Whitstable made it safely into the next round of the FA Cup against a young Newhaven team, although they had an early scare when John Walker cleared a close range shot off the line. The home team soon got on top and after a few saves by Jake Buss, Aaron Millbank headed the first goal from a corner. Two early goals in the second half made an upset unlikely, when an own goal was quickly followed by Alex Anderson’s first goal for the club. Whitstable then sat back a bit and a spirited Newhaven pulled a goal back through Shane Harper and might have got another, before Luke Girt had a late shot saved by the visiting goalkeeper.

Manager Lloyd Blackman made a couple of changes for this game, as Tarik Ibrahim and Alex Anderson started their first games. Newhaven currently sit in mid table in the Step 5 Southern Combination Football League, with five points from their first four matches and they had a good 2-0 away win at Crawley Down Gatwick in the previous round thanks to two Dan Huet goals. Their top scorer to date is Ebou Jallow, with six goals. They arrived at the Belmont Ground following a long coach journey from the south coast on a warm afternoon.

There was an early delay when Joe Kay collected a facial injury and subsequently re-joined play wearing the number 20 shirt. Ibrahim looked lively in the opening minutes, but the first real chance came from a Newhaven corner that fell to Jallow in the box, but he failed to make the most of the opportunity and shot straight at Walker, who was able to clear off the line. Another run by Ibrahim on the right created an opening for Liam Gillies whose shot was pushed out by Buss and he was quickly in action again to make another good stop from the follow up attempt. Gillies and Marcus Evans then both had shots blocked, before Whitstable eventually took the lead in the 18th minute, when a corner by Gillies was headed home by Millbank from around the penalty spot.

Whitstable nearly scored again soon afterwards when a long ball into the box by Tom Bryant picked out Ibrahim, who controlled it well before seeing his shot kicked off the line by Kay. Millbank and Jake Mackenzie both went close as Whitstable threatened to kill the tie in the first half an hour. They began to make a few errors however and the play became a bit scrappy for the rest of the half. Reece Edwards went down when challenged in the box, but the Newhaven penalty appeals were waved away by the referee and then Harper sent a dangerous low cross right across the Whitstable goal with nobody there to apply the finish. The teams went into the break with Whitstable holding a 1-0 lead.

Rob Malila headed an early second half free kick just wide for Newhaven, then Bryant had a header blocked on the line at the other end. In the 51st minute, Whitstable made it 2-0 when the ball was played across goal following a short corner and deflected into the roof of the net off the unfortunate defender Malila. Evans met another corner at the near post just afterwards, but the ball went just wide. Another goal soon followed on 55 minutes as Millbank released Anderson on the left and he strode forward before stroking a low, right footed shot just inside the near post, past the diving Buss.

Both teams made some substitutions and after a brief flare up was calmed down by the referee, Newhaven won a couple of corners in quick succession, but were unable to make them count and Anderson then made a good run and curled a shot over the bar. In the 76th minute, the Sussex team did pull a goal back following a break down the left and the home defence went missing when the ball went across the box and an unmarked Harper was able to fire the ball into the far corner past Eason. A good run through the middle by Jadama created a chance for Millbank, but his shot was deflected over the bar. Malila next had two good efforts, as his long shot was gathered by Eason and then he curled another shot just wide. Two Whitstable substitutes almost combined to score when an Osman Proni free kick was touched just over by Marcus Elliott. There was one more opportunity for Newhaven, when Evans conceded a free kick just outside the box, but Callum Connor shot straight at Eason. The final action in added time saw Proni and Anderson set Girt free, but his low shot was well saved by Buss.

The final whistle confirmed a place for Whitstable in the first round qualifying on September 7th, with the draw to be released on Tuesday. The next game sees local rivals Herne Bay visit the Belmont for a league fixture on Bank Holiday Monday.

Whitstable	Data	Newhaven
10	Shots on target	4
9	Shots off target	2
3	Shots blocked	0
10	Corners	5
12	Fouls conceded	7
1	Offside	0
0	Penalties	0

Whitstable Town
Dan Eason, Jake Mackenzie, John Walker, Luke Girt, Marcus Evans, Tom Bryant (c), Liam Gillies, Tijan Jadama (Osman Proni 84), Aaron Millbank (Marcus Elliott 84), Tarik Ibrahim (Taylor Fisher 71), Alex Anderson.
Subs (unused): Liam Dickson, Danny Patterson, Josh Spencer, Muhammed Cham.
Goals: Aaron Millbank 18, Rob Malila o.g. 51, Alex Anderson 55.
Yellow card: Marcus Evans 90+1

Newhaven
Jake Buss (c), Rob Malila, Freddy Beale, Jack Whitmore (Alfie Haggar 66), Joe Kay, Henry Watson, Reece Edwards (Aaron Winser 66), Lukas Franzen-Jones, Dan Huet, Ebou Jallow, Shane Harper (Callum Connor 82).
Subs (unused): Rhys Smith, Conor Sidwell, Lee Robinson, Robbie Keith.
Goal: Shane Harper 76

Attendance: 219
Referee: Alexander Kyriacou
Assistants: Darren Wilson & Mark Jenkins