Whitstable made a tame exit from the Velocity Trophy, although their chances of progress were already slim, losing to a Herne Bay team that were already out. Whitstable made it all the way to the quarter finals last season before losing at AFC Hornchurch, although the format of the competition has since changed. Herne Bay were soon in front when Zak Ansah scored from the penalty spot and they added a second when Jez Hammond stabbed the ball into his own net. Substitute Harry Stannard pulled a goal back with a good free kick to give his team hope of a second half comeback. A great solo effort by Bradley Stevenson restored the two goal margin on the hour mark and Whitstable rarely looked likely to rescue anything from the game, which was confirmed with a late Victor Aiyelabola penalty after Tom Bryant had been sent off for a foul in the box.

When the two local rivals met in a league fixture in August, Whitstable had emerged comfortable 3-0 winners in front of a crowd of 532 at the Belmont. Both teams had eight players in their line ups for this game who had been part of their match day squads in the earlier contest. Whitstable handed a debut to Jez Hammond, a defender signed in the week from Sheppey United. This game on a cold November evening attracted an attendance of 254, which was very good for a league cup game between two sides unlikely to progress from the group.

The first meaningful action saw Herne Bay given an opportunity to take the lead in the 9th minute when Stevenson broke into the penalty area only to be stopped by a collision with goalkeeper Dan Eason. The referee blew for a penalty and Zak Ansah dispatched his sixth successful spot kick of the season past the left hand of Eason. The away team continued to carry the greater threat and Stevenson set up Kyron Lightfoot whose shot from a tight angle on the left was cleared off the line by Bryant. Both captains found themselves in the book in the 16th minute when Bryant reacted to an elbow as Whitstable prepared to take a corner, which led to a heated exchange and the sight of the big Herne Bay goalkeeper George Kamurasi running the length of the pitch to get involved. Things got worse for Whitstable in the 24th minute when the dangerous Tushaun-Tyreese Walters ran through the home defence and the unfortunate Hammond, in stretching to make a challenge, only succeeded in poking the ball past Eason and into his own net.

Aaron Millbank did send a header over the bar from a Freddie Parker cross, but Parker was soon to depart the action, with Stannard coming on as a 33rd minute substitute. Whitstable won a free kick a few yards outside the left edge of the box in the 38th minute and Stannard curled a great shot into the top right corner, although Kamurasi might feel he should have done better. Lightfoot clipped a good ball into the path of Ansah, but Eason was quickly out to collect. At the other end, John Ufuah delivered a good cross from the right corner to the back post, where Stannard almost managed to direct his attempt on target. Whitstable won a free kick in added time, which brought a caution for Lightfoot, but after a brief scramble in the box the ball was safely gathered by Kamurasi and Herne Bay took their 2-1 lead into the break.

Herne Bay won three quick corners soon after the restart and had one shot blocked before Joe Nelder headed wide at the far post. TJ Jadama and Ufuah both had shots stopped by the Herne Bay defence as Whitstable won a couple of corners themselves, but Laurence Harvey had a great chance to put his team further ahead following another corner in the 56th minute when he met a Lightfoot cross, but lifted his shot over the bar from close range. Herne Bay did score their third a few minutes later, when Stevenson went past several challenges before hitting an unstoppable shot into the top corner from around 20 yards.

Walters made some threatening runs and hit one shot just past the post, but he was then withdrawn as both teams made a number of changes, taking advantage of the competition rules allowing five substitutes to be used. A long throw by Connor Sanders was headed at Kamurasi, who also saved from Millbank and Eason made a smart stop from Ryan King-Elliott. A timely challenge by Leo Mazzone ended a promising run by Stevenson and then a Stannard pass gave Jadama a sight of goal, but his low shot was saved. The ball was played into the Whitstable box in the 87th minute and Bryant was dismissed for fouling Aiyelabola, as the referee interpreted it as denying a goal scoring opportunity. With Ansah having already been substituted, Aiyelabola took the resulting penalty himself, finding the bottom right corner. Whitstable did have a couple of late efforts kept out, but the final chance of the evening saw Eason deny Stevenson with a good save.

Herne Bay finished 4-1 winners, which was a fair reward for their performance on the pitch, although they were let down by the behaviour of a few of their supporters. Both teams still have one remaining game in this competition, although neither can qualify for the next round. Whitstable next face a trip to Brighton to play Whitehawk on Saturday in a BetVictor Isthmian League game, whilst Herne Bay entertain Ashford United.

The remaining Velocity Trophy Group 7 fixtures are:
Ramsgate v Herne Bay (Nov 19)
Ashford v Faversham (Nov 19)
Whitstable v Faversham (Nov 26)

The updated standings are:

	P	W	D	GD	Pts*
Ramsgate	4	2	2	3	10
Ashford	4	2	1	1	7
Herne Bay	4	2	0	1	6
Hythe	5	1	1	-7	5
Faversham	3	1	1	5	4
Whitstable	4	1	1	-3	4

*points include bonus for penalty shootout wins

Whitstable	Data	Herne Bay
5	Shots on target	6
3	Shots off target	8
3	Shots blocked	2
6	Corners	7
10	Fouls conceded	13
2	Offside	5
0	Penalties	2

Whitstable Town
Dan Eason, Jake Mackenzie, James Brown, Luke Girt (Connor Sanders 69), Jez Hammond (Josh Spencer 61), Tom Bryant (c), Liam Gillies (Leo Mazzone 58), Tijan Jadama, Aaron Millbank, Freddie Parker (Harry Stannard 33), John Ufuah (Marcus Elliott 69).
Subs (unused): none
Goal: Harry Stannard 38
Yellow cards: Tom Bryant 16, James Brown 54, Leo Mazzone 70.
Red card: Tom Bryant 87

Herne Bay
George Kamurasi, Simon Kabamba, Patrick Nzuzi, Laurence Harvey (c), Phil Starkey, Kyron Lightfoot (Keiron Campbell 79), Joe Nelder, Danny Lawrence (Chris Saunders 75), Zak Ansah (Ryan King-Elliott 52), Bradley Stevenson, Tushaun-Tyreese Walters (Victor Aiyelabola 69).
Subs (unused): none
Goals: Zak Ansah pen 9, Jez Hammond o.g. 24, Bradley Stevenson 60, Victor Aiyelabola pen 87.
Yellow cards: Laurence Harvey 16, Danny Lawrence 25, Kyron Lightfoot 45+3.

Attendance: 254
Referee: Joe McKay
Assistants: Robert Finn & Michael Butcher