Whitstable Town 60+ 3 vs 4 CANTERBURY MARINERS WALKIN

KENT FA LEAGUE 60S

Match Report

Whitstable Town 3 v Canterbury Mariners 4

Belmont Stadium

April 19th, 2026

Squad

Mike Cole

Andy Connellan

Shaun Dawson

Paul Denys

Steve Earle

Rob Johnson (Capt.)

Jan Knott

Kev McLaughlin

Den O’Brien

Steve Pressman

John Ratcliff

Manager: Jon Payne

The contrast between this pitch and last week’s at Bay Point could not have been greater! It is an excellent surface, but training on other parts of the main pitch meant that the area for this game was extraordinarily narrow in relation to its length.

This was discussed beforehand but, initially, we failed to get to grips with it and Whitstable were making good use of their local knowledge. Poor tracking led to Whitstable taking the lead, but we did improve.

We drew level, aided by the Whitstable keeper stepping out of his area. He hardly moved to Mike’s well-struck penalty.

Sadly, we fell behind again after losing our concentration at a corner. We were waiting for the ref’s whistle which never came. A salutary lesson to remain switched on at all times, whistle or no whistle!

Another strike by Whitstable looked to be goal-bound, but Steve E got down to make a sharp save to his right.

At half-time, Jon and Rob delivered some encouraging advice to cut out the errors. This coupled with the introduction of John R, brought about a significant change and our passing, movement and marking were giving Whitstable problems.

Very soon an excellent move between John, Rob and Shaun led to the latter’s fine strike to level the scores. Not long afterwards a similar combination saw Shaun double his tally and we led for the first time.

Whitstable were now becoming frustrated, and they clocked up their fourth running offence. Yet again, Mike gave the keeper no chance with the penalty. 4-2.

With just a few minutes remaining, Kev withdrew with a tight calf, and was replaced by Steve P.

There was still time, however, for us to commit the cardinal sin of giving away a running penalty ourselves. Steve E made a great save from the spot kick, but a lack of concentration in marking allowed Whitstable to score from the rebound. Another lesson learned!

The final whistle sounded just a minute later and victory was ours.

It was a deserved victory, but hard-fought.

Player of the Match was Shaun for his two goals and an exemplary performance in doing exactly what was asked of him in the very advanced striker’s role.

Special mentions to Mike who, for the second game running, gave the opposition strikers no space or time, to Rob for his assists, and to John for his contribution to a much-improved second half display.

Our final game of the season is against Ethelbert Wanderers at Herne Bay FC next Monday, May 4th, at 1900.

A victory would give us the chance to overtake Herne Bay and finish third, should they not win their last game. It has, in any case been a special season for our 60s; as much support as possible next Monday would be greatly appreciated.