Whitstable edged past Ramsgate at the Belmont to reach the Kent Senior Cup semi-finals. Ramsgate failed to make the most of a bright start in a first half of few chances and Whitstable improved after the break. Substitute Charles Etumnu struck the winning goal soon after the restart with a shot from outside the box. Aaron Millbank hit the post shortly afterwards from a similar position. Whitstable were reduced to ten men, when King was sent off and Tyrell Mitford had the best opportunities to keep Ramsgate in the competition, but their fate was sealed when he put their best chance wide in the closing stages.

This was the fourth meeting between the teams this season, following two 1-1 draws in the league and a 2-0 win for Ramsgate in the Velocity Trophy. Whitstable had reached this stage with 2-1 wins at Cray Valley and Welling United, whilst Ramsgate had beaten Sittingbourne on penalties and then comfortably overcame a young Ebbsfleet United team. Both managers made changes to their teams with some players cup-tied or otherwise unavailable, especially for the visitors. Whitstable began with Luke Girt at the back in place of Ollie Rowe and there were starts for Leo Mazzone and new signing Liam King. Tom Bryant had recovered sufficiently from his injury picked up at VCD.

There was a heavy shower before the kick off that did not make an already soft pitch any easier to play on, but at least the rain did not return until the game had finished. Whitstable had started slowly in their previous outing and were again pushed back in the early stages. Tom Chapman got himself into promising positions several times in the first 15 minutes, but the closest his team came to scoring was in the 29th minute when Ashley Miller was given an opportunity to get forward on the right, but his cross grazed the bar and went behind. Whitstable had offered little in response, but King had one deflected shot saved by Charlie Burns and then lifted another over the top following a good run. Mitford tried a shot that was well blocked by James Brown and Tijan Jadama was unable to direct his header on target from a free kick just before half time. Mazzone picked up an injury and had to be replaced by Etumnu on 43 minutes and both teams would have been hoping for some improvement after the break.

Ramsgate manager Matt Longhurst made a change for the second half, with Max Glet coming on for Farzad Haidary. Jake Mackenzie made the first of several dangerous runs, but his low cross was just cleared. The only goal of the game was scored in the 49th minute when Etumnu picked up a loose ball and rode a couple of tackles before trying a shot from a few yards outside the box. Burns failed to get across, perhaps thinking the ball was going wide, and the ball went just inside the left post to give Whitstable the lead. A couple of minutes later, Jadama set up Millbank and it looked like his shot was going in the same corner, but the ball came back off the post. John Ufuah made space before his shot was deflected past the post and then Etumnu and Harry Stannard both curled efforts wide, as Whitstable looked to increase their advantage. With only the single goal cushion, Ramsgate were still in the tie however and a quick break by Mitford could have brought an equaliser, but he shot wide.

There was a potential turning point in the 63rd minute, when King was shown a straight red card for an incident spotted by the assistant. After both managers had made further changes, Millbank was denied by Burns, as openings appeared at either end. Mitford had a low shot saved by Eason and then had an opportunity from a free kick after Bryant was penalised for a challenge on the edge of the box. His powerfully struck effort rebounded off Eason and he could only lift the follow up over the bar. As the game entered the last ten minutes, Jadama got his head to a Marshall Wratten cross, but Burns saved and then Millbank shot over from a tight angle. Mitford looked certain to score on 82 minutes when he met a low right wing cross by Giorgio Russo, but put the ball the wrong side of the near post from close range. There was still time for Millbank to force Burns into action once more, but there were to be no further goals and Whitstable saw out the last few minutes to win 1-0.

Whitstable now await the semi-final draw, scheduled for 11 a.m. on Friday, when they will meet either Phoenix Sports, Dartford or the winners of the last quarter final tie between Dover and Gillingham. Whitstable return to league action on Saturday, with a home game against Guernsey – weather permitting.

Whitstable	Data	Ramsgate
5	Shots on target	2
7	Shots off target	7
2	Shots blocked	1
9	Corners	4
5	Fouls conceded	13
0	Offside	1
0	Penalties	0

Whitstable Town
Dan Eason, Jake Mackenzie, James Brown, Luke Girt, Leo Mazzone (Charles Etumnu 43), Tom Bryant (c), John Ufuah, Tijan Jadama, Aaron Millbank, Harry Stannard (Marshall Wratten 68), Liam King.
Subs (unused): Josh Spencer, Liam Dickson, Muhammed Cham.
Goal: Charles Etumnu 49
Yellow card: Tom Bryant 73
Red card: Liam King 63

Ramsgate
Charlie Burns, Giorgio Russo, Matty Robinson (Charlie Meade 69), Farzad Haidary (Max Glet 46), James Morrish, Will Thomas, Michael Turner (Charlie Shonk 78), Harry Norman, Tyrell Mitford, Ashley Miller (c), Tom Chapman.
Subs (unused): Daniel Barrett, Oliver Haines.
Yellow cards: Farzad Haidary 18, Charlie Meade 77.

Attendance: 152
Referee: Kirsty Dowle
Assistants: Louise Saunders & Benjamin Marshall
4th Official: Michael Butcher