FA Cup Preliminary Round
Chatham Town 1 Whyteleafe 2
Whyteleafe transferred their fine early-season league form to the preliminary round of the FA Cup, clinching a deserved 2-1 win on their trip to Chatham Town.
The victory secured a home tie in the first qualifying round against fellow Ryman League South side Hastings United.
Leafe exacted revenge here on Ryman North side Chatham, who had knocked them out of last season's FA Cup two rounds later by the same slender winning margin. As with 11 months earlier, the outcome was still in the balance deep in stoppage time, but the experience Whyteleafe had gained at a higher level in the intervening period helped them stand firm as Chatham threatened a late rally.
Leafe began without the excellent Louis Hollingsworth in defence (he had been taken ill), but welcomed the return of Roscoe DSane to add some bite up front. DSane, prolific in Leafe's successful Southern Counties East League-winning campaign, had been ruled out of the opening five league matches through injury.
Following a sterile first ten minutes in which neither team exerted its superiority, it was the home side that was the first to trouble the opposition defence. Chatham's lively striker Ade Yusuff cut in from the right and fired a low shot at goal, but Leafe keeper Sheikh Ceesay was equal to the task, scrambling to his left to turn the shot round his post. The resultant corner came to nothing.
That fright stung Whyteleafe into action, and the industrious Bentley Graham was the architect of their response. His shot from outside the box on 12 minutes went just wide of Tom Wellham's left-hand post, then two minutes later his mazy dribble and one-two with DSane in the box set up a golden opportunity for Leafe skipper Jason Thompson to open the scoring. Somehow the dependable Thompson fired high and wide with the goal at his mercy. Leafe were in the ascendancy, but should have been one up.
Chatham began to gain more possession in the middle part of the first half, with the rapid Kane Philip looking a particular threat down the left flank, but the Whyteleafe defence allowed no clear-cut chances despite the pressure being exerted on them. Dylan Merchant continued his excellent run of form in the centre of defence, and Tommy Smith – deputising for Hollingsworth – was outstanding in snuffing out chance after chance. Defensive superiority, along with some officious refereeing, continued to be the theme of the first half, and the interval was reached with the scoreline still goalless – a fair reflection of the balance of play.
The second half started with a vociferous Leafe claim for handball in the box against a Chatham defender, but the referee waved play on. Whyteleafe began to look the better side, but were restricted to a DSane header from a Graham cross that went harmlessly wide on 48 minutes and a long-range effort from Thompson on his weaker right foot on 53 minutes. By this stage, the visitors were gaining the upper hand, and on 62 minutes right-back, Kieran Kenlock made a rare foray forward, got in behind his Chatham opposite number and supplied at inch-perfect cross that Ryan Fowler was unable to convert in space at the far post. The pressure continued to build, with DSane twice threatening the Chatham goal, and a half-hearted shout for a penalty – this time for a trip on Jensen Grant – waved away.
The breakthrough eventually came on 69 minutes. Fowler – who had been seeing more of the ball on the left flank in the preceding minutes – cut inside the Chatham right-back and curled a shot inside the far post past a full-stretch Wellham. It was just reward for a good spell of pressure.
Chatham responded to the setback with one of their best periods of the match. Ceesay was forced to make a good save, and Yusuff saw a goal-bound shot deflect off a defender and go over the bar. From the resultant corner on 75 minutes, a scramble in the goalmouth ensued, and it was Graham who managed to clear the ball from the Whyteleafe line and out of danger. Although behind, Chatham were launching a late rally.
On 77 minutes, however, Whyteleafe doubled their lead. Substitute Tommy Harper ran behind the last defender and on to a beautifully weighted throughball and, as Chatham calls for an offside flag were dismissed, coolly slotted past Wellham.
To their credit, Chatham refused to roll over, and on 83 minutes were handed a lifeline when Alex Penfold was adjudged to have tripped a Chatham attacker in the box. Yusuff sent Ceesay the wrong way from the resultant spot kick, to set up a grandstand finish.
With time ticking away, a Thompson snap shot from 40 yards almost embarrassed Wellham but sailed just over the Chatham bar, but it was the home side who were pressing most strongly in the five minutes of stoppage time added on at the end. The Whyteleafe defence remained strong, but with 95 minutes on the clock, Chatham gained their final corner of the contest. The impressive Ceesay gathered comfortably, but was collided into by Chatham's giant defender Lewis Knight.
A scuffle involving a good number of players from both sides followed, an unfortunate end to a keenly contested Cup tie, but soon after play had resumed, the referee brought an end of proceedings. While the first half had been even, Whyteleafe had created more chances after the break and deserved their win.
Whyteleafe: Ceesay, Kenlock, Penfold, Smith, Merchant, Thompson, Fowler, Grant, Dsane (Pratt 80), Clayton (Harper 66), Graham. Unused subs Andrews, Lyle.
Next matches: Walton & Hersham v Whyteleafe – Ryman South Division, Tuesday 2 September, 7.45pm.
Whyteleafe v Whitstable Town – Ryman South Division, Saturday 6 September, 3pm.
