Chichester eventually eased to a comfortable win, although a young Whitstable team played with plenty of promise in the first half before conceding two soft goals as half time approached, when Corey Heath scored from a corner and Callum Overton finished well from a right wing cross. The second half saw Overton score again with a great strike after Whitstable had lost possession and Tyrone Madhani added a fourth from a well taken free kick.

Following the sudden, unexpected resignation of manager Lloyd Blackman on Wednesday night, player coach Ben Harding agreed to take charge of the team for this cup tie. Whitstable had already lost the services of striker Aaron Millbank to Herne Bay since their last game, and were also without Danny Walder, Jack Miles, Luke Girt and a number of other injured players for this trip to Chichester. Tom Mills was given the job of captaining the side which included in the starting eleven two members of the Kent Youth League under 18 team, George McIlroy and Gus Barnes. Three more under 18s, Freddie Oliver, Patrick Underhill and Cameron Chamberlain, were on the bench alongside the caretaker manager and Simon Kabamba, who is recovering from a knee injury sustained in pre-season.

Despite the upheaval at the club in the previous days, Whitstable played some good football from the start and were the better team for the first half an hour, although lacking a cutting edge. The home team struggled to gain any meaningful possession in the opening minutes and the lively McIlroy and Barnes both put in dangerous crosses that were cleared. In the 7th minute, some pressure caused a mistake in the home defence and the ball bounced to McIlroy on the edge of the box, but his first time shot flew just over the bar. Chichester did put together a promising attack just afterwards that ended with a shot over the top from 22 yards. Whitstable went close on 18 minutes when Barnes set up Harry Stannard whose shot across goal went wide. A left wing cross by Gicu Iordache fell awkwardly for the waiting Ryan Davidson and Dan Eason was able to collect. Barnes was asking a few questions of the Chichester defenders and his pass to Stannard tempted the Whitstable number nine to try a long range chip that was too high. Whitstable were winning the ball in midfield, but were unable to find a way through. Home captain Connor Cody had to be replaced by Heath on 30 minutes and it was the substitute who opened the scoring in the 39th minute when Whitstable failed to clear a corner and Heath slid the ball into the net at the back post. Another cross into the box from Davidson on the right led to the second goal in the 42nd minute, as Callum Overton was first to the ball and shot past Eason. A booking for Liam Gillies just before the break completed a disappointing end to the half for Whitstable after their earlier promise.

A Stannard shot early in the second half was deflected away for a corner that was safely headed away. Good work by Rob Hutchings on the left created a chance for Overton who lifted his effort over the bar. Oliver came off the bench for his debut, replacing a limping McIlroy, before Overton headed a Madhani cross over the bar. Eason then easily saved a low 22 yard attempt by Madhani. In the 62nd minute, Whitstable won a free kick that was taken by Ryan Flack and a header was deflected just wide, then the resulting corner was cleared to Tom Carlton, whose shot went just wide. The outcome was all but settled when Whitstable lost possession in their own half on 64 minutes and Lloyd Rowlatt passed the ball to Overton who blasted it into the net off the far post. When the ball was given away again shortly afterwards, Eason just did enough to prevent another goal. Barnes chased a ball over the top and looked like he might win the race, but when he went down in the box, the referee saw nothing wrong. Whitstable kept plugging away and Carlton had a shot blocked, then a Flack shot was tipped around the post by Kieran Magee. Chichester added a fourth in the 77th minute when Madhani curled a free kick into the top corner from 25 yards. An altercation between Flack and Emmett Dunn saw both cautioned, then a great cross by Hutchings was headed wide by Dunn. Heath also planted a header wide from a corner, before Whitstable introduced another young player, Underhill, for the last few minutes. Carlton tried a speculative effort with Magee off his line, then Barnes had another half chance, but it needed Eason to deny Madhani with a good save to prevent a fifth for Chichester.

So, Whitstable exit the FA Trophy at the first hurdle and Chichester will host Great Wakering Rovers in the next round. It must have been the first time that Whitstable had included five 17 year olds in their matchday squad, and it is encouraging that a number of the club’s youth players are challenging for first team football. There is much work to do however, with points needed on the return to league action.

Chichester	Data	Whitstable
6	Shots on target	3
6	Shots off target	5
1	Shots blocked	2
3	Corners	3
5	Fouls conceded	7
2	Offside	3
0	Penalties	0

Chichester City
Kieran Magee, Ryan Davidson, Rob Hutchings, Jamie Horncastle, Connor Cody (c) (Corey Heath 30), Ben Pashley, Lloyd Rowlatt, Emmett Dunn, Callum Overton (Matt Axell 65), Gicu Iordache (Scott Jones 63), Tyrone Madhani.
Subs (unused): Kaleem Haitham, Dan Wood, Ethan Prichard, Oliver Carroll.
Goals: Corey Heath 39, Callum Overton 42, 64, Tyrone Madhani 77.
Yellow card: Emmett Dunn 80

Whitstable Town
Dan Eason, Jake Mackenzie, James Brown, Ryan Flack, Will Thomas, Tom Mills (c), George McIlroy (Freddie Oliver 57), Liam Gillies (Patrick Underhill 85), Harry Stannard, Tom Carlton, Gus Barnes.
Subs (unused): Cameron Chamberlain, Simon Kabamba, Ben Harding.
Yellow cards: Liam Gillies 45, Ryan Flack 80.

Attendance: 193
Referee: Timothy Godfray
Assistants: Anthony Cross & Thomas Copping