Winning the FA competition that can be considered as defining the best Tier 9 side in England meant that in drawing Whitstable Town to kick off our season in the FA Cup Extra Preliminary Round was always going to be a tough ask. We faced a team obviously buzzing from winning the FA Vase and from a win in their opening fixture while our helpful league thought not scheduling a league kick off would be good for our teams – so far eight have lost to teams from other leagues with the possibility of three more doing so. To our credit, we opened the scoring but were level again a couple of minutes later. A free kick through our wall and then not picking up players saw us two goals behind. A penalty pulled us back in the game before half time though. Having conceded a soft goal to put Whitstable two ahead again, in pushing to get back into the tie we shipped three carbon copy poor goals to flatter the visitors.

Just one new face in the starting eleven in the form of striker Jeff Duan-Kessie as opposed to the kick off last season where very few of the match day squad were not. In the opening minute our skipper Jack McDonnell and Supporters Player of the Season was inside the box on the end of a throw from the left but could not keep his header down. Five minutes later Whitstable Town got through into the box but fired the shot into the right hand side netting. After an even spell of play, on 19mins Stephen Hodge had the ball on the left touch line, crossed to McDonnell on the right of the box from him to centre to Jeff Duan-Kessie. He shielded the ball well, turned and shot across the keeper into the left corner of the net. Welcome the Lingfield Jeff and one-nil to The Lingers.

Holding onto leads has not always been our strong point and Whitstable pressed forward. They made progress down the left without being tackled, crossed into the six yard box and gave Jack Webb-Olley in goal no chance and it was 21mins played and 1-1. Five minutes later from possession around their box the ball came back to Rhyan Ramsay just outside the Dee. He struck it well but it was always curling past the right post. Then it was Whitstable breaking our offside trap down the right from the goal kick and centring the ball but back to block the shot was Ramsay on the edge of the box. There was a good contest going on in midfield and Matt Cheeseman put in a great challenge to gain possession on 27mins to set us going forward. Into the last fifteen minutes and a failure to clear the ball on the edge of our box ended up conceding a free kick. With it being right on the line there was no space to lift it over the wall but the shot came through our wall and beat Webb-Olley to give Whitstable the lead on 34mins.

Inside the last ten minutes and Whitstable were able to take the ball down the right to the byline and pull it back to an unmarked player on the corner of the box to deliver a cross into the left of the six yard box. It was headed home and we were now two goals down on 37mins. A good response came with Andrew Harris making a run down the right wing, finding McDonnell backing him up, who then set up Kobi Asante for a shot that flew over the bar. Cheeseman once again showed great determination to battle for the ball and send Hodge away down the left. His ball into the box found Duan-Kessie and as he dummied the defender he was taken down. The referee pointed to the spot and Duan-Kessie despatched the kick for his second goal and to make in 2-3 on 40mins. Just three minutes of the half to go and Gus Ward pushed down the left and crossed into the box for Duan-Kessie. There was a tangle in the box and he went down but the referee ruled for a free kick against him.

Tyrone Magala Bryan did well to cover a break down the right and in shielding the ball to the byline won a free kick. Into the final minute and from the free kick McDonnell was breaking forward down the right. He crossed into Asante but Whitstable were able to clear. Into added time and a free kick into the box by Cheeseman was cleared out to Ramsay for another shot that curled to the right of goal again but, given it was the stroke of half time, worth the effort. Only the referee had other ideas and into a second added minute we survived a scramble in the box to get a goal kick. Another added minute and Webb-Olley was sharp to catch a ball drilled into our box from the right. There was still more added time from somewhere for us to put a free kick into their box that was well taken by their keeper before the whistle. Whitstable took their chances well but we were in the match at 2-3.

Whitstable had a free kick from the left after the referee deemed a ball hit at McDonnell was hand ball! Nothing came from it and we were able to clear the ball down field. Four minutes into the half and a long ball was well taken by their forward up against Hodge but as soon as he had the ball down Hodge took it off him and cleared. It did look like they had switched to a more long ball game after the break to play to their height advantage and their skill at delivering a push in the back as the ball arrived. It was a long ball down into the box and a mix up between Webb-Olley and Ramsay that allowed them to break the challenge and make it 2-4 a minute short of the hour mark.

In an attacking change to try to get back in the tie, Carl Brown replaced Ramsay on 61mins. However, defending a free kick to the left of the Dee was the first job and this time the wall held firm. Webb-Olley got down well to get a hand to a shot at the foot of the left post at the expense of a corner. The corner was cleared but the ball back in found a Whitstable head in space but the header was way over the bar. On 68mins Asante was able to thread a ball through to Brown in the box but Whitstable cleared for a throw. There was a lot of holding of our players so it was rare for Duan-Kessie to actually win a free kick for this in the centre on 72mins. A second change was made at this point as Joseph Forson made his debut to replace Prince Aderogba. From possession around their box the ball was turned over, sent long to a player in space who beat a challenge to slot the ball home for 2-5 and game over on 74mins.

On 79mins there was a glimpse of pulling a goal back as Asante had the ball on the right and pushed into the box to find Brown. He controlled the ball, turned and shot but it was over the bar. McDonnell had been on the receiving end of some dubious challenges all game but on 81mins the Whitstable No. 12 went in with a wild challenge over the ball to catch him studs up. After a quick check with the linesman, the referee produced a deserved red card. The player later commented that it was not deserved as McDonnell was not so badly hurt he could not continue! A chance to play ten minutes against ten men was no help as following our free kick, Whitstable played it long again and scored their sixth with five minutes to go. In the final minute another debutant in Tyrece Drummond replaced Ward. Two minutes into added time it was a carbon copy breakaway and Whitstable tucked home a seventh goal before the final whistle came two minutes later. A disappointing scoreline of 2-7 after a disappointing last half hour. There is that risk of getting caught pushing forward especially against a side that are quick, and fit as their extra time FA Vase win showed. Their bench seemed as strong as the starting eleven as the changes kept them pushing forward. There were worse scores as Sherborne Town failed to answer Westbury United's seven goals and neither did Nailsea & Twickenham in their tie against the wonderfully named Roman Glass St George. Great Yarmouth Town only scored a single goal against the seven St Neot's Town scored.