Whitstable start their FA Trophy campaign with an away trip to Chalfont St Peter on Saturday 28st September at their Mill Meadow Stadium (SL9 9QX) in Buckinghamshire. Chalfont St Peter were formed in 1926 and have played in a number of different leagues. They almost made it to the final of the FA Vase in the 2008-9 season, but after drawing both legs of their semi-final, they dramatically lost 6-5 on penalties to Glossop North End, who were then beaten by Whitley Bay at Wembley. In that same season, Whitstable achieved their first ever win in the FA Trophy, gaining an impressive 3-2 victory at Kingstonian, before narrowly losing 3-4 at home to Brackley Town in the next round.

Chalfont St Peter currently play in the BetVictor Isthmian League South Central Division and have 14 points from their first 7 matches. Their first home game of this season was a 2-1 win over Bedfont Sports, who coincidentally were the first FA Trophy opponents last season for Whitstable, who managed a good 4-1 away win in the shadow of Heathrow airport. Chalfont St Peter were knocked out of this season’s FA Cup by South East Division new boys, Chichester City, losing by two goals on the south coast.

The prize money for the extra preliminary round is £1,500 for the winners, with the losing team collecting £500. The winners of this game will be rewarded with a home game against Ware in the next round on 12th October. Ware play in the same division as Chalfont St Peter and beat them 2-1 when the teams met earlier this month. Should the game end in a draw after 90 minutes, there will be a replay at Whitstable on Tuesday 1st October.

A reminder that Whitstable are running a coach to Chalfont St Peter. There are places available should any more supporters wish to travel with us. The cost will be £10 and departure from the Belmont will be 10.0 a.m. Please get in touch at enquiries@whitstabletownfc.club if you would like to book a seat.

There are 28 matches in the extra preliminary round and some of the games are shown below:
Ramsgate v Haywards Heath Town
Faversham Town v Chertsey Town
Chalfont St Peter v Whitstable Town

Most step 4 teams enter at the preliminary round stage, when the draw includes:
Aylesbury United v Sevenoaks Town
Chalfont St Peter or Whitstable Town v Ware
Sittingbourne v South Park
VCD Athletic v AFC Sudbury
Berkhamsted v Herne Bay
Ashford United v Witham Town
Hythe Town v Hastings United
Maldon & Tiptree or Felixstowe & Walton United v Cray Valley PM
Ramsgate or Haywards Heath Town v Bracknell Town or Coggeshall Town
Marlow v Faversham Town or Chertsey Town