Kent League Challenge Shield Whitstable Town 3 Thamesmead Town 2

4 August 2007

Thamesmead unlucky to miss out on silverware

Whitstable Town 3 Thamesmead Town 2

Thamesmead and Whitstable battled it out at the Belmont in glorious sunshine for the Kent League Challenge shield.

After a lively start with chances created for both sides, it was Rikki cable who jinked around the Whitstable defence to fire home his shot past keeper Fewell in typical Cable fashion.

A few minutes later, Dean Kearly gave away a free kick on the edge of the box by upending Stewart King, who stepped up to fire home the free kick.

Then disaster struck as the Oystermen scored two goals within the space of five minutes. They went ahead after an unpressured Tony Gallagher scored a diving header own goal from a Whitstable cross. Then the third goal came with a header met from a cross floated across the Mead box.

Whitstable passed the ball around comfortably in the second half, but with 25 minutes to go, Mead took control and started to make most of the chances.

Cable grabbed his second, once again a breathtaking trademark goal after he recieved the ball out left from Rob Tarrent and then cutting in to the box past two defenders to slot past Fewell.

Despite making many chances, the equaliser remained elusive. Just as frustrating was the lack of an award for an indirect free kick on the edge of the six yard box in injury time as a Whitstable defender looked to have passed the ball to keeper Fewell.

At full time, it was Whitstable who lifted aloft the silverware, with Marc Seagers and his men lifting their third trophy of 2006/07 and gaining some revenge for the league cup defeat at the hands of the Mead.

Thamesmead line-up: Kemp, Dawson, Gallagher, Watts, Kearley (Chapman), Coburn, Tarrent, McCarthy, Cable, Dimmock (Williams), Killick (Loveridge). Unused subs: Collier

Highlights will follow on Thamesmead TV next week