Moles buried by Oystermen

Molesey 1-3 Whitstable

Molesey's long-anticipated relegation was finally confirmed on Saturday as they went down to a limited Whitstable side in a game that was a poor advert for the Ryman League.

It now remains to be seem whether The Moles will be consigned to the backwaters of the non league game by joining the Combined Counties League, or, like Corinthian-Casuals before them receive a reprieve enabling them to remain at Step 4 next season, and it does seem farcical that there are no guidelines in place outlining which teams would be reprieved, and in which order, in the event of other clubs being unable to continue competing at their current level.

Moles boss Steve Webb highlighted in his programme notes the importance of a strong finish to the season in the hope of leapfrogging Horsham YMCA and thus avoiding the bottom spot, maximising his teams chances of a reprieve, however his men will need to show more commitment and desire if they are to overhaul the seven point deficit which currently exists between the clubs.

Just 85 (fools) spectators braved the wind, sleet and rain to witness The Moles fail to win a competitive home fixture for the 21 st consecutive occasion; a run that dates back to 17 th April last year when Cray Wanders were on the wrong end of a 5-3 thumping, and despite the encouragement of Rob Wilkinson and the tireless running of Paul Cross, that run looked unlikely to end against the Oystermen.

There were several new additions to the team that lost to Dulwich Hamlet on Easter Monday, with Fabio Rodriguez starting in midfield and Abbey Nsubuga up front, whilst powerfully built front man Leeyon Phelan begun the game on the bench.

The Moles just about shaded a first half littered with stoppages and misplaced passes, with several thunderous Jake Jenkins tackles and a few neat touches from debutant Rodriguez providing rare moments of entertainment, and it was Rodriguez who had the games first chance as his first time volley flew wide of the post, after Trevor Robinson's pass had been neatly laid off to him by Cross.

Dan Whistler found himself with time and space in the Molesey box shortly afterwards, but his weak effort was comfortably dealt with by Matt Nash in the Molesey goal, before Danny Tipple saw a rasping 30-yard effort just cleared the Molesey bar.

Steve Omonua, constantly encouraged by Robinson to take his defender on, obeyed the former Millwall mans instructions but shot well wide having easily beaten Tipple, and the same player saw a header scrambled away following an Anthony Gale free kick.

Abbey Nusbuga, who made little impression on his return to Walton Road, should've done better with a header 8 yards out that he put wide following good work by Omonua and Rodriguez down the Molesey right, then on the stoke of half time Cross was denied a one-on-one with Kevin Fewell in the Whitstable goal by a last ditch tackle by Whistler.

If supporters of either side were expecting a more exciting second half then they were spectacularly mistaken, despite a late flurry of goals, the first of which arrived 12 minutes from time, as David Corey seized onto a rare mistake by Doug Ford and saw his weak effort from the edge of the box squirm underneath Matt Nash to leave the keeper red-faced.

The second goal arrived five minutes later as Jon Boswell barged into Tommy Martin to concede a penalty, having conceded an almost identical foul on the same player by the corner flag moments earlier. Nash guessed the right way for Ian Pullman's spot kick but was unfortunate to see the ball once again go underneath him.

Two minutes from time it was three, Corey's effort hitting the post before falling kindly to Marcos Perona, who made no mistake from 10 yards.

Nash partially redeemed himself for his earlier mistake by making an outstanding save to deny Corey, spreading himself Schmeichel-like to block the former Walton & Hersham man's close range effort, before the Moles grabbed a last minute consolation.

Steven Lloyd's headed back pass was cut out by Jamie Findlay, on as a late substitute for Rodriguez, who prodded the ball goalwards, but Clint Gooding got back to clear the ball off the line. From the resulting corner Cross's header was also cleared off the line, this time by Tipple, before the same player drove the ball goalwards where it was prodded in from close range by Phelan, who had earlier replaced Nusbuga, for a debut goal.

As The Moles reflect on an uncertain future The Oystermen can be pleased with their first season in the Ryman League in which they have comfortably avoided relegation and look to consolidate their place in mid-table in the season's final few weeks.

Next up for The Moles is a midweek fixture against lowly Chatham Town, who recorded an impressive 3-1 victory over Kingstonian on Saturday, before travelling to Horsham YMCA next Saturday. If Webb is to drag his team off the bottom of the league before the season draws to a close then they will almost certainly need back-to-back victories in those two games, a feat which hasn't been achieved since late 2006.

Line-up

1) Matt Nash

2) Doug Ford

3) Jake Jenkins

4) Rob Wilkinson

5) Jon Boswell

6) Trevor Robinson

7) Steve Omonua

8) Abbey Nsubuga > 68

9) Paul Cross

10) Fabio Rodriguez >75

11) Anthony Gale

12) Phil Caughter

14) Jamie Findlay <75

15) Joel Korocz

16) Leeyon Phelan <68

17) Steve Brown