SITTINGBOURNE 3 WHITSTABLE TOWN 2
The Pitching In Isthmian League South East
Saturday September 19 2020 15.00

The delayed start to a new Isthmian League season began with a reversal of the first game from last season, but Whitstable returned home from Sittingbourne with no points following a 3-2 defeat. Tijan Jadama gave his team an early lead, but an Andy Drury penalty brought the Brickies back into the game and former Whitstable striker Kane Rowland added a second just before the break. Whitstable had more controlled possession in the second half, but a goal from another former Oysterman, Harry Goodger, increased the Sittingbourne lead and although Luke Medley found the net in stoppage time, it only proved to be a consolation.

Whitstable were still without Aaron Millbank for this season opener, together with long term absentees Jake Mackenzie, Harry Stannard and Liam King. There were further injury problems during the warm up, which forced a late change to the starting eleven as Leo Mazzone was replaced by Ollie Gray at right back and although Ollie Rowe battled through the first half, he also had to be substituted at half time. Like Whitstable, Sittingbourne had made a swift exit from the FA Cup in their previous game, losing 4-1 at Deal Town. They had been in 16th place when the last season was halted. Andy Drury was making his 100th appearance in a Sittingbourne shirt, having recently signed from Havant and Waterlooville. He had previously played 98 matches for Sittingbourne before leaving in 2003 to play for a number of senior clubs including Gravesend, Stevenage, Luton and Ipswich.

Despite some September sunshine, there was a chilly feel to the ground in these unusual COVID affected times, with a strong breeze blowing across the exposed pitch. Much travelled Ryan Palmer hit a speculative shot wide shortly after the kick-off. It was Whitstable that struck early however when a 3rd minute free kick on the left was played inside by Liam Gillies to Medley and although the set piece failed to work as planned, Medley was able to recover the ball and find Jay Hards, whose low shot from outside the box was saved by Jordan Perrin, but he failed to hold on and Jadama was first to the rebound and tucked the ball into the net. Sittingbourne went in search of an equaliser, sending over a couple of dangerous crosses and Dan Eason saved a low shot by Rowland. They only had to wait until the 19th minute, when the referee awarded a penalty as Vance Bola went down in the box when challenging for the ball. Once the Whitstable protests were waved away, Drury stepped up and sent Eason the wrong way to level the scores.

Tom Mills sent Medley away down the right, but his shot was saved, then Charles Etumnu tried a shot from the left that was also safely collected by Perrin. The referee showed yellow cards to Etumnu and Cory Walters-Wright following a foul and then some retaliation by the Whitstable player. Etumnu appeared unhappy with some of the treatment he was receiving and was replaced by Luke Girt in the 33rd minute. The lively Gillies set up Girt who hit a great shot from 25 yards that Perrin just managed to touch on to the bar and behind. The home team went ahead in the 40th minute when Bola received a throw in and found Rowland who was given too much space in the box to turn and shoot across goal, past Eason and into the bottom right corner. The last chance of the half saw Bola push aside his marker and test Eason with a good shot that the Whitstable keeper did really well to turn behind for a corner. Sittingbourne ended the half with a 2-1 advantage.

Reece Gillies was introduced at the restart, in place of the injured Rowe, and Girt dropped back into the defence. Whitstable had failed to play with much control in the first half, but started the second better and had a lot of possession in the opening minutes. Liam Gilles shot into the side netting and then forced Perrin into a smart save after a good run. Home substitute Harry Miller was booked for a late challenge on Jadama and Tom Bryant soon followed him into referee Harry Wager’s notebook. A quick break by Bola looked likely to increase his team’s lead on 65 minutes, but his heavy touch allowed Eason to avert the danger.

Liam Gillies shot high over the top and then Mills shot wide following a Whitstable free kick. It became 3-1 in the 75th minute when the ball was only cleared as far as Palmer on the right and his cross was met by Goodger at the back post and although he failed to make a good connection, the ball somehow found its way into the far corner of the net. Whitstable continued to search for a way back, but had to wait until the 92nd minute when Liam Gillies played the ball to Mills on the left and his low cross was turned in by Medley. There was just time for Liam Gillies to become the last player to collect a booking when trying to retrieve the ball too forcefully, with the home side in no rush for the game to restart. The final whistle soon followed, leaving Whitstable to reflect on a disappointing 3-2 defeat.

It is obviously early days and Sittingbourne will be the happier with a winning start to the league campaign, but both teams will be looking for improvement in the coming weeks in what looks like being a tough division this season. Whitstable have their first home match on Saturday, which is a rearranged fixture against VCD Athletic, due to the involvement of original opponents Hythe Town in the FA Trophy.

Sittingbourne
Jordan Perrin, Freeman Rogers, Salvyn Kisitu (Conrad Lee 77), George Monger, Cory Walters-Wright (c), Lex Allan, Enoch Adjei (Harry Miller 57), Andy Drury, Kane Rowland, Vance Bola (Harry Goodger 71), Ryan Palmer.
Subs (unused): Johan Caney-Bryan, Michael Freiter.
Goals: Andy Drury (pen) 19, Kane Rowland 40, Harry Goodger 75.
Yellow cards: Cory Walters-Wright 29, Harry Miller 62.

Whitstable Town
Dan Eason, Ollie Gray, James Brown, Liam Gillies, Ollie Rowe (c) (Reece Gillies 46), Tom Bryant, Jay Hards (Dean James 78), Charles Etumnu (Luke Girt 33), Luke Medley, Tijan Jadama, Tom Mills.
Subs (unused): Victor Aiyelabola, Leo Mazzone.
Goals: Tijan Jadama 3, Luke Medley 90+2.
Yellow cards: Charles Etumnu 28, Tom Bryant 64, Tijan Jadama 86, Liam Gillies 90+3.

Attendance: 263
Referee: Harry Wager
Assistants: Dan Blades & Kennedy Kikulwe