Whitstable Town 2-0 Thamesmead Town

Friday 12th January 2007

WHITSTABLE TOWN 2-0 THAMESMEAD TOWN
Saturday 13^th January 2007
Kent League Premier Division
Stephen McCartney reports from The Belmont

Whitstable Town moved a step nearer of achieving promotion to the Ryman League with a victory over second placed side Thamesmead Town at The Belmont.

Goals at the end of each half, from strikers Steve Marshall, who later went off with a groin injury, and teenage talent, Stuart King, ensured Marc Seager’s side moved four points clear of the Mead - and with two games in hand.

Unbeaten leaders Whitstable are now halfway through their Kent League campaign, having won 13 of their 16 Kent League games and are favourites to win the Kent League crown for the very first time in their history.

But faltering Thamesmead have now lost three of their last four games and welcome a Croydon side to Bayliss Avenue in seven days time in real danger of being leapfrogged by the Trams.

Croydon have won their last eight games and are on an unbeaten run of fourteen games.

Whitstable created some good early chances against a Thamesmead side that disappointed.

A floated free-kick towards the far post by Tommy Martin was met by a towering header from Jackson Ohakam, but the young defender couldn’t direct the ball on target.

Marshall then cut inside two Thamesmead defenders on the left hand side but his left-footed drive from 15-yards sailed over Adam Woodward’s crossbar.

And then King blazed his shot over following Marshall’s run down the right hand side.

Thamesmead, meanwhile, created their only real chance of the match after nineteen minutes.

Danny Beszant chipped a ball forward for Curtis Williams to cause problems with his trickery and pace.

Williams, whose scored 13 goals this season, cut the ball to Ross Cable but his right-footed drive from 20-yards lacked conviction and rolled into the grateful arms of Whitstable goalkeeper Kevin Fewell.

Whitstable did have the ball in their visitors’ net but Rob Thomas, picked out by Seager as a “man mountain” after the game, for his solid performance at the back, saw his goal chalked off for offside.

In fact, Whitstable were caught offside on fourteen occasions during the game (seven in each half), whilst the Mead were caught just four times.

Ashford based referee, Mr Jonathan Gooding, meanwhile, required treatment to a twisted left ankle after 25 minutes when he collided with Thamesmead’s skipper James Brown in the middle of the park.

The start of the second half was also held up for around ten minutes as Mr Gooding received treatment from Whitstable’s physio Graeme Brown but bravely continued for the remainder of the game.

The referee was congratulated by both clubs on his performance after the game and for keeping his cards in his pocket.

In fact, the highlight of a first half, that failed to live up to expectations, was the dance routine from Mead’s mascot, Tommy The Thamesmead Toad.

Fewell made a routine catch from Williams’ looping right-footed effort from 18-yards before Whitstable broke the stalemate on the stroke of half time.

King twisted and turned his way into the Mead defence and tried to place the ball into the bottom left hand corner.

But Woodward, who received plaudits from both managers after the game, dived low to his right to parry the ball but Marshall pounced on the chance and side-footed the ball past the seventeen-year-old from six-yards to score his eleventh goal of the season.

Three minutes into the second half Marshall latched onto a long ball and poked the ball past the advancing Woodward, only to see the ball roll a couple of yards wide of the right upright.

Right-back Beszant floated a ball straight to Marcos Perona, who slipped the ball to Marshall, but under pressure from Tony Russell’s strong challenge, Marshall’s shot was comfortably saved by Woodward.

Whitstable, however, wrapped up a crucial three points within the last two minutes of the game.

Jimmy Strouts unleashed a right-footed drive from 25-yards out and Woodward produced another fine save.

But King pounced on the ball on the right hand side of the area, dazzled the advancing Woodward with a moment of magic and from eight yards blasted the ball past him and into an empty net for his 16th goal of the campaign.

Reaction follows…

Whitstable Town: Kevin Fewell, Gary Sayer, Tom Parker, Rob Thomas, Jackson Ohakam, Tommy Martin (Jake Gess 72), Marlon Button, Marcos Perona, Stuart King (Alex Hossick 90), Steve Marshall (Andy Constable 86), James Strouts.
Subs: Sam Prett, Dan Tanner.

Goals: Steve Marshall 44, Stuart King 89

Thamesmead Town: Adam Woodward, Danny Beszant (Sam Thomas 72), Scott Saunders, James Brown (Scot Mullholland 72), Sam Groombridge, Tony Russell, Robbie Tarrant, Pedro Knight (Dean Burns 80), Curtis Williams, Ross Cable, John-Paul Collier.
Subs: Tyrone Sterling, Tony Potts.

Attendance: 265
Referee: Mr Jonathan Gooding (Ashford)
Assistants: Mr Robert Venn (Margate) & Mr David Shrewsbury (Folkestone)