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| WHITSTABLE TOWN 4 Croydon Athletic 2 |
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Mark Wyver reports from the Belmont: After two consecutive Ryman Division One South defeats Whitstable Town bounced back with a victory over Croydon Athletic to prove on their day they can cope with the step up from the Kent League.
Showing two changes from the side that lost 4-2 at Whyteleafe in the shape of Jake Gess coming in for the injured Gary Sayer and Jon Neal replacing veteran Steve Marshall the home side looked up for the challenge ahead. With forme Townr loanee Sam Mott in goal for Croydon Athletic the highly rated keeper was beaten by a superb strike from skipper Marcos Perona early on to give his side the confidence its been lacking in previous games. The South Londoners responded with a chance from the Divisions leading scorer Reggie Savage which he blazed over with the goal at his mercy. Picture: John Akinde in action against Leatherhead: It was the inform John Akinde who extended the lead when he disspossed the visiting fullback to calmly beat Mott to give the home side a 2-0 lead. With the home side in confident mood they always looked capable of adding to the scoreline with the midfield quartet of Tommy Martin, Sam Denly, Dan Stubbs and Perona running the show.
The second half began at a slower pace with Whitstable looking to consolidate their two goal lead. It was looking like neither side would add to the scoreline until big John Akinde held the ball up to give Jake Gess the chance to strike a superb low shot past Mott which is sure to be a contender for goal of the season. The visitors struck themselves a lifeline when they netted from close range after the home defence switched off for the first time in the match which brought the scorline to 3-1. With many critics thinking there would be a turnaround it was the bustling Akinde who stormed into the box only to be felled by a defender in the Croydon Athletic box. After picking himself up Akinde duly despatched the penalty past Mott to give The Reds a 4-1 lead. The scoring was completed when the visitors converted their own penalty which made no difference to the three points staying at Belmont Road, which hopefully will give Marc Seager's side the impetus when Dulwich Hamlet visit on Saturday. A mention must be made to young Joe Smith who came on as a late substitute for his first appearance in a Town shirt. WHITSTABLE TOWN 1. Fewell 2. Gess 3. Tipple 4. Adcock 5. Lloyd 6 Martin 7. Stubbs 8. Perona 9. Akinde 10. Neal 11. Denly Subs Used Marshall, Smith, Lawrence For match pictures see Per Laleng's fantastic site here: http://www.kentphotography.uk.com/ |
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