Hastings Supporters Forum - 100% Unofficial!

After the big win against Herne it it is another game at TPF now against 

Whitstable are currently the number 8th in the table with 18 points out of 12 games.

They scored 13 and conceded 15 goals. Top scorers are West and Smith with 3 goals.

Think this was our last home game against them in 2016:

Saturday, March 5, 2016

Sean Ray enjoyed a memorable thirty-fifth birthday, scoring twice and setting up two more, as United romped to victory against bottom of the table Whitstable Town at the Pilot Field this afternoon, and moved into the Division One South play-off places for the first time since the end of August as a result.

Trailing to Stuart King's fourth minute strike, Ray provided the assist for Billy Medlock's equaliser a quarter of an hour later, before his trademark header gave the U's a deserved half time lead, and brought up a half century of goals for the Club in the process.

Medlock added his second shortly after the restart to become United's leading scorer this season, with Ray completing his brace to effectively end the game as a contest with twelve minutes remaining, and late goals from substitute Tyrell Richardson-Brown and skipper Ollie Rowe added a healthy gloss to the final scoreline.

It had all started so well for the Oystermen, cast adrift at the foot of the table and without a win in eight matches since the turn of the year. Experienced striker King, on target when the two sides met at Belmont Road in January, chased a long ball down the right, cut inside and drilled a left foot shot past Harry Doherty at his near post.

U's boss Garry Wilson responded by switching to a 3-5-2 formation, freeing up Robin Deen from his starting right back position into a roving midfield role, as the hosts immediately gained the upper hand, with Sam Cole and Chris Cumming-Bart also highly prominent down the flanks.

Zac Attwood turned a shot against the post after Ray had nodded down a Sam Adams corner, but the visitors' inability to defend set pieces would haunt them time and again throughout the ninety minutes, with Ray teeing up Medlock for the nineteenth minute leveller from a Sam Cruttwell corner, and then powering home a header from another Adams delivery in a near carbon copy of his last gasp winner in the reverse fixture in north Kent.

Cole and Medlock were both denied by keeper Dan Eason, with Cole also firing narrowly wide, while Danio Brown curled a shot just over at the other end on a rare Whitstable raid into United territory.

The second period began with Medlock fluffing a golden chance after great work down the right by Attwood, but he made no mistake after turning expertly onto Cumming-Bart's fifty-first minute cross, thumping past the helpless Eason to double the U's advantage.

Ray and Deen forced Eason into further saves, while Charlie Smith and King brought the best out of Doherty, before Medlock missed an excellent opportunity to complete a hat-trick when he dragged a shot wide after escaping into the area down the left hand side.

A downward header from another Adams corner earned Ray his second and United's fourth, while Richardson-Brown seized upon Jack Sayer's poor clearance to fire low past Eason and make it five, and one final Ray header from one final Adams corner was blocked into Rowe's path for the defender to add number six in added time.

The only negative on the day was a tenth yellow card of the season for Cole, which will rule him out of Whyteleafe's visit to the Pilot Field on 19 March and the trip to Molesey three days later. Between now and then, United face a trio of away fixtures that will test their promotion credentials, starting at eighth placed Corinthian-Casuals on Tuesday evening.

And we? Just bring in the same spirit and result as against Herne Bay!

Enjoy the game. COYU'ssssssssss