Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
Morrish strike seals win
SCEL round-up
James Morrish was the match-winner as Whitstable edged promotion rivals Crowborough in their final match of the year at The Belmont.
Only six minutes remained when midfielder Morrish pounced on a misplaced pass from the visitors on Saturday to fire home from the edge of the area for the game’s only goal.
The win lifted Town up to fourth and within two points of second-placed Crowborough, with a game in hand.
Town were without the suspended Stuart West but welcomed back striker Danny Williams after his ban.
Before the break, chances for both sides were at a premium. A misdirected backpass caused an early problem for Crowborough keeper James Shaw but it was more than half-an-hour before he was called into action again, to save a Williams header.
Soon after, Shaw saved from Williams again after Charlie Smith’s shot had fallen into his path, while at the other end, Town keeper Dan Eason was seldom extended.
Crowborough striker Sam Carrington received a bang to the head which forced him off around the half-hour mark.
By half-time the visitors had also lost centre-half Jack Turner to a head injury and as Town looked to push home their territorial advantage, Shaw produced two fine saves after a Macauley Murray corner had not been cleared.
Crowborough’s Tom Pearson had a low shot turned around the near post by Town keeper Eason but the visitors’ only other effort of note came when Tom Phipp fired over from a direct free-kick.
With seven minutes remaining, home boss Porter replaced Williams with Ricky Freeman and just seconds later Town broke the deadlock through Morrish, who picked up the ball and advanced before beating Shaw with a good finish into the bottom right-hand corner.
There was still time for Crowborough manager Sean Muggeridge to be dismissed for something he allegedly said and for Town to have one more chance as Freeman tested Shaw with a shot on the turn.
Next up for Whitstable is Sheppey United away on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Canterbury City beat landlords Deal Town 4-1 to make it back-to-back wins in the league for Ben Smith’s side.
Canterbury were 3-0 up after 30 minutes and despite Deal pulling a goal back through Connor Coyne, City were comfortable winners.
It was Canterbury who started the better of the sides with some slick passing, which Deal were unable to cope with.
Sam Lawford converted an early chance for City by firing in a cross from Patrick Nzuzi in the 10th minute.
Deal were struggling to clear their lines and the visitors doubled their advantage, again through Lawford, after he shot past goalkeeper James Tonkin.
Dan Keyte added a third for City after 30 minutes to put the home side further out of sight and give them a 3-0 lead at half-time.
The start of the second half was hit by controversy when Deal were awarded a freekick on the edge of the Canterbury penalty area when it looked like the foul had been inside the box.
City manager Smith was then sent off from the touchline for his reaction to the decision from the referee to book one of the Canterbury players for simulation.
The home side were given a glimmer of hope on 60 minutes as Joe Reeves made it 3-1 when Connor Coyne played him through.
Any hopes of a comeback were quickly dashed as within 60 seconds Canterbury were awarded a penalty after Tonkin flattened Rob Lawrence in the box and David Pilcher converted the spot kick to make the score 4-1.
The afternoon was made even worse for Deal when Andy Miller was shown a straight red 15 minutes from time.
The result puts Canterbury 13th in the table. They face Chatham Town at home on Saturday. SOUTHERN COUNTIES EAST LEAGUE
Premier Division Sevenoaks .... 16 13 2 1 34 9 41 Crowboro ...... 18 11 3 4 47 22 36 Beckenham .. 18 12 0 6 44 27 36 Whitstable .... 17 11 1 5 31 16 34 Corinthian ..... 19 10 4 5 31 26 34 Croydon ........ 20 10 3 7 36 31 33 Bearsted ....... 22 10 1 11 28 32 31 Deal .............. 18 9 2 7 31 30 29 Lordswood .... 19 8 5 6 27 29 29 Sheppey ....... 17 8 4 5 42 24 28 AFC Croydon . 18 8 4 6 28 26 28 Canterbury .... 19 7 6 6 30 25 27 Glebe ............ 20 8 3 9 32 43 27 Chatham ....... 20 7 4 9 25 29 25 Cray Valley.... 19 7 3 9 35 36 24 Erith Town .... 19 7 3 9 28 30 24 Rusthall ........ 21 6 3 12 29 48 21 Tun Wells...... 18 4 4 10 19 33 16 Rochester ..... 20 2 3 15 22 53 9 Hollands & B . 18 0 2 16 17 47 2 Results: Saturday: Chatham 1 Glebe 2, Deal 1 Canterbury 4, Lordswood 1 Erith Town 1, Rochester 1 Hollands & Blair 0, Rusthall 2 Corinthian 3, Sevenoaks 1 Bearsted 0, Tunbridge Wells 1 Sheppey 1, Whitstable 1 Crowborough 0. Fixtures: Saturday: Bearsted v Deal, Canterbury v Chatham, Cray Valley v Beckenham, Crowborough v Tunbridge Wells, Croydon v AFC Croydon Ath, Erith Town v Rusthall, Hollands & Blair v Lordswood, Sheppey v Whitstable.