Four-week injury blow for influential skipper Denly

Thursday 04th March 2010

WHITSTABLE TOWN boss Mark Munday has told his players to keep a clean sheet during Saturday’s must-win six-pointer against in-form Chipstead, writes Stephen McCartney.

The Kent side are hovering just one place above the Ryman League Division One South drop zone with 23 points from 27 games and welcome a Chipstead side to Belmont Road that are seven points clear in 18th place in the table.

Whitstable are suffering with a lack of firepower - they have scored only 20 goals this season - and have leaked 56 goals at the other end of the pitch.

“Getting (striker) Ian Pulman in late on in the season will hopefully give us that little bit of impetus but to be honest the goals conceded column is more of a concern to us,” Munday told www.kentishfootball.co.uk.

“Recently we’ve been alright, take the Leatherhead game out of that, recently we’ve been quite solid. I think the fact in this league if you don’t concede goals you’ve got every chance of beating sides.

“Our problem at the moment is we’re conceding goals and not really scoring a great deal.”

Whitstable suffered their eighteenth league defeat of the season in midweek, going down 3-0 to play-off hopefuls Fleet Town.

“We did ok,” reflected Munday, “We knew it was going to be a tough game down there. Fleet are a well drilled side and they’ve got a squad of 15-16 players who have been around this league for a long time and have played at a higher division.

“Fleet are a manful side, they all know what their doing and know what they should be doing and for 35 minutes we competed with them and gave them as good as we got.

“We had two very good chances (which Pulman missed) before they scored their first goal, which came about when we switched off.

“We competed very well against them in the light of where they are in the league and what they’ve been doing recently.

“We’ll continue to put our best foot forward but sometimes against those sort of sides that’s not good enough and I except that.”

Munday is desperate for his side to claim their eighth league win of the season when Chipstead visit at the weekend.

“Saturday’s game is vastly important,” the central midfielder insisted. “We have to beat the sides in and around us. We’ve got to beat them or at least not get beat.

“As I’ve said before, you’ve got pressure to perform if you’re going for the title or going for the play-off’s and you’ve got pressure to perform if you’re at the wrong end of the league.

“We are capable and we need enough character to dig in and get results at our end of the league.

“The simple fact is Chipstead are the same as us, they win a few and lose a few, and haven’t really got themselves away from the bottom and they will be viewing the game the same as us.”

“Ultimately every game now is a big game, whether it’s playing the teams at the top of the league or the bottom.

“We’ve got to pick up points and continue to pick up points regularly and hopefully this run of games will continue us to do that.”

Whitstable Town travel to Croydon Athletic next Tuesday, a side that are fighting tooth and nail with Folkestone Invicta for the league title.

“We’re going from one end of the scale to another,” said Munday. “But to be honest with you the two sides who I feel are going to provide the teams at the top end of the table were Fleet and Croydon.

“From 1-11, 12-16, they were good solid players and knew what they should be doing and didn’t need a great deal of managing to be honest.

“It will be a difficult game and we have to be at the top end of our performance and they have to be slightly off the mark.”

Dan Wisker, meanwhile, will be available for the trip to Thornton Heath next Tuesday, although losing influential skipper Sam Denly to a foot injury can only be described as a big blow.

“Unfortunately Sam took a whack on the foot on Tuesday and he’s informed me he’s fractured a bone in his foot. He’s in a cast at the moment and will be out for four weeks,” revealed Munday.

“This is a disappointment but it gives someone an opportunity to come in and stake their claim. It’s disappointing for our point of view as Sam is a big player and is our captain but it gives somebody a chance to come into our engine room and perform capably.”

Visit Whitstable Town’s website: www.whitstabletownfc.co.uk

Whitstable Town v Chipstead

Ryman League Division One South

Saturday 6th March 2010

Kick Off 3:00pm

At The Belmont Ground, Belmont Road, Whitstable, Kent CT5 1QP