Oystermen celebrate Trophy triumph

While Maidstone’s achievement in knocking out league leaders Margate on their own turf was probably the greater, the celebrations were no doubt wilder at Whitstable, where they have not had too much to cheer in recent seasons.

The Oystermen built on their recent improvement in league form to beat visiting Harrow 2-0. Damian Abel set them on their way with his first goal of the season after only five minutes and Jake Beecroft fired home from long range shortly before half-time as Whitstable pulled off their first win in the competition since 2008.

Maidstone came from behind at Margate, where Ryan Dolby gave the hosts the lead 20 minutes into the second half. That might have been it, but a daft own goal by Phil Starkey levelled matters ten minutes later and Stones took charge, with Alex Flisher firing the 83rd-minute winner.

Perhaps the best result, though, came from another Kent club. On a day when they slipped to the bottom of the Ryman South table, Hythe fought out a 1-1 draw at Hampton, second in the Premier.

Despite being virtually the length of the league behind their hosts, Hythe took the lead in the 38th minute when Nick Reeves headed home a corner. Mo Harkin nodded the equaliser around 30 seconds after half-time and Hampton must have expected to build on that. Instead, they must travel to Reachfields on Tuesday to try again.

That was one of four ties which will have to be replayed. Grays will travel across London to face Ashford (Middx) again on Tuesday after Mark Bitmead’s goal with 20 minutes left earned the visitors a 1-1 draw. Grays had held the lead since the 21st minute, when Danny Bunce buried a free-kick from 25 yards.

League newcomers Wroxham did well to force a goalless draw at Canvey, who are in the top half of the Premier, and the result was the same at Bury, where Premier rivals Whitehawk had slightly the better of things although Bury’s Tom Bullard had a header cleared off the line.

That result forced the postponement of Bury’s scheduled league game against Leiston on Tuesday, which means that next Saturday’s four Premier fixtures will be the first in the division for three weeks.

One of the biggest surprises of the day came at Redbridge. Not the result, a 5-0 win for Met Police, but the fact that new scoring sensation Jonte Smith failed to score a hat-trick! Few would have bet against it when he opened the scoring in the first minute and notched another shortly before half-time, the teenager’s 11th in five games for the Met. But that was his lot.

Howard Newton had put the visitors two up as early as the sixth minute and he nabbed the fourth after 74 minutes before the experienced Allan Tait wrapped it up.

Wealdstone, and Richard Jolly, are on the march again. Jolly scored no fewer than 13 Trophy goals last season as Stones reached the semi-finals, and he nabbed two in their 3-1 home win over Chertsey.

The visitors, close to the bottom of the Southern League’s lower level, took a 12th-minute lead through Gavin Quintrye with a shot that would almost certainly have been saved by regular keeper Rikki Banks. But he was stuck in a massive queue on the M25 and defender Sean Cronin had to do the job.

Cronin, protected well by his colleagues, was not to be beaten again and Jolly set matters right with goals shortly before and shortly after the interval (his second is pictured courtesy of Steve Foster/Wealdstone FC). Peter Dean made sure in the last minute.

That was one of six contests matching Ryman League sides against Southern League opposition and three of them went the Ryman way, with one drawn.

Enfield Town enjoyed an excellent 4-1 home win over Cambridge City, for whom Mitchell Bryant quickly replied to Jordan Lockie’s seventh-minute opener. Central defender Mark Kirby maintained his goalscoring form as he restored the lead in the 23rd minute with his fifth of the season, Liam Hope headed the third on 56 minutes and 40-year-old debutant Jonathan Hunt came off the bench to set up the clincher for Adam Wallace 11 minutes from time.

Concord were 3-0 winners at troubled Kettering, whose manager John Beck was escorted out of the ground by home officials before the game. Harry Elmes headed the Essex club into the lead after 18 minutes and more might have followed before the interval. The second came immediately after half-time, a header from Steve King, and Json Hallett added a late third.

Southern League side Burnham edged out visiting Waltham Abbey in a 4-3 thriller; not that Abbey will be too thrilled after letting a 2-0 lead slip away. It was goalless until the 51st minute, when Louis Bristow struck for the Abbotts, and it looked good for the Ryman North outfit when James Peagram rapidly added another from the spot. A Ryan Bird double levelled it by the 76th minute and Jordan Dowdican put the home side ahead for the first time. Abbey replied at once with a Christian Wheeler header, but Bird completed his hat-trick in the 82nd minute and Burnham held on.

Hitchin were the other Southern Leaguers to come out on top, though after thrashing Whitehawk 5-0 in an FA Cup replay a few days earlier they had to work surprisingly hard to see off a Sittingbourne side who finished with nine men. They were down to ten when Curtis Winnett was sent off in the 35th minute and Callum Donnelly opened the scoring soon afterwards. The Brickies hauled themselves level with a Ryan Golding penalty on the hour but Josh Bickerstaff restored Hitchin’s lead in 77 minutes, a red card for Aaron Gough dealt another blow to the visitors and the prolific John Frendo made sure.

Two Ryman Premier sides who had excellent FA Cup victories a week earlier clashed at Rookery Hill and it was East Thurrock who maintained their form, sending Hastings back to Sussex on the wrong end of a 4-0 scoreline. Kye Ruel and Hakeem Araba put the hosts two up in 18 minutes, Araba scored again just before the hour and Sam Higgins completed the rout.

The scoreline was the same at Ramsgate, where the Ryman South club whipped North visitors Waltham Forest. A Warren Schulz penalty after 22 minutes set Rams on their way and Curtis Robinson made it 2-0 shortly before the interval with a long-range rocket. Tom Chapman ended Forest’s lingering hopes in the 55th minute and Robinson added the fourth.

Ilford just averted a similar result at Bognor, where the Premier side scored three times in the last 15 minutes of the first half through Terry Dodd, Steve Harper and James Crane. Harper’s free-kick made it 4-0 after 73 minutes but the Foxes at least managed a late consolation through Christian Mkwananzi.

Merstham came from behind to win 4-2 at Chatham, who took a 12th-minute lead through Jack Pallen. The turning point came when Troy Williams made it 1-1 a minute before half-time. Roscoe Dsane put the visitors ahead eight minutes into the second half and Fabio Saraiva stretched the lead with a penalty on the hour. Lee Hales fired in a free-kick to restore Chatham’s hopes but as they pressed for an equaliser deep into added time Merstham broke away and Sam Tucknott made sure.

Ryman South leaders Crawley Down led until the 90th minute but went down 2-1 at home to derby rivals Three Bridges. A 14th-minute header by Craig Richard seemed certain to see the Anvils through until Tom Graves found his own net with an attempted clearance in the 90th minute. Bridges, playing their first-ever game in the Trophy, then won it with an overhead kick by Tim Rivers in added time.

Carshalton, whose owner-manager Paul Dipre gave up the second of those roles in midweek, strolled to a 3-0 home win over Heybridge. Danny Mills scored in each half, either side of Harry Harding’s 38th-minute effort.

Rhys Henry grabbed a 73rd-minute winner as Leiston saw off visiting Hendon 2-1 in an entertaining all-Premier clash. Danny Thrower put Leiston ahead after 11 minutes and Elliott Charles levelled it at the same stage of the second half before Henry’s shot went in off a post to settle it.

James Gershfield’s 13th goal of the season was not enough for North leaders Potters Bar as they went down 2-1 at top-division Wingate. John Kyriacou curled in Wingate’s opener just before the half-hour and Lewis Jones added another before half-time. Gershfield pounced on a wayward back-pass to pull one back soon after the break but the Scholars could not find the net again.

Only two Ryman North sides went through at the first attempt. Soham took a 24th-minute lead through Robbie Mason and Jack Paxman scored five minutes after half-time to complete a 2-0 home win over Tooting.

Brentwood were trapped on the M25 and kicked off almost an hour late at Walton & Hersham, who went ahead after nine minutes through Graeme Purdy. Neil Cousins levelled the scores two minutes after half-time and Sherwin Stanley struck in the 70th minute to give the visitors a 2-1 victory.

There was no danger of either club arriving late at Ship Lane, where tenants Romford were ‘at home’ to landlords Thurrock, and it was Romford who took the lead through Ryan Imbert in the 57th minute. Thurrock, faring much better in the cups than in the Premier, replied ten minutes later through Matt Turpin and, despite having Mark Onyenma sent off, took the lead through Charlie Stimson in the 81st minute. Numbers became even when Romford’s Lewis Francis was shown a red card and Leroy Griffiths completed a 3-1 Thurrock victory in added time.

Second-half goals by Tom Bradbrook and Mark Simmons were enough to give Leatherhead a 2-0 victory at Ryman South rivals Faversham.

Finally, Cray are the 11th Premier side so far through to the second qualifying round, and the 19th Ryman club in total, thanks to Leigh Bremner’s 42nd-minute penalty, all they needed for a 1-0 win at Thamesmead.

There are two more all-Ryman ties this afternoon, when Kingstonian host Eastbourne Town and Lewes entertain Lowestoft.