Whitstable made a long Tuesday night trip into Hertfordshire for this FA Trophy replay, following the 2-2 draw on Saturday. The first half in particular saw Whitstable play some good football against a useful, more direct, Ware team, although Dan Eason did well to deny Joshua Williams who had perhaps the best opportunity. The second 45 minutes also failed to separate the teams, as John Ufuah had a couple of good attempts to break the deadlock for Whitstable, whilst Eason saved well from Patrick Adamson and Liam Hope. Calum Kitscha saved a Liam Gillies shot in extra time, but as other openings were missed at both ends, the closely fought tie seemed destined to be settled by a penalty shootout. Then, in the final minute of extra time, Williams Danquah got free on the left and Hope tucked his cross in at the near post to earn Ware a trip to Leatherhead in the next round.

Some hastily arranged transport plans meant that most of the Whitstable squad were able to get to Ware for this replay, but absentees included Connor Sanders, John Walker and Marshall Wratten, who was recalled from his loan by Dover. Liam Gillies and Marcus Elliott came into the starting eleven and there were places on the bench for reserve and academy players, Caleb Afoke and Muhammed Cham. Ware also made a couple of changes, bringing in captain Gareth Madden and Williams Danquah, whilst their top scorer Olu Akinsanya was only named as a substitute.

The game kicked off in fine conditions on the artificial playing surface, with Whitstable seeing plenty of early possession, but there were few clear cut chances created. Ufuah looked a threat when running at the home defence and sent over a good cross that found the head of Elliott, but went wide. Jake Mackenzie almost scored a spectacular own goal on 13 minutes when a Tom Bruno free kick was headed down in the box and the Whitstable right back volleyed the ball perilously close to the post. The resulting corner, like a number of Ware set pieces, was swung in dangerously by Bruno and caused some problems for Dan Eason before being hacked away.

Ufuah delivered a good cross that was put behind for a corner, then Aaron Millbank headed an Elliott cross over the bar. On 33 minutes, the busy Gillies struck a good shot from outside the box that was saved by Kitscha. Whitstable were playing well, without being able to find a breakthrough and Ware had a great chance just before the break when Williams managed to get past Tom Bryant, but was denied by the leg of Eason at the expense of a corner. Ufuah made a good long run after a spell of Ware pressure, but he was closed down before being able to get his shot away. The final action of the first half saw young Whitstable defender Josh Spencer, who had a good game alongside Bryant at the back, try a shot from just inside the Ware half that missed by some distance,

In the 54th minute, a stray Ware pass allowed Ufuah a run through the middle, but his shot was saved by a diving Kitscha. The home team were starting to look more of a threat and a Williams cross went right across goal, then Patrick Adamson’s shot was blocked by Eason. In the 63rd minute, a great long throw by Eason sent Ufuah away down the right and his shot flew just past the far post. Next, a Ware corner was cleared, but sent back into the box where Hope forced another good save out of Eason, then a low centre by Danquah ran right across goal and out to safety. Harry Stannard replaced Elliott and Louis Rose was introduced by Ware. Bruno sent another good free kick into the area, but Eason got down well to gather a glancing header. Bruno was shown a yellow card after one foul too many and neither team could find a goal despite a lot of effort, so the game went into an extra 30 minutes.

Ware put an early opportunity just wide and Jadama headed a Mackenzie cross over the top. Bruno, Gillies and Luke Girt all tried their luck, but failed to hit the target and Bryant was booked for pulling back an opponent just before the first half of extra time was completed. Whitstable had perhaps their best chance in the 107th minute, when Stannard picked out Gillies on the right of the area and his shot back across goal was well saved by Kitscha. The game looked like it was heading for penalties, but Whitstable were forced into a change a few minutes before the end when Mackenzie limped off to be replaced by Leo Mazzone, with Girt dropping back into the defence. In the last minute, Danquah was able to get in a good low cross from the left and Hope arrived to steer the ball past Eason, leaving Whitstable with only the time added on by the excellent referee to find a response, but Ware saw the remaining moments out with no alarms to book their place in the next round.

The game had been played at a fast pace throughout, with both teams showing high levels of fitness, although it just seemed to lack some quality with the final ball or finish, but there was enough action to keep the crowd entertained, including a number that had made the trip from Kent. The Whitstable players and management were, not surprisingly, very disappointed at the end, having given so much over the two games, but as a relatively new team they do seem to be improving with each week. They were missing a few players on the night, but did become the first team this season to prevent Ware scoring during the normal 90 minutes. It is now a return to league action on Saturday at East Grinstead, who are still seeking their first win of the season.

Ware	Data	Whitstable
6	Shots on target	3
8	Shots off target	8
2	Shots blocked	1
9	Corners	4
10	Fouls conceded	10
2	Offside	4
0	Penalties	0

Ware
Calum Kitscha, Gareth Madden (c), Patrick Adamson, Leigh Rose, Dave Kendall, Dan Rumens (Louis Rose 73), Joshua Williams, Tom Bruno, Liam Hope, Alaa Oujdi, Williams Danquah.
Subs (unused): Ethan Gannon, Harry Norman, Kardan Campbell, Harry Watkins, Olu Akinsanya, Tobi Adekunle.
Goal: Liam Hope 120
Yellow card: Tom Bruno 78

Whitstable Town
Dan Eason, Jake Mackenzie (Leo Mazzone 114), James Brown, Luke Girt, Josh Spencer, Tom Bryant (c), Liam Gillies, Tijan Jadama, Aaron Millbank, Marcus Elliott (Harry Stannard 69), John Ufuah.
Subs (unused): Liam Dickson, Caleb Afoke, Muhammed Cham.
Yellow card: Tom Bryant 104

Attendance: 145
Referee: Mark Stevens
Assistants: Robert Trinder & Thomas Healy