WHITSTABLE TOWN 0 FAVERSHAM TOWN 0 (after 90 minutes – no extra time)
Whitstable Town won 4-3 on penalties
Velocity Trophy Group Seven
Tuesday 26 November 2019 19.45 (Late kick off at 20.04)

This was the final match in Group Seven of the Velocity Trophy and with Ramsgate already confirmed as group winners, earning them a tie against Leatherhead in the last 32, this game had nothing riding on it. The clubs agreed to reduce the admission charges and a crowd of 104 braved the wet weather at the Belmont Ground. There were no goals in the 90 minutes, but both clubs fielded relatively strong teams and provided some entertainment, especially in the second half, going close to scoring on numerous occasions. The competition rules dictate that penalty kicks were taken with the reward of an extra point for the winners and Whitstable eventually came out on top by a score of 4-3.

Faversham appointed a new management team in early November, with former Cray Valley and Chatham Town manager James Collins taking charge. There have since been some player movements, including the departure of long serving defender Matt Bourne. Former Whitstable players Luke Watkins and Tom Loynes, who was making his first Faversham appearance, were in the starting eleven for the visitors. Whitstable were without the injured Jake Mackenzie and recent signing Charles Etumnu was making his second appearance in midfield. The game passed a pitch inspection following a very wet spell of weather and fortunately the heavy rain forecast held off until the game was completed. There was a delayed kick off due to traffic delays.

A weak early clearance by Watkins went straight to John Ufuah, who shot over the bar from the edge of the penalty area. The first quarter of the game saw Whitstable pressing forward and winning a few corners, without quite being able to get on the end of anything. Michael Hagan delivered one dangerous cross for Faversham, but there was nobody in the box to take advantage. In the 22nd minute Whitstable won another two corners and from the second a Connor Sanders header at the back post almost brought the opening goal, but a stretching Watkins managed to get a hand to the ball although it still required a defender on the line to complete the clearance. Faversham had to make an early change, as Donvieve Jones limped off midway through the half.

A good break by Max Morgan led to a corner when Luke Girt put his cross behind and Steve Springett then shot well wide. Ufuah made good progress down the right before hitting a left footed shot past the far post from the edge of the box. The same player then almost got in when Harry Stannard chipped the ball into the area, but he was quickly closed down. Faversham defender Josh Dorling also departed with an injury before the break. As half time approached, Aaron Millbank had a shot blocked and then after Watkins had failed to hold a long throw by Sanders, Loynes put the ball over his own bar as he tried to clear, but there was no score at the interval.

Faversham changed their goalkeeper for the second half, giving the gloves to Harry Earls and he might have been beaten almost immediately as Stannard played in Millbank, who lobbed the ball over the goalkeeper, but also the bar. Midfielders Leo Mazzone and Etumnu both tried shots and another Ufuah cross went right across the goal, but there was no breakthrough. Tom Bryant did well to block a shot by Morgan at the other end. There were a few minutes just after the hour mark when Whitstable seemed certain to score and also saw Toby Greenfield and Jamie Maxted booked for fouls as the pressure grew. A Mazzone free kick was headed on by Bryant for a diving Millbank, whose header was tipped on to the bar by Earls, although the assistant had raised his flag for offside, so it would have been ruled out anyway. The next free kick was headed across goal by TJ Jadama where the ball was twice cleared off the line and a couple of minutes later, both Millbank and Ufuah had shots blocked by a determined Faversham defence.

Whitstable made two changes in the 65th minute, with Liam Gillies and Marcus Elliott coming on. Faversham started to look more of a threat and Makhosini Khanye had a low shot well pushed around the post by Dan Eason and Loynes lifted his shot over the top following the corner. Anthony Adesite and Morgan caused a few problems with their runs, but the game remained goalless. The last few minutes saw action at both ends, as a Gillies shot was stopped and then a cross by Ufuah almost led to an own goal, but Earls reacted well to keep the ball out. Gillies next volleyed over from 20 yards and Khanye turned well and forced Eason into a good save, before Adesite headed over the bar. The last couple of minutes were memorable only for a pair of late substitutions that saw Caleb Afoke and 17 year old academy striker Muhammed Cham make their first team debuts and the referee blew as soon as the clock reached 90 minutes, so penalties followed.

After Cham had confidently tucked away the eighth penalty, the scores were level at 3-3, with Girt having missed Whitstable’s second, before Eason saved from Loynes. Maxted sent Faversham’s fifth effort high into the night sky, leaving Elliott with the chance to win it, but he too missed the target. Eason then saved the next from Adesite and Etumnu found the net to give Whitstable the win that lifted them to fourth in the final group table. The teams meet again on Saturday at Faversham in a league game.

The final Velocity Trophy Group 7 standings are:

*points include bonus for penalty shootout wins

Whitstable Town
Dan Eason, Luke Girt, James Brown, Leo Mazzone (Liam Gillies 65), Connor Sanders (Caleb Afoke 87), Tom Bryant (c), Tijan Jadama, Charles Etumnu, Aaron Millbank, Harry Stannard (Marcus Elliott 65), John Ufuah (Muhammed Cham 88).
Sub (unused): Lewis Mitchell
Yellow card: Aaron Millbank

Faversham Town
Luke Watkins (Harry Earls 46), Donvieve Jones (Toby Greenfield 24), Steve Springett, Rob Lawrence, Josh Dorling (Thomas Barton 37), Jamie Maxted, Anthony Adesite, Tom Loynes, Max Morgan, Makhosini Khanye, Michael Hagan..
Subs (unused): Michael Dwane-Holden, Steven Mills.
Yellow cards: Toby Greenfield, Jamie Maxted.

Attendance: 104
Referee: Simon Finnigan
Assistants: Ross Mortimer & Dan Blades