V
Leatherhead 7 - 1 Whitstable Town
(Elston, Francis 4, Coke, Simmons) (Cornhill)
Leatherhead’s rapid transformation into a team brimming with confidence gathered pace on Saturday as they hit seven goals past Whitstable Town.
One enforced change to the Tanners’ line up saw the return of club captain Iain Hendry replacing an injured Dan Dean at centre back.
Leatherhead pushed forward from the first whistle testing visiting keeper Kevin Fewell throughout the opening half with a barrage of shots at the Whitstable goal.
In stark contrast to what was to follow Whitstable had the ball in the Leatherhead net after two minutes, only to see the referee’s assistant rule out a goal for offside.
Tommy Hutchings immediately broke away to the other end finding an unmarked Marc Elston in the box to send the ball crashing home for the opening goal.
Leatherhead kept up the pressure and Fewell had to be alert to save a rasping shot from Jon Coke. The Tanners had a chance to increase their lead as Elliott Thompson fed the ball to Hutchings who saw Fewell’s outstretched leg deflect his shot away for a corner.
Whitstable pushed forward in search of an equaliser and thought they had drawn level after 19 minutes only to see a second goal attempt disallowed for offside. Leatherhead continued to ride their luck as a mix up between Tanners keeper Colin Harris and Matt Francis resulted in Hendry heading a Whitstable effort off the line.
Leatherhead increased their lead after 35 minutes. Mark Simmons worked his way past two defenders and saw his left foot shot rebound off the post into the path of Francis to finish. Whitstable threw players forward and Thompson was well place to head another chance off the line after 40 minutes.
The Tanners effectively killed the game off with two more goals before half time. Simmons broke away on the right and found Elston in the box. Elston drew out his marker before cleverly back heeling into the path of an advancing Coke to rifle home from the edge of the box. A minute later Simmons broke clear in the box and shot through a wall of defenders for Tanners’ fourth.
Leatherhead showed no sign of easing the pressure at the start of the second half. On 49 minutes Hutchings pulled the ball back for Francis to hit a crisp left foot drive for goal number five.
Three minutes later the Tanners were awarded a penalty after Simmons had been tripped in the box and Francis was given the opportunity to complete his hat trick with the spot kick. It wasn’t the best of penalties - drilled low straight down the middle – but the Whitstable keeper could do nothing to stop it for Leatherhead’s sixth.
There was no way back now for Whitstable. With the defence in disarray Hutchings squared the ball for Francis to tap in at the far post on 59 minutes for his fourth and Leatherhead’s seventh of the afternoon.
With more than half an hour left on the clock for further goals, it was Whitstable who scored the final goal of the afternoon in somewhat bizarre circumstances. Thompson appeared to be fouled on the edge of his own area after 81 minutes and the ball was kicked out of play in order for him to receive treatment. For some unknown reason the referee awarded a direct free kick to Whitstable and sub Gareth Cornhill fired home a consolation goal from thirty yards.
The goal was a minor blemish on an otherwise mesmerising Tanners performance as they chalked up their biggest goal tally at Fetcham Grove for more than eight years.
Leatherhead: Harris, Coke (Beer), Goodwell, Boulter, Hendry, Hill (Smith), Francis (Andrews), Simmons, Elston, Hutchings, Thompson
Whitstable Town: Fewell, Morris, Parker, Baines, Lloyd, Denly, Gooding, Munday (Cornhill), Vahid, Stubbs (Wisker), Dolton
Match Report by Rod Ellis