Whitstable Town V Whitchurch Alport (FA Vase)

​Whitchurch were looking to continue their memorable run in the FA Vase with a result against Whitstable Town at the Belmont Stadium. It’s been an incredible run for the Shropshire side under manager Adam Shillcock and includes beating the likes of North Shields, Clay Cross Town and Lincoln United to reach the quarter finals.

The visitors notably reached this stage of the competition three years ago where they went out to eventual winners Newport Pagnell Town. They were looking to get an eye-catching result against Southern Counties East side Whitstable Town to be one game away from Wembley.

Whitstable have been one of the stories of the FA Vase this season and started off in the first qualifying round back in August. The Kent side have won seven games to get to this stage of the competition. The Oysters had beaten a range of quality sides such as Jersey Bulls and Fleet Town on their way to a historic run in the FA Vase.   

It feels like a club on the up at step five under manager Jamie Coyle and they were going into this match in good form. They were coming off four straight wins in the SCEL Premier Division to sit just outside the play offs with a couple of games in hand on the teams above them.

They were going to be a tough test for Whitchurch yesterday and were also looking to go on a record run in the FA Vase.    

​Starting line ups

The starting line-up for Whitchurch included Jack Sheward starting in goal and Harry Bower captaining the team on the right side of attacking midfield. The formation looked like a 4-2-3-1 with Luca Whitney playing up front and being supported by Harry Bower and Callum Knowles on the wings.    

There were two changes from their match against 1874 Northwich last weekend with Adam Hailes coming into the team and playing in holding midfield alongside Ellis Turner.

Whitstable’s starting line up included Dan Colmer starting in goal and Jake McIntyre captaining the team at left-back. The formation looked like a 4-2-3-1 with Ashdon Day playing up front and being supported by Ronald Sithole and Nathan Jeche on the wings.

There were three changes from their last match against Bearsted a few weeks back with Mikey Dalton coming into the team and playing in holding midfield. 

​First Half

Whitchurch got off to the ideal start within the opening stages of the first half and took the lead to settle into the match. Callum Knowles found some space on the left side of the box before finishing at the back post to make it 1-0 after eight minutes. It was brilliant start from the MFL side, and they were committing players forward early on to ask questions of Whitstable.   

​Whitstable responded well to the early setback and offered an attacking threat up front with Ashdon Day holding up the play well to bring players into the game. He was causing some problems for Whitchurch and managed to get the SECL side up the pitch throughout the first half, so they didn’t drop too deep.

They had a decent chance to make it 1-1 when a well delivered corner at the back post found Jamie Coyle who put his header wide of the bar on ten minutes.

Whitchurch were organised off the ball and playing well at the back. Freddie Bishton was reading the danger well at centre back and managing to clear the ball away to take some of the pressure off the visitors.

The Shropshire side made it 2-0 after seventeen minutes when a good run down the right by Adam Hailes created some space in the box. He beat a few players before squaring the ball to Harry Bower who produced a good finish for Whitchurch’s second.   

Whitstable showed character and pull a goal back a few minutes later to make it 2-1 when Ronald Sithole made a brilliant run off the shoulder to run through on goal. He ran into the box before producing a quality finish into the bottom left corner to pull the Oysters side right back in it.

The Oysters were building a sustained run of pressure on the Whitchurch goal in the final twenty minutes of the first half. The goal to make it 2-1 gave them the impetus and they didn’t look back for the rest of the match.  

The SCEL side were working the ball down the channels and causing problems through the pace of Ronald Sithole and Nathan Jeche who were running off the shoulder to stretch the Whitchurch defence. They gradually grew into the game and had the momentum in front of a club record crowd of 2,656 at the Belmont yesterday.

Their best chance of an equaliser came when Connor Wilkins capitalised on a loose ball in the box before hitting the crossbar on 32 minutes.   

Whitchurch were working hard to keep it at 2-1 and managed to see out the first half to go into the break with a one goal lead. Adam Hailes was doing an underrated job of breaking up the play and acting as a defensive shield for the back four and the visitors limited the clear-cut chances for Whitstable.

Second Half

Whitchurch suffered a blow in the early stages of the second half when Adam Hailes went down with an injury and had to be replaced by Billy West. He can go a bit under the radar for the visitors but provides them with cover going forward to prevent the counterattack.

The chances in front of goal were limited in the second half and it was a tense forty-five minutes for both sides.

Whitstable were going for it in the second half and made a few tactical changes with Nathan Jerche playing more centrally and stretching the Whitchurch defence. The SECL side had a lot of the ball and were looking to break down a resolute defence who were standing up to the pressure well.  

The Reds had a control of the match in the second half, and it was just a cause of if they could find the breakthrough to make it 2-2.

Jamie Coyle and Finn O’Mara were closing down the space at centre back for Whitstable and Mikey Dalton was constantly breaking up the play from holding midfield to stop the visitors getting on the ball. This resulted in Whitchurch struggling for an out ball at times and dropping deeper as the second half went on.

Whitstable were pressing for an equaliser and managed to make it 2-2 when Nathan Jerche rounded Jack Sheward in the Whitchurch goal before finishing into an empty net.

He was threatening a goal for Whitstable since playing as the number nine and made some good runs to stretch Whitchurch defensively throughout the second half.  

Substitute Harvey Smith had a guilt edged chance to make it 3-2 to Whitstable on seventy-nine minutes when he couldn’t quite connect with a ball in the box.

The Reds were given a penalty late on following a foul in the box. It felt like the goal was coming and Whitstable were building up a lot of pressure on the Whitchurch goal in the latter stages of the second half in front of a passionate home crowd.

Harvey Smith stepped up and had his initial spot kick saved before following up on the rebound to make it 3-2 in the ninety first minute.

The atmosphere at the Belmont was electric for a historic occasion for Whitstable and full credit to the Kent side for coming back from 2-0 down.

Whitchurch had a half chance late on when they had a corner deep into stoppage time. They put a decent ball into the box, but Whitstable were able to break away on the counter. Harry Bower managed to get back before unfortunately fouling the last man to get sent off late on.

Full Time   

Despite the result, Whitchurch will look back on this season’s FA Vase run fondly over time and they did the MFL proud against strong opposition.

Whitstable will be looking forward to the semi-final draw on Monday afternoon and hoping to be the first Kent side to win the competition since Deal Town back in 2000.         

FT score: Whitstable Town 3-2 Whitchurch Alport

Man of the match: Nathan Jeche (Whitstable Town)

Attendance: 2,656

Match report written by Rhys Beardmore for the Midland Football League