Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
Spot on Eason saves the day
Isthmian South East
Whitstable Town drew 1-1 at Ramsgate on Saturday despite going down to 10 men and conceding two penalties, writes Ollie Collins.
It was the Oystermen’s final game before Christmas and came following an impressive 2-0 away win against Guernsey on Wednesday night. Marcus Elliott pounced on a defensive error to give the away side the lead before Ashley Miller’s equaliser meant the point were shared.
The game started quietly but Whitstable took the lead through the first scoring opportunity.
Some good play down the left by Marshall Wratten and Luke Girt saw the ball played in to the Ramsgate box where Rob Saunders missed his clearance leaving an easy finish for Elliott.
The striker picked up where he left off against Guernsey – he scored both goals late on in the midweek game.
A minute before the break Miller’s shot from the corner of the box levelled the game for the Rams.
In the 56th minute Ramsgate won a penalty after an infringement in the area but Roman Campbell’s shot was saved by Dan Eason. Josh Spencer conceded another penalty a minute later and received a yellow card. This time Miller stepped up but smashed his attempt straight at Eason who saved again. A collision on the halfway line earned a second booking for Spencer in the 76th minute reducing Whitstable to 10 men. Ramsgate pushed for the winner but failed to beat Eason who earned his side a point. The Oystermen remain 10th and have a break before facing Ashford United at home on Boxing Day. Faversham Town lost 3-1 at Burgess Hill on Saturday. Stefan Wright scored the goal for the Lilywhites but they failed to prevent the Hillians from netting three times. In the 30th minute Charlie Pitcher’s strike was well saved by Luke Watkins in the Faversham goal but Mason Doughty buried the rebound. Burgess Hill keeper Josh
James pulled off a tremendous save to deny a top-corner bound free-kick from Solomon Taiwo. Four minutes after the opener, Max Miller doubled his side’s lead, poking home following great interchange play between Aaron Smithjoseph and Doughty. Wright got one back after 57 minutes but Burgess Hill restored their two-goal lead through a late Scott Kirkwood penalty. Faversham, 15th in the table, face Herne Bay at home in a derby Boxing Day showdown. Herne Bay got their first home clean sheet since 2017 in a 0-0 draw with Haywards Heath. Kyron Lightfoot came closest to a goal for the home side as his free-kick struck the inside of the post and stayed out. Bay manager Ben Smith said: “I was really pleased with the clean sheet, that was something that the fans said they wanted to see. But we didn’t play well and were disappointing going forward.”
The result keeps Bay in eighth position two points outside the play-offs. They are at league leaders Hastings United tomorrow (Friday).