Whitstable beat Whyteleafe to win FA Vase
Whitstable Town came from behind to beat AFC Whyteleafe 2-1 to win the FA Vase at Wembley Stadium.Daniel Bennett put Whyteleafe in front inside 20 minutes, calmly dinking the ball over Whitstable keeper Daniel Colmer after taking a pass from Craig Braham-Barrett.Harvey Smith levelled for Whitstable early in the second half with a long-range shot which went right through Whyteleafe keeper George Hill.The Oystermen completed their comeback when Ronald Sithole was able to find a moment of quality in the first half of extra time, firing into the roof of the net for the winning goal. This was the first time that Whitstable had won the FA Vase, their previous best finish in the competition being the fifth round in the 1996-97 season.
Both teams were welcomed out in glorious sunshine, with forecasts predicting temperatures as high as 25C on Sunday at the national stadium.The FA Vase features teams playing in steps 5 and 6 of the English National League system - Whitstable play in the Southern Counties East Football League and Whyteleafe in the Combined Counties Premier Division South.It was Whyteleafe who opened the scoring 18 minutes into the game when Braham-Barrett picked up the ball on the left wing and drove forward before passing infield to Bennett, who chipped it over Colmer before wheeling off in celebration.Whitstable came close to equalising just after the half-hour mark, Finn O'Mara heading narrowly over the bar from a corner kick.Moments later Bennett had a penalty appeal waved away after the forward showed smart footwork in the box and looked to break through for a shot but appeared to be bundled to the ground.Whyteleafe had another call for a penalty kick denied after a similar incident, but again nothing was given.
Despite going into the interval a goal down, Whitstable took only seven minutes to find a second-half equaliser.Smith picked up the ball just outside the area in a central position and hit a shot which Hill failed to deal with.Aaron Watson had a great chance to retake the lead for Whyteleafe moments later, running through on goal but his effort was well saved by Colmer.Hill then managed to partly redeem his earlier mistake with 15 minutes remaining as he produced a fine save from close range to deny Whitstable substitute Robbie Rees.Whyteleafe almost found a winner six minutes into added time, but Rodney Eruotor's stunning effort with his left foot thundered off the crossbar.Whitstable were denied by the woodwork in the first half of extra time, the ball crossed from the right and Sithole was at the back post waiting to tap it home, but his effort bounced off the inside of the upright and away.But minutes later Sithole made the breakthrough, as he picked the ball up in the box, cut inside a defender, and fired his shot into the roof of the net with his right-foot.At full time the Whitstable players celebrated in the Wembley sunshine, hugging each other in relief before sprinting over to celebrate with their jubilant supporters.
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