Whitstable Town FC

Picture Steve Marshall injured receives treatment: Thamesmead 0 v Whitstable Town 0: ?Dominant Town just makes the point?
Football is full of what ifs and maybes, tales of teams getting battered yet somehow winning in the dying minutes. Sometimes it seems unjust, unfair. But once again the team with all the possession, all the goal chances failed the walk away with all three points.
?Whitstable were the better side by a mile,? said the Thamesmead chairman after the game, ?I feel embarrassed that we shared the points, yet the crazy thing was we could have won right near the end with one of the few attempts we had on your goal throughout the game. That would have been so unjust but football is like that sometimes, the better team does not always win. If this was Monopoly, we just used the biggest ?get out of jail card? you will ever see.?

In truth Whitstable could, nay should have been at least three goals ahead at the interval, all the home side could muster in the first half was one free kick by Dean Burns, which went straight into the arms of the visiting keeper, Mark Hickson. Such was Town?s dominance that they never allowed Thamesmead strike duo of Burns and Cutis Williams to get into their penalty area in the first 45 minutes. Steve Marshall should have scored twice, on both occasions with just Thamesmead keeper Sean Glover to beat. One, and he will forgive me for highlighting it; he was round the keeper but ?lashed? his shot wide of an open goal.

Picture Sam Prett 'never stopped running the entire game'...The energetic Sam Prett once again a human dynamo up front alongside Marshall should have netted twice himself but Glover saved well on both occasions. Shots went in from Marcos Perona, Gary Ward and it even looked as if Rob Thomas, in search of his first goal for Town would score, but he cleared the cross bar by a couple of feet. Despite the vicious swirling wind off the adjacent motorway blowing across the pitch, Town played some great football. How they went it at the interval level without at least being a couple of goals ahead will forever be a mystery.

Half Time: Thamesmead 0 v Whitstable Town 0:
Whitstable needed all three points to put pressure on the teams above them in search of third sport and the chance of promotion after hearing Saturday morning that the club had attainted the necessary qualification of the F.A. Ground Grading.

Despite laying siege to Glover?s goal for almost the entire 90 minutes of the match they were never able to find the back of the net. Prett and Marshall both did once each, on both occasions the referee?s assistant waved for offside. Arron Knight had a couple of great chances, but hit the side netting once then blasted over the second time.

Picture: Thamesmead officals and the ref with the players look on as Steve Marshall receives treatment: Worryingly Marshall going for a 50/50 ball was charged off the pitch colliding with the concrete and metal barrier. He lay prostrate for a moment before regaining his feet to continue nursing a cut lip and a badly bruised thigh.

The home side had two chances in the second half, a wind assisted corner beat the diving Hickson, Alex Hossick, who had another good game in centre midfield clearing the ball off the goal line. Their other thwarted by the long legs of Thomas who grows in stature as a defender with every game. With captain Andy Keir alongside him the defence has a solid look about it which breeds confidence throughout the side. With Shane Davis regaining his place after injury on one side and Leon Ingram looking more relaxed with each game on the other, the side looks good from front to back. Just a pity that despite their dominance and numerous chances they came up against an in form keeper in Sean Glover and the home side who had very a large dose of ?lady luck? on their side.

Maybe, just maybe if Town can win their remaining games and others above them slip up there is just an outside chance of that elusive third spot. Until all hope is lost you can bet that Marc Seager and his players will never give up.

Team: Mark Hickson: Shane Davies: Rob Thomas: Andy Keir: Leon Ingram: Marcos Perona: Gary Ward: Alex Hossick: Sam Prett: Steve Marshall Arron Knight:

Subs: Mark Lane: Michel Adcock: Andy Martin Andy Constable (Knight) Stuart Harrison:

Tony Rouse WTFC ? 2005