Herne Bay U13s KYL 0 Whitstable Town 4

Herne Bay U13s continued their disappointing run of results with a home defeat to Whitstable Town.

The early stages were evenly contested, with both sides forcing corners. One of those for the home team led to a goalmouth scramble in which many spectators felt the ball had crossed the line, but the referee remained unmoved.

Another pivotal moment arrived around the 15-minute mark when Ellis Stone found himself through on goal.

Stone reached the ball a fraction before the onrushing goalkeeper and poked his shot between his legs, only for a late challenge by the ‘keeper sending him tumbling just outside the penalty area.

The ball continued to trickle towards goal before a recovering defender cleared it to safety. The Bay appealed for a free kick and a red card for denying an obvious goalscoring opportunity, but the referee instead awarded a throw-in to everyone's confusion.

Whitstable also threatened from a set piece when a header looked goalbound before a last-ditch clearance on the line. They then broke free twice down the right, the first chance producing an excellent near-post save from Ollie Anderson and the second ending with a wayward effort drifting wide.

The opener was not long in coming, although it arrived in fortunate circumstances. A speculative cross from the left drifted over Anderson and into the top corner to give the visitors a lead that was arguably harsh on the hosts.

Minutes before half-time, Whitstable received another stroke of luck when the referee pointed to the spot for a soft foul inside the area. The penalty was struck too close to Anderson, however, and the Bay goalkeeper saved well again with his feet.

That left the game finely balanced at half-time, with everything still to play for.

Unfortunately for Herne Bay, two quick goals early in the second half effectively put the contest beyond them, before a fourth gave the final scoreline a more emphatic look than the balance of much of the game had suggested.

A consolation nearly arrived in the closing moments when Louis Joseph picked up a loose ball, drove forward and cut through the Whitstable defence, only to be denied by the goalkeeper racing from his line.

It was an intervention that summed up another difficult afternoon for the Bay.