crayvalley200819_full

Match Reports by Tony Rickson
Saturday, 17th August 2019
BetVictor Isthmian League
South East Division
Whitstable (0) 1 (Jadama 70) Sittingbourne
(1) 1 (Campbell 27 (pen))
Attendance: 318
Signed in the morning. Scored in the afternoon.
Home in the early evening after getting sent off
in the first half.
Young on-loan striker Roman Campbell had a
day to remember/forget as Sittingbourne drew
their opening game of the season in the newlynamed
BetVictor Isthmian League South East
Division.
Playing with 10 men for more than half the
game was a tough proposition but Sittingbourne
were resilient and determined and thoroughly
deserved their point from this Kent derby.
Campbell had given them a huge boost by joining
on loan from Gillingham for a month just
hours before the game – Sittingbourne know all
about him as he spent the final part of last season
with them and ended up sharing the golden
boot award for top scorer with Tom Loynes.
(Incidentally, Loynes was watching the match at
Whitstable on crutches, three days after his
knee operation, and hopes to be playing for Sittingbourne
again in a couple of months’ time).
But while Sittingbourne know what Campbell
can offer, so too, apparently, did Whitstable and
he was goaded into two yellow card offences
and sent off after just 41 minutes.
Sittingbourne had given four new players their
debuts – goalkeeper Tom Benham, defenders
Lewis West and Cory Walters-Wright and winger
Enoch Ako-Adjei – with other newcomers on
the bench.
It was the Brickies who had all the spirited singing
support from the crowd, but it was Whitstable
who started strongly, going close twice early
on before Benham had to make a good diving
save from a header after 16 minutes.
Sittingbourne gradually got a foothold in the
game and went in front on
27 minutes after Chris Barnard was pushed
over in the area following Campbell’s pass. Just
as he did in the last game of last season,
Campbell comfortably converted the penalty
and Sittingbourne were in front and in control.
Campbell was booked soon after, on the insistence
of the assistant referee, who drew the referee’s
attention to an off-the-ball incident with a
Whitstable defender.
And not long after it got worse, Campbell getting
involved in another off-the-ball clash with
Whitstable captain Bryant, and was spotted by
the referee kicking out in retaliation to the provocation.
Understandably, he got another yellow and was
sent off, albeit by a referee who had missed
one of the incidents that cost Campbell a booking
and had clearly only seen half the incident
that cost him the other one.
Much, though, for the youngster to learn from
allowing himself to be wound up, as playing 10
v 11 for all the rest of the match was a huge
burden to leave behind for his teammates.
Not surprisingly, Sittingbourne had to defend for
much of the game after that, but they did it well,
forcing Whitstable to rely too much on the long
ball forward and shots from distance that were
way off target.
Lex Allan and the impressive Walters-Wright
were at the heart of the resistance, but they
couldn’t prevent Whitstable levelling on 70
minutes when Benham stopped a shot from the
edge of the area but allowed the ball to momentarily
squirm free for Jadama to nip in and
score.
Sittingbourne looked threatening in the occasional
counter-attack and sub Shaun Brown
was narrowly wide after a good move and Lewis
Chambers and Tommie Fagg will be disappointed
that their finishing didn’t match their approach
work.
They finished with a couple of dangerous corners
into the six-yard box, the second one ending
disappointingly with the referee penalising
them for a push. Also disappointing was the
booking for a foul by sub Tyrone Guthrie which
seemed identical to one by a Whitstable defender
on Enoch Adjei in the first half that warranted
just the free-kick.
In the end, this was a point gained by Sittingbourne,
rather than two lost, and will give
them plenty of optimism that they can improve
on last season’s 16th place finish. Playing with
this amount of commitment and passion is a
pretty good starting point when all’s said and
done.
Sittingbourne: Tom Benham, Lewis West, Abdel
Ndew, Lewis Chambers, Cory Walters-
Wright, Lex Allan, Enoch Adjei (Shaun Brown,
45 min), Chris Webber (Tyrone Guthrie, 59 min,
Yellow card), Roman Campbell (Two yellow
cards, one red), Tommie Fagg, Chris Barnard
(Festus Lori, 74 min). Subs not used: Jason
Fregene, Johan Caney-Bryan.