Whitstable Town FC

Micheal Adcock

Saturday September 16^th  1st qualifiying round F. A. Cup (Sponsored by E.ON)  Whitstable Town 1 v Croydon Athletic 0   Whitstable Town are the only Kent Football League side through to the next round of the F. A. Cup after their one nil victory at the Belmont Ground in front of 320 supporters. Whitstable were the first to raise the heartbeat, Steve Marshall when through in the 15th minute one-on-one against visiting keeper James Wastell was foiled by a great one handed stop, Wanstall staying upright to the last second. Marshall; put though by a Sam Prett ball fed to him by Marcos  Perona, Marshall beating the ground in frustration at the missed chance.

Jake Gess on a run (c) Per Laleng

Kevin Fewell

With the game fairly even as half time approached it was Whitstable?s Marc Seager who went into the break the happier. ?I was happy it was nil-nil, they are a good side and I said to the lads that it would not be a goal feast, maybe just the one goal would be enough to win it, go out an keep closing them down but try and play football.?

Half Time: Whitstable Town 0 v Croydon Athletic 0 

After the interval the visitors started well, Amoto going close, Fewll and his defence needed to be at their best to thwart a number of attacking moves. Some great work by Gess who quite simply never gave up after a great run to the opposition by-line ended with the home awarded a free kick taken by Hossick, Perona drove the ball into the packed goalmouth, Wastell and his defence only half clearing the ball. Adcock on a late run into the area shot low and hard into the visitors net in the 50^th minute.

The home supporters went wild, on the bench Towns manager Seager was telling his players to; ?keep the ball and settle.? Less than 30 seconds after the restart Young Gess; bursting into the area hit a pile driver of a shot which cannoned off Wastell?s upright, the keeper nowhere near it. <!--[if !supportEmptyParas]-->Had that gone in you felt the game was truly Whitstable?s but it seemed to jolt the visitors, they changed formation and pressed down both flanks. They had more success when they played the ball out of defence, however their ploy of latching onto long punted balls from keeper Wastell had Town?s ?Jackson? and Adcock on their toes, twice both players thwarted chances denying the visitors a chance to test Fewell. When they did; Whitstable?s keeper was up to the task, going in bravely where others fear to tread and dealing comfortable with some high testing balls. Hossick and Sayer were terriers in the tackle with Perona all grace and poise setting Whitstable up with some nice interplay moves. Mickey Lane went off, replaced by Gary Carter as manager Seager settled his side in a more defensive formation 

The injection of two quick, aggressive front men added to the visitor?s woes, instead of being on the front foot as they had for the previous 15 or 20 minutes, the changes set Croydon on the back foot for the remainder of the game.

It was a truly inspirational time for Seager to freshen up his side as they were beginning to look second best for the first time in the whole match. Constable soon had the ball in the net after much good work by young King who selflessly laid the ball on for Constable. Unfortunately the pass put Constable in an offside position and King stood in disbelief. They soon regained the momentum both players, along with Perona testing Wastell before the final whistle.

player thanking the supporters

Subs: Gary Carter:(Mickey Lane) Mark Lane: Stuart King:(Marshall)  Andy Constable:(Prett) Marlon Button: