?Sure we missed chances,? said Seager, ?but I was pleased with the amount we created, obviously we should have put more away but we are still at the building stages, this is my third game as a manager and its still a learning curve.?
Whitstable were in front as early as the 7th minute, Gary Sayer?s delightful cross field ball picking out Prett, who dummied one way and then slotted the ball past Atherton, one nil to Whitstable. Fifteen minutes later player/manager Seager picked out Prett with a delightful ball, Pratt?s snap shot rebounding off Atherton?s upright, out of harms way. One of the games best chances fell to Stuart Harrison; Aaron Knight had tormented the wingback with some neat twists and turns, setting up Steve Marshall who spotting Arterton off his line chipped him from 20 yards. The ball cannoned off the visitor?s crossbar and landed at the feet of Stuart Harrison, who should have rolled the ball into the empty net, instead he smashed his shot high into the tress, the home supporters bemoaning the miss. More galling was the fluffed chance by Marshall who somehow missed from barley two yards out; with keeper Arterton sprawled on the floor. All the hard work had been done by Prett and Stuart Harrison, whose final ball into the feet of Marshall need Whitstable Town v Slade Green ed just a firm prod, Marshall?s scuffed shot was gratefully gathered by Arterton to keep the score at one nil at the end of the first 45 minutes.
Half Time: Whitstable Town 1 v Slade Green 0
There had been little by way of chances for the visitors, they did however start to get into the game as Ryan Davis and the tall Robert Browning linked up well. In the 51st minute Prett was denied by Arterton with a great save, the young striker dropping one shoulder, then ghosting past his marker before rifling in his shot. The visitor Danny Little, shooting low towards Whitstable?s goal brought off a great save low down from Mark Brown. The visitors started to build a head of steam with Robert Browning starting to get into the game; Whitstable in contrast seemed to go off the boil as Marcus Perona alongside Seager in midfield; had a quiet ten minute spell and for the first time during the game the visitors looked a real threat. Slade Green?s Mark Penny going close before he was injured in a 50/50 tackle and was replaced by Mark Fenn. Minutes after Penny left the field.
Whitstable?s Marshall was bundled over inside the area, as he was first to a defence splitting ball from Gary Sayer. Seager stepping up to drill the resulting penalty low to the keeper?s left. At 2-0 Whitstable should really have shut up shop; perhaps it was the triple substitutions as Prett, Seager and Andy Kier, who with fellow centre back Michael Adcock had locked out the visitors, all replaced by Andy Constable, Wayne Barrett and Shane Davies. Or going in search of more goals, Constable going close with a great snap shot from a Marshall assist, Knight testing the keeper from wide right and Seager just missing with a low drive, but Town should have not conceded a goal.
After a quick breakaway the visitors were claiming a penalty after Whitstable keeper Brown tangled with a defender after they both went for the ball, then got tangled on the ground. This was waved away by the Ref but moments later they scored after Ryan Robinson nipped in front of his marker, heading home Browning?s quickly taken free kick.
At 2-1 the visitors pressed Whitstable back who looked vulnerable for the first time in the game, for a side that hardly threatened in the whole first half the visitors now looked the more likely to score, Whitstable, looking less composed played out the remaining ten minutes of the match.
Full Time: Whitstable Town v Slade Green
WTFC ?
Team: Mark Brown: Tom Parker: Andy Keir: (Capt.) Micheal Adcock: Gary Sayer: Stuart Harrison: Marc Seager: Marcus Perona: Aaron Knight: Sam Prett: Steve Marshall: Subs: Shane Davies: Andy Constable: Wayne Barrett: Mark Lane:
