Kentish Football 
Larkfield & New Hythe 1-2 Whitstable Town - The boys are hurting a little bit but I've never seen a League won in December and I don't think we're going to be beaten up by this game, says Larkfield & New Hythe joint-manager Tony Reid
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Larkfield & New Hythe 
1 –
2 
Whitstable Town |
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| Location | The Community Stadium, 251a New Hythe Lane, Larkfield, Maidstone, Kent ME20 6PU |
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| Kickoff | 09/12/2025 19:45 |
LARKFIELD & NEW HYTHE 1-2 WHITSTABLE TOWN
Presence & Co Southern Counties East Football League Premier Division
Tuesday 9 December 2025
Stephen McCartney reports from New Hythe Lane
LARKFIELD & NEW HYTHE joint-manager Tony Reid insists the League title isn’t won in December after losing this top-of-the-table clash against favourites' Whitstable Town.
The Larks last suffered a home League defeat at New Hythe Lane on 8 April, when Tommy Warrilow’s Faversham Town claimed a 2-1 win on their way to lifting the Southern Counties East Football League Premier Division crown.
Larkfield & New Hythe lost top spot tonight, losing their unbeaten home League record and their 14 match unbeaten run, conceding goal number 10 and 11 (two and three at home) of the season, as Jamie Coyle’s side leapfrogged into top spot, moving two points clear and with two games in hand.
Larkfield & New Hythe striker Tunde Aderonmu headed in his sixth goal of the season to give the hosts a first half lead.
The Oystermen scored twice inside the final 16 minutes, with Bradley Schafer scoring directly from an inswinging corner and striker Javaun Splatt clinically notching his 16th goal of the season on a big night in the title race in the ninth-tier.
Whitstable Town made three changes to the side that beat Eastbourne United 3-0 at home in The FA Vase Third Round at the weekend, with Mikey Dalton replacing Bradley Walledge and Joe Healy recovering from a knock to his knee for a place on the bench as a used substitute, while Dean Grant didn’t recover in time from his back injury and remained on the bench throughout.
Larkfield & New Hythe goalkeeper coach Franco Abbatecola was red-carded by referee Rhys Jeffery after the final whistle.
“Fine margines, if I’m honest with you,” admitted Reid.
“If we take our chances, (if we were) clinical, it would’ve been a different result but it is what it is.
“Don’t take nothing away from them, they had a game plan. They just go long. I’ve watched them a couple of times. Nothing special? Probably not but they’ve just got the job done.
“What worked for them was effective. What worked for us, I don’t think we played how we normally play and I just think it’s probably – a lot of people say it was a top-of-the-table clash. I’ve been in this position before, as you know. I was still confident in our ability.
“I still think we were in second gear. I don’t think we played our own football and I think we just adapted to their style.”
Reid was asked whether his side froze with the expectation and pressure of being at the top of the table for such a big game.
“I don’t think it was the pressure. We (Fraser Walker and I) tried to relax the team.
“If you shoot straight at the goalkeeper, then he’s going to save it. He is a big boy but either side of him, you take your chances.
“I don’t think it’s the pressure. I think it’s just expectation, just the magnitude of the game, I believe.”
Whitstable Town coach Taylor Couldry added: “It’s a mixture of emotions. We were constantly searching for those moments in a game that lacked quite a lot of quality and Splatty’s come up with the goods once again.
“But listen, all round collective, it was a real, gritty hard battle and I don’t think you can pick out an individual. I thought they were all fantastic today.
“I think what they gave us was that resilience against a side that are physically imposing and that mental determination to stay in the game no matter what. Even when things looked like they were getting tough, they were comfortable in the uncomfortable moments in a way. They rode out a storm against a strong Larkfield side and I think their togetherness and their resilience has got them the three points today.”
Couldry was delighted that Larkfield’s 14 match unbeaten run and unbeaten home record has come to an end. The home side had only conceded two goals at home in the League before tonight too.
“Larkfield’s record has been superb and that’s a tough thing to do what we’ve done tonight, so hats off to the opposition. They’ve really built up a phenomenal record and we’ve made a really big feat to break that and get two goals against them at their own ground, so credit to our boys and the quality in such key tense moments.”
Both sides created goalscoring chances in the seventh minute.
A free-kick from Larkfield right-back Ross Ibbertson from within the centre-circle was controlled by deep left-strikker Tyler Ibe before his left-footed drive from 20-yards forced visiting goalkeeper Daniel Colmer to dive low to his right to hold at his near-post, with six minutes and 14 seconds on the clock.
Whitstable Town swiftly went up the other end and just 39 seconds later, Schafer pinged a diagonal ball into the left-channel for Splatt, to cut inside and drilled a low left-footed angled drive, which was held by Archie Simmons, low to his left.
Couldry added: “We knew that it was going to be a game, there wasn’t much football, there wasn’t much control. As we’ve touched upon, small pitch, two direct teams. It was like a basketball match, so plenty of chances either end that started off the game and couldn’t really tell who was going to come out on top in the first sort of 10 minutes.”
Dalton fizzed in a cross from within the right-channel towards the near post but the ball bounced off Nathan Jeche and rolled past the foot of the right upright.
Larkfield & New Hythe are a well-organised outfit with centre-half Sam Fitzgerald impressing in their back four for the first 87 minutes, while a diamond midfield of Jerome Wade (holding midfield), Montel Williams (right) and Jack Sammoutis (central) giving the home side a narrow feel to their formation, with a front three of Aderonmu and the profligate Matthew Day, with Ibe playing in a deeper role on the left. Their full-backs tend not to push forward in attacking overlapping runs.
“A lot of people think it’s narrow but it’s not narrow. I think it’s just the way the players kind of defend but it’s not actually narrow,” explained Reid, when quizzed about his side’s formation lacking width.
“It should be quite spacious between the diamond, if you like, so a lot of people think it’s narrow but it’s not narrow. I just think it’s the way the players, they’ve got to take the safety catch off at times and I just think when we lose the ball, it’s just being a bit resilient and hard to break down.”
Whitstable Town left-winger Jayden Boulton was a threat, especially during the first half and scooped the man-of-the-match award, which would have gone to Fitzgerald had he not messed up in the build-up to the winning goal.
Couldry added: “He had a complex role up against their formation today. The task for us was to keep feeding him, to get him to drive into space at pace and to deliver really good balls and he made, you want to say over 10, real good quality balls into the box and that’s down to us to improve on. How we get on the end of things, whether that’s from set-pieces or crosses in open play but I thought Jayden on the ball and against it, was fantastic tonight.”
Larkfield & New Hythe produced a well-worked goal to take the lead with 15 minutes and 16 minutes on the clock.
Ibbertson pinged a long ball out of defence to release Day down the right before Williams and Sammoutis joined the party and linked up outside the box before Sammoutis cut inside and floated a cross towards the back post where Aderonmu steered his free-header into the near corner from two-yards, with Whitstable’s right-back Ricardo Thompson nowhere to be seen.
Reid said: “A great move. Something that we’ve always worked on. It’s about complimenting each other and I think if you compliment each other and you get an assist or you get crosses and you try to turn them, you’re going to create an opportunity and I think we kind of stopped doing that for a little bit, whether numbers in the box or bodies in the box.
“I’m a firm believer that the amount of crosses you get in, you’re going to create an opportunity, so that’s something that we probably just stopped doing and it’s a common thing in footballers nowadays isn’t it? Like, when something’s working for you, don’t stop doing it. We’ve got to be repetitive and you’ve got to be consistent with it.”
Reid added: “We had a conversation with Tunde, obviously expected more from him and he’s popped up trumps and he’s been delivering for us.
“I think the striker’s have been in good form, obviously we’ve made more additions, strength-in-depth has worked because we’ve got a big December coming up.”
Couldry appeared to have mis-understood the question, when quizzed about the move that led to Aderonmu’s goalscoring free header.
“We knew about Tunde’s quality and his goalscoring record, so he’s fortunate not to score that one.
“But we had to stay alive to those moments because we knew they were going to be a team on the break. When they got the ball, they would feed the likes of Tunde, so fortunate that didn’t go in.”
Day squandered a glorious chance to double the home side’s advantage with 19:39 on the clock.
Sammoutis was pulling the strings in this attack, winning the ball back inside the Whitstable half before switching the play towards the unmarked Day, whose poor first touch inside the box saw him stroke a low left-footed shot straight at Colmer, who made the save and Ibe failed to score from the follow-up.
A frustrated Reid added: “Again, this is where, as a striker, I’m teaching them where to slot the ball. It’s all about that composure in front of the goal. You slot it either side of him, it’s a goal.
“You look at the chances that we’ve had, it’s virtually hit at the goalkeeper. You say ‘shoot on target’ but sometimes you’ve just got to have that composure in front of goal.”
Couldry added: “I thought Dan, his concentration levels were superb. That’s probably the most saves he’s made in one game all season – and he was vital for us today.”
Thompson launched a first-time long diagonal ball out from defence and Schafer’s free-header was comfortably caught in Simmons’ midriff.
Schafer was brought down by Williams’ bookable challenge and Simmons lined up a three-man wall for the resulting 28th minute free-kick.
Whitstable left-back Jake McIntyre drilled his low left-footed free-kick around the wall and the ball flicked off a team-mate from within the crowd of players at the near-post and took the momentum off the shot and trickled past the right-hand post.
McIntyre launched a long ball out of defence into the right-channel and Splatt won a tussle with Fitzgerald outside the box, fought for the ball and won it and ran along the by-line and drilled in a low cross, which Simmons used a strong right-hand to push towards safety.
“We just said that obviously they’re going to come out with a bit of momentum. They’re going to come out, on all cylinders virtually. What we’ve got to do is just keep our game plan, our focus, do the right thing,” said Reid, when asked about his thoughts at the break.
“I talked to them a little bit, just ensure that we’re pressing a little bit higher up, we’re trying to be more advanced. I think we were trying to play too much in front of teams where we try to play too much in front of them, instead of trying to turn them.
“So we tried to implement, can we put it into the spaces? Can we have willing runners and can we condense the pitch. When you don’t condense the pitch, those gaps will start appearing and I think that kind of slightly happened in the second half.”
Coyle is a tactically astute manager who can reflect on first half performances during the interval and can improve matters out on the pitch during the second half.
Couldry, who was sent out for post-match media duties, added: “We were pretty relaxed. We’ve been in tough moments like that before. We’ve been behind in plenty of games, in big games as well, so the message was clear – to carry on defending well, stay concentrated, stay in the game for as long as possible and knew that our physical longevity would come out with real opportunities late on in the game to pick off goals and get the result we needed,”
The Oystermen came out with all guns blazing and dominated the corner count by 13-0 (eight of them coming after the break).
Schafer swung in a couple from the left and Finn O’Mara came up from the back and headed down and over via a deflection from inside a crowded goal-mouth and referee Rhys Jeffery blew his whistle for a foul literally less than a second before McIntyre buried a far post header into the far corner of the goal just 30 seconds later (5:48).
There were moments when Whitstable Town overhit long balls but they looked more likely to be the side that would score the next goal.
However, Larkfield & New Hythe striker Day squandered a glorious chance to change the outcome of the game with 26:11 on the clock, following a three-man move.
Ibbertson was inside his own half and hit a long ball into the right-channel. Aderonmu hooked the ball across the penalty area for Day’s big moment but he took a touch before hitting a left-foot shot straight at the advancing goalkeeper Colmer, who made another big but comfortable and routine save.
“Again, keep hitting the goalkeeper, either side of him….You put me there about 20 years ago, I’m slotting that,” added a laughing Reid.
“They are key moments but we’re working tirelessly with strikers. As you know I’m a former striker myself so I’m practising just for them to take their time in front of goal, just a little bit of composure, not a rush of blood but it’s always easy saying this from the sidelines but I suppose when you’re on the pitch, the adrenalin’s running and how many seconds have you got before you get your shot off?”
The home side dealt with corner number eight and nine before Whitstable Town scored direct from corner number 10, with 28 minutes and 30 seconds on the clock, as Whitstable Town took advantage of having the wind in their favour.
Schafer swung the ball in with his right-foot from the left and the ball sailed over the goalkeeper and dropped into the far corner, to score his 13th goal of the season.
“We thought that would play a factor with the wind, especially the end near the slope, we could potentially have a ball wrapped in, that could end up anywhere and that’s exactly what I’m sure you’ll touch upon,” said Couldry.
“I think the real disappointing thing tonight is the amount of balls that have landed in their box and we’ve not managed to get a clean first contact at goal.
“Listen, they’re a good side and we’ve done well to get two goals tonight but I felt with our aggression in the box, we probably could’ve had one or two more.
“We couldn’t really get the contact and our timing of our runners weren’t quite there so Schafe’s got a bit fed up and thought ‘I’m just going to level one in’ himself, so it’s a great finish. The wind possibly maybe helped him. That’s the moment that we needed to get back in a tough game.”
Schafer received treatment on three occasions during the game and Couldry admitted he was pleased with the attacker’s stats, despite a bang to his left knee after colliding into the home side’s subs bench inside the final 10 minutes.
“He’s our talisman and he’s such a goal threat from midfield and he provides loads as well. What we’ve noticed recently, he’s had to offer more in terms of his running numbers and covering distance on the pitch and he’s getting both sides of that at the minute, so his goal contribution output is fantastic and his running is really good as well.”
Reid added: “Kind of probably a mis-judgement. It’s hard to see because we’ve always got someone on the post, should’ve been cleared. It’s just one of those things and I think when you’re seeing a defender or they're doing those corners time and time again, you’ve got to adapt and just clear your lines.”
Wade, Williams and Aderonmu linked up down the right before Williams delivered a first-time hanging cross towards the back post where Larkfield left-back Nathan Daly swept his shot past the foot of the near-post.
Simmons’ kicking was rather poor in the wind and Schafer cut onto his right foot and flashed a 25-yard drive across the keeper and past the far post, before Whitstable Town secured a deserved and big three-points in the title race with 42 minutes and 3 seconds on the clock.
Fitzgerald made his only mistake of the game and paid the price, as neither he or Ibbertson cleared their lines on the edge of their penalty area and Jeche swept the ball to Splatt, who clinically placed his left-footed shot into the bottom left-hand corner from 16-yards, past the advancing Simmons and into the empty goal.
“If anything, the game got to a point where their chasing the win, as the leaders of the League should and we’ve had a moment where we’re able to clear with clean contact and as we saw from the weekend, Jeche and Splatt have an unbelievable understanding up there together,” said Couldry.
“Jeche played a really good pass into Splatty – as he did on Saturday – and it was a moment that he’s had loads of time to compose himself and he’s made a really good finish Splatty in a real, high pressure moment, so we’re grateful for that.
“We know that he’s a player with that quality and that mental resilience to go and finish it off.
“That’s what we’ve signed him (for), that’s what we brought him here to do and that’s why he’s consistently in the team, so we need to give him the right service and get him into the right areas because he could easily double that tally (16 goals) come the end of the season.”
Reid added: “An error from us for their second goal. Two people (Fitzgerald and Ibbertson) going for the same head and it’s probably switching off at a vital time.
“They’re the small margines. It’s just the basic things. Your centre-half goes for the ball, the full-back always tucks round. The full-back’s going for the ball, then your centre-half tucks round. It’s just a miss-communication there.”
Larkfield & New Hythe threw bodies forward in search of a late leveller but Colmer earnt his corn tonight, denying substitute left-winger Nathan Green and Williams inside stoppage time. Williams sweeping a first time shot straight at the goalkeeper with the last kick of the game when left unmarked at the far post (52:03).
“They defended in numbers, they put their bodies on the line, which you expect because we’d do the same thing,” added Reid.
Couldry added: “Hairy moments. I think there were eight minutes added on, so we held on. Listen, we’ve had players’ throw their bodies on the line for us tonight and I think that just shows how much the win meant to them and being apart of this group, means for everyone. Moments that we expected they would get as a strong team but I felt we rode the storm relatively well.”
Whitstable Town have returned to the summit – for the fourth time this season – having picked up 41 points (13 wins, two draws and two defeats) from their 17 of 36 games.
Larkfield & New Hythe have slipped down a place into second with 39 points (11 wins, six draws and two defeats from their 19 games) and the remaining sides in the play-off zone are Jimmy Anderson’s Rusthall (34 points from 15), Kevin Stevens’ Bearsted (32 points from 17) and Andy Constable’s Holmesdale (29 points from 20),
Sam Groombridge’s Erith & Belvedere (28 points from 19 games), Chipie Sian’s Punjab United – who were held to a 2-2 home draw by Corinthian tonight - (27 points from 18) and Steve Ives’ Tunbridge Wells (26 points from 18) make up the top eight.
The Larks travel to Phoenix Sports (thirteenth-place - 23 points, six wins, five draws and eight defeats) on Saturday.
“I (said) to the boys that they’re the form team and the team to beat and quite resilient and I think this is the first home loss in god knows how long, so I don’t think the boys should be down and out about it,” said Reid.
“Teams will probably set things up to come and try to get something out of it, whether it’s a point but try not to lose but listen, it’s just one of those moments that are costing, a costly mistake that just kind of cost us but obviously I’m not worried too much about it.
“I’ve never seen a League won in December! We’ll get the job down there (at Phoenix). I’ve always said that you’ve got to be in and around it come December. League’s aren’t decided in December and I just think going to Phoenix, obviously another game we need to conduct ourselves and present ourselves properly.
“I don’t think we’re going to be beaten up by this game itself, so I keep saying, I’ve never seen a League won in December – unless you were with me at Westfield, when we did it!
“It’s a case we just need to keep doing what we need to do and keep taking our three points and then let the rest of the results take care of itself.
“The boys are a little bit hurt (in the dressing room after the game). Can’t say they aren’t. They’re a little bit hurt but listen, our job is to motivate them and get them up and ready for the next game.
“Is this a blip? I don’t think so. Credit to Whitstable. We’ll see them on the return leg (on 28 February 2026).”
Whitstable Town, meanwhile, travel to bottom three side Chislehurst Glebe (14 points – three wins, five draws and 11 defeats) and Frankie Sawyer’s side are three points clear of the relegation zone that contains Hythe Town (11 points from 18 games) and Stansfeld (10 points from 16 games).
Couldry added: “I think our character as a group, our togetherness when things are getting tough, not to get onto each other’s backs and to stay optimistic in the game and I think just being a little bit more physically imposing from the start and I also think our quality into the front.
“I think there was space in behind that we could’ve attacked a lot better and a lot of forward passes were a little bit wasteful tonight but that’s for us to look back on as the coaching team. Ultimately, three points is the main thing.
“I think that, although this is a massive, massive three points for us, it’s still the exact same value of points that we can possibly achieve on Saturday when we go to Glebe, so we can’t waste this opportunity of getting three points over our rivals by not following it up with another three at Glebe on Saturday, so that’s the focus immediately on what we need to do moving forward for our season.
“This win doesn’t hold much if we don’t back it up with more wins against sides that we’re expected to beat.
“We’ve know that we’re going to have that pressure all season by being the Vase winners and being a side that put together an unbelievable run at the end of last season in the League. Being top, we’ve already felt this pressure by being the team to beat for quite a while now, so I think we can’t read too much into where we are in December in terms of the League table.
“We just need to focus on, as cliché as it is, ‘every game as it comes.’
The FA Vase holders travel to Harpenden Town in the last 32 on Saturday 17 January and when asked about their trip to the Spartan South Midlands League Premier Division side, Couldry replied: “It’s one that excites us. It’s a different team that we’ve not come across and a chance for us to show our quality as a Step Five side across the nation, going just a little bit above London and playing a new team that have just been newly-promoted from Step Six. It’s an exciting proposition and one that we’re hopeful to continue our run in the Vase again.”
Larkfield & New Hythe: Archie Simmons, Ross Ibbertson, Nathan Daly, Jerome Wade, Sam Fitzgerald, Jahmahl King, Tyler Ibe (Nathan Green 56), Jack Sammoutis, Tunde Aderonmu (Bryan Zepo 86), Matthew Day (Steven Famose 90), Montel Williams.
Subs: Clark Woodcock, Antwone McKenzie
Goal: Tunde Aderonmu 16
Booked: Tyler Ibe 27, Sam Fitzgerald 68
Sent Off: Franco Abbatecola 90 (goalkeeper coach)
Whitstable Town: Daniel Colmer, Ricardo Thompson, Jake McIntyre, Mikey Dalton, Finn O’Mara, William Thomas, Jayden Boulton, Finley Cotton (Joe Healy 64), Javaun Splatt, Bradley Schafer, Nathan Jeche.
Subs: Bradley Walledge, Josh Robson, Malachi Belboda, Dean Grant
Goals: Bradley Schafer 74, Javaun Splatt 88
Booked: Jake McIntyre 63, Jayden Boulton 90
Attendance: 201
Referee: Mr Rhys Jeffery
Assistants: Mr Max Doyle & Mr John Quirke
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