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Match report...Bedfont 0 v. Whitstable Town 1 PDF Print E-mail

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Jake Gess
Gess strike sees Town through. Saturday September 2nd F. A. Cup (Sponsored by E.ON) Preliminary Round:  Bedfont 0 v. Whitstable Town 1
Whitstable Town are the only Kent Football League side through to the First Qualifying Round of the F. A. Cup after their one nil victory away to Bedfont of the Combined Counties League. Jake Gess settled the Preliminary Round match with twenty minutes to go and a home fixture against Croydon Athletic on September 16th They could be joined by Slade Green as they drew two apiece with Cobham at The Glen, the replay is on Tuesday evening  It was little wonder that the spectator?s attention drifted from the pitch to sight of International Airliners wiggling their wings in the high wind as they came into land on nearby Heathrow Airport just skimming the rooftops of the Clubhouse. So close is the clubhouse to the end of the runway, when not playing football the club hires out the pitch as a viewpoint for Plane Spotters who flock to Heathrow every weekend. No weather forecast could have predicted the condition of the pitch with over long grass and the cuttings left lying on top. Wind was however forecast which at times was swirling from one direction to another, changing in the blinking of an eye.

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A happy WTFC manager Marc Seager
To their credit Whitstable?s players stayed focused 100% on events on the pitch and they certainly needed to be alert as the home sides Daniel Hastick showed some good early pace, the linesman?s flag catching him offside twice in the first ten minutes. For Whitstable both Steve Marshall and Stuart King showed that they were no pushovers; both shrugging off a couple of testing challenges which set the tempo of the game. With Jake Gess all hustle and bustle down one flank, in midfield Whitstable captain Marcos Perona with Alex Hossick alongside were equal to anything the home side could muster the game looked set to be a fairly even contest. Perona was the first to fire in a shot to test Bedfont keeper Elliot Hind, his rising shot just cleared Hind?s fingertips and crossbar.

For the first 15 to 20 minutes it was fairly even play, with Marshall and King both caught offside by the flag happy linesman until Marshall burst through on atypical strong run, his shot was just wide in the 25th minute. Marshall complained throughout that his shirt was being constantly pulled, the Ref did nothing so Marshall himself employed the same ploy and for a while it became a push and shove contest between Marshall and Paul Stewart.

Tom Parker played King in with a great over the top ball, King not able to get his shot away with Bedfont?s Ray Sherwood coming in with a timely strong challenge. At the other end Marshal; shrugging off Stewart burst through on goal, Marshall denied by Bedfont?s Sherwood when just about to shoot. Whitstable were strong at the back throughout the game, Michael Addcock intervened with well-timed tackle to knick the ball off the toes of Hastick. Both keepers, Whitstable?s Kevin Fewell like his opposite number needed to be alert as the swirling wind at one moment held the ball up, the next flew wind assisted like an missile.

 

Half Time: Bedfont 0 Whitstable Town 0

Whitstable stepped up a gear in the second half enjoying some good movement all over the pitch. Keeper Kevin Fewll was again solid and uncomplicated in front a well marshalled back four with Gary Sayer one side Addcock and Rob Thomas in the middle with Tom Parker on the other flank. In the 50th minute Gess was booked along with Ray Sherwood for the home side, Sherwood quite literally held Gess down after Gees appeared to get the better of him in a tackle, in an effort to break free of the wrestling hold he was in Gess was adjudged rather harshly to be equally to blame by referee Mr Mackay, who otherwise had a good game. Mickey Lane sent in a couple of good crosses but it was a subdued performance on the wing compared to his last couple of games. Perona?s snap shot from just outside the area demanded a good save from Bedfont?s Hind, Hossick following up with another good shot from distance, again Hind equal to it as Whitstable enjoyed some good possession.

Jake Gess then turned the game Whitstable way with a moment of magic after wining the ball on the halfway line he brushed aside one challenge took a quick look and just as another challenge was coming in hit the sweetest of shots from fully 35-yards into the far corner of Hind?s net. Whitstable players to a man then ran and engulfed both Gess and manager Marc Seager who Gess had run over to.

?I was underneath the pile,? said Seager after the game, ?nice that the lads all celebrated together just a pity I was underneath.?

With Whitstable ahead by the Gess 70th minute goal it was on the cards that the home side would throw everyone forward in an effort to force a replay. Lane was replaced by Lee Jones who looks fitter by the week and it will surly not be too long before he will get a full 90 minutes of football since his injury last season.

Fewell then tipped over a great long-range strike from Jimmy Williams, blocked a snap shot from Hastick as Bedfont pressed. Still Whitstable went looking for a second with Marshall denied by Hind, then King becoming frustrated at being caught offside joined Gess in the referees note book before Bedfont missed their best chance to score in the games dying minutes. The home sides striker Hastick turned provider with a strong run to the by-line, his cut back cross held up invitingly in the wind for Mark Adams who somehow made no contact with his attempted header with just Fewell to beat. New signings Gary Carter who has had a couple of games with the reserves and Izwnna Jackson Okiakam, signed from Gravesend and Northfleet will soon get the chance as the suspensions will soon kick in and Seager?s plan of having quality cover in every position will come into play.

Full Time: Bedfont 0 Whitstable Town 1

Whitstable:

Kevin Fewell: Gary Sayer: Tom Parker: Alex Hossick: Mickey Lane: Marcos Perona: Jake Gess: Stuart King: Steve Marshall:

Subs: Gary Carter: Lee Jones: (Lane) Scott Price: Mark Lane: Izwnna Jackson Okiakam

 ?The game was never going to be a spectacle; ?I have tried to install in the lads that at times we need to grind out a result. Today was one of those days:? said Whitstable manager Marc Seager, ?we had to battle in difficult conditions at time it was route one football which is not the way we like to play and it took a special bit of skill from Jake Gess to settle the game, but yet again it?s another clean sheet for our defence. I like the way we defended from the front both Steve Marshall and Stuart King and the other lads worked hard when they did not have the ball, ?Kingy? was beating himself up at the final whistle because he did not score but I will settle for that. If you have striker who moans when he?s not scoring that means hunger and that?s what we want, players who are hungry for success.? Full report to follow:


 
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