A run of three challenging derby games over the holiday period ended win a good win on a very heavy pitch at Faversham. Two very well-taken goals, one in each half, by Stephen Okoh and Kemo Darboe set up the victory, but just as important was the hard work and disciplined defending shown by the whole team, particularly in the second half when the home team delivered many high balls into the box, mainly from long throws. Emmanuel Oluwasemo did pull one goal back towards the end when a long throw led to a scramble in the area, but Whitstable held on for a deserved win.

Losses to Herne Bay and Ramsgate, during which eleven goals were conceded, had brought an abrupt end to a good run for Keith McMahon and his Whitstable team. This looked like another tricky fixture against a Faversham team that had beaten Sittingbourne and drawn with Ashford in their last two games. On viewing the extremely heavy and uneven pitch, the Whitstable manager decided to change the team shape, playing both Harry Goodger and Darboe, who had recovered from the leg injury sustained just two days earlier. George McIlroy started on the right and Jake Mackenzie on the left, whilst Alex Gaggin dropped to the bench. Like most teams at present, Faversham had a few absentees, including former Whitstable goalkeeper Luke Watkins, but other ex-Oysters Sam Bewick, Bola Dawodu and Marshall Wratten were in the squad.

Faversham had a couple of early sights of goal, the first in the 3rd minute when Lewis Chambers took the first of twenty long throws into the Whitstable penalty area and this time the ball came back to him and his cross-shot went out for a throw on the far side. Bewick then chipped the ball forward for Dawodu who lobbed it past Dan Eason, but wide of the goal. Whitstable started to cause some problems for the home defence, winning two corners, and following the second the ball eventually reached McIlroy who shot past the far post from 18 yards. A great sliding tackle by Mackenzie then stopped Benedict Bioletti as he raced into the box at the other end. Whitstable opened the scoring on 21 minutes with a well-worked goal when Darboe played the ball towards Goodger, who did well to hold off Bewick and slip the ball through the legs of a defender out to Okoh in space on the left and he cut in before firing an unstoppable shot into the far top corner of the net. The pace of McIlroy on the right drew several fouls that led to a couple of yellow cards and almost brought a second Whitstable goal in the 33rd minute when he found Okoh, who sent the ball across to Darboe and Mackenzie was on hand to test Patrick Ohman, who kept his initial shot out and Mackenzie put the rebound just the wrong side of the post from close range. A fierce shot by Bewick was blocked by the head of a fearless Junior Baker and Bioletti fired high over the bar as Faversham tried to find an equaliser before half time. Several long throws were cleared away, with Goodger doing a good job helping out at the back, and Whitstable went in leading 1-0.

Faversham made two substitutions at the break, introducing Wratten and Oluwasemo and moving Dawodu back into midfield, but Whitstable went close when Darboe was just unable to connect properly with a McIlroy cross. In the 50th minute, Eason did really well to keep out a Wratten shot following a Chambers long throw, then made a more comfortable save from Oluwasemo. Chambers next tried a curling shot from the left that Eason pushed over the bar. McIlroy then had a low shot blocked from a Whitstable corner before the busy home captain Chambers was involved again, this time heading an Eddie Allsopp corner over the bar. Whitstable gained some breathing space when they doubled their lead in the 69th minute. Will Thomas took a free kick deep in his own half on the right and sent the ball forward, where it was missed by the covering defenders, allowing Darboe to run on to it and after one bounce he lobbed it perfectly over Ohman into the net from 18 yards for his 5th goal in 9 games. Faversham were applying pressure, mainly through long throws and other set pieces, but Whitstable defended well and when Faversham did get chances, they were generally off target. There were a few shouts for a penalty when Darboe appeared to be held back in the box, but the referee was uninterested. Faversham finally scored in the 81st minute, unsurprisingly from a long throw, when after a couple of headers in the crowded box, Oluwasemo forced the ball home. Goodger tried a volley that was comfortably saved, then substitute Muhammed Cham might have wrapped things up when he was sent clear by McIlroy in the 88th minute, but Ohman managed to deny him. Whitstable ensured there were no late alarms and held on for a 2-1 win. The whole team deserve credit, but special mention should go to young players McIlroy and Montrell Deslandes, also Goodger for his efforts at both ends of the pitch against one of his former clubs.

Whitstable remain in 16th place, now four points behind Faversham. Kent non-league football has seen some big crowds over the festive period and this game was watched by 527, meaning that a total of 2,228 people had attended the three Whitstable games. Newly promoted Corinthian are the next opponents for Whitstable when they return to the Belmont Ground on Saturday.

Faversham	Data	Whitstable
4	Shots on target	6
9	Shots off target	2
3	Shots blocked	2
7	Corners	3
16	Fouls conceded	14
6	Offside	0
0	Penalties	0

Faversham Town
Patrick Ohman, Donvieve Jones, Onoriode Ogboe, Sam Bewick (Marshall Wratten 46), Lewis Chambers (c), Jono Richardson, Benedict Bioletti, Clark Woodcock, Bola Dawodu, Eddie Allsopp, Abdul Saccoh (Emmanuel Oluwasemo 46).
Subs (unused): Alfie Eyles, Freddie Kemp, James Geddes.
Goal: Emmanuel Oluwasemo 81
Yellow cards: Onoriode Ogboe 30, Bola Dawodu 38, Eddie Allsopp 83.

Whitstable Town
Dan Eason, George McIlroy (Alex Gaggin 90+1), Jake Mackenzie, Junior Baker, Will Thomas, Tom Mills (c), Montrell Deslandes, Danny Walder, Kemo Darboe, Harry Goodger, Stephen Okoh (Muhammed Cham 70).
Subs (unused): Callum Watts, Luke Griffiths, Tom Carlton.
Goals: Stephen Okoh 21, Kemo Darboe 69.
Yellow cards: Tom Mills 53, Junior Baker 85.

Attendance: 527
Referee: Daniel Doyle
Assistants: Reece Pinchback & Andrew Simmonds