Whitstable Town 1 Croydon 2 match report: Harvey Smith’s goal not enough for the Oystermen in Kent Senior Trophy Semi-Final loss as goal from Ryan Hall and Ryan Palmer’s penalty win it

By Holly Morris

Two quickfire Croydon goals ended Whitstable’s Kent Senior Trophy hopes for this season on Tuesday night.

Ryan Hall and Ryan Palmer, with a penalty, did the damage in the early stages of the second half despite home striker Harvey Smith pulling one back in their 2-1 Semi-Final defeat.

Croydon will face Erith Town in the Final at Maidstone United’s Gallagher Stadium in April while the six-year wait for a trophy for the Oystermen, winners of this competition in 2018, goes on.

Marcel Nimani’s side showed the first signs of early threat, returning to action after a 10-day break. Malachi Hudson’s cross on six minutes fell into the hands of George Kamurasi.

Three minutes later, a Smith header was cleared off the line by an away defender in front of a crowd of 335.

Lower-division Croydon’s first clear-cut opportunity came on 14 minutes following former Margate midfielder Palmer’s free-kick that was headed over by Uli Fischer.

Liam Gillies picked up the first yellow card just before the half-hour mark after a tackle on Palmer in midfield.

A brilliant right-wing run from Josh Williams allowed him to shoot at Kamurasi. The loose ball fell to Hudson, whose shot was cleared off the line by visiting skipper Jordan Anderson, as the even game burst to life in the 37th minute.

Williams’ free-kick found unmarked home team-mate Will Thomas, who completely missed the ball altogether in the final real action of a goalless first half at The Belmont.

Five minutes after the restart, a long-range shot from Williams was deflected wide.

But Croydon delivered the first blow on 52 minutes. Forward Hall - fresh from his viral halfway line strike on Saturday against Cockfosters Reserves in their London Senior Trophy Semi-Final