referee pointed to the penalty spot. Elliott stepped forward and curled his shot into the left corner to give Whitstable the lead. On 84 minutes, Etumnu won the ball and began a sequence of passing that continued around the pitch until Ufuah received the ball and hit a left footed shot from 18 yards that beat Addison and came back of the post to give Elliott a simple finish and it was 2-0. Ufuah was now causing all sorts of problems down the right and another run and shot drew a fingertip save from Addison. On 88 minutes, Loaring played in Tobin whose rising shot finally beat Eason, but the ball crashed back off the bar. Whitstable went straight back on the attack and another Ufuah shot was parried by Addison into the path of Elliott, but he lifted the ball over the bar. Cham came on for the last few moments for his second first team appearance and in injury time, both teams sent balls across the box, but it was fitting that Eason had the final say when he saved a low shot by Allen to preserve his clean sheet.

The small travelling contingent from Kent were able to celebrate the win before returning home the following morning. Whitstable next face a shorter trip to face Ramsgate on Saturday, when they will no doubt have a bigger squad to choose from, in their final game before Christmas.

Guernsey	Data	Whitstable
9	Shots on target	9
3	Shots off target	4
1	Shots blocked	3
4	Corners	5
11	Fouls conceded	12
2	Offside	5
0	Penalties	1

Guernsey
Josh Addison, Tom De La Mare (Tyler McKane 69), Jamie Dodd (c), Harry Tobin, Tom Strawbridge (Simon Geall 19), Kieran Mahon (Matt Loaring 70), Liam Mahon, Carlos Canha, Charlton Gauvain, Ross Allen, Alex Scott.
Subs (unused): Jordan Kelly, Louis Graham.
Yellow card: Simon Geall 29

Whitstable Town
Dan Eason, Jake Mackenzie, Luke Girt, Leo Mazzone, Josh Spencer, Liam Dickson (c) (Charles Etumnu 14), Liam Gillies, Tijan Jadama, Marcus Elliott, Marshall Wratten (Muhammed Cham 90), John Ufuah.
Sub (unused): Lewis Mitchell
Goals: Marcus Elliott pen 80, 84.
Yellow cards: Leo Mazzone 24, Josh Spencer 54.

Attendance: 652
Referee: Will Briers
Assistants: Nic Hucker & Paul Agboola