Whitstable Town Stun Dulwich Hamlet in FA Cup Qualifying Classic

Whitstable Town Stun Dulwich Hamlet in FA Cup Qualifying Classic

With the FA Cup Second Round Qualifying weekend fast approaching, it is important to look back on what was surely the game of the First Round, as Kent's Whitstable Town overcame a two-goal deficit to put Isthmian League Premier side Dulwich Hamlet to the sword at Champion Hill in a 3-2 victory.

The magic of the cup as @whitstabletown knock @DulwichHamletFC out of the FA Cup 3-2 with the last kick of the game after being 2-0 down at half time pic.twitter.com/XYjSGtVIwY

— Alex Irons (@irnsbru) August 30, 2025

The Oystermen entered the prestigious competition in the extra preliminary round, where a hat-trick from Dean Grant saw them brush aside Lingfield in a 7-2 drubbing. Then an even more impressive scoreline in the preceding round, a 9-0 away win to Edgware & Kingsbury, set up a meeting with The Hamlet.

Following this impressive result, the Second Round Qualifying draw mustered up yet another Isthmian League Premier outfit in Chichester City, but this time at home in front of an assumingly inflated and jubilant crowd.

Football Park has got in touch with Whitstable's electric 26-year-old winger, Theo Osinfolarin, to get his thoughts on the importance of the FA Cup, that last-minute winner, as well as the challenge of Chichester in the next round.

"The Magic of the FA Cup"

"The FA Cup is massive, not just to us as players but management as well, it gives us an opportunity to showcase what we are about,"

"It is really who performs on the day, that is why they call it the magic of the FA Cup, the special thing is that you can potentially come up against some of the biggest clubs you will play in your Non-League career, and I feel like that is huge.

"It brings an opportunity for more income and more fans through the gate and then it is up to the players and the management to retain those fans; it can keep clubs afloat and help them build."

Whitstable walked down the tunnel at the break in front of a busy Champion Hill crowd, trailing two goals to nil, but with Dulwich Hamlet's goalscorer Luke Wanadio seeing red on the brink of half-time, it was far from over for The Oystermen.

We asked Theo what the mentality was like when the chips were down, what ignited a way back for Whitstable?

"Once they went down to ten men, I knew that we had a chance. The scoreline may not reflect this, but in the first five to ten minutes we were on top and it looked like one-way traffic, but Dulwich Hamlet's quality did show in them grabbing the two goals.

"Going into half-time, the management just reiterated what they said at the start of the game, we are not just here to make a good account of ourselves, we are here to win.

"That is the kind of mentality I love and what drew me to signing for Whitstable in the first place, so credit to the team for taking on board the belief the managers have given us."

Whitstable Town v Chichester City in the next round https://t.co/bz1rM5pIaD

— Whitstable Town Football Club (@whitstabletown) September 1, 2025

The Importance of Unwavering Support

At the heart of every club, not only in Non-League but up and down the English football pyramid, is the fans. In this case, support was pivotal in Whitstable's second-half efforts.

Theo emphasised:

"Travelling support is massive, at one point we were 2-0 down and Whitstable fans were singing '2-0 and you still don't sing' and 'Shall we sing a song for you?', and it kind of makes you want to run faster for the team and tackle harder, deliver quality when you can and excite the fans.

"Travelling support in big games like that, especially when they're noisy it lifts you as a player and makes you want to work for the badge and I'm definitely grateful for the Whitstable fans."

Whitstable completed their comeback in the dying embers of the game with Javaun Splatt picking up his brace with a towering header, sending fans, players and management alike into raptures.

Although difficult to put into words, Theo described the jubilation that unfolded before full-time:

"In football, you have ups and downs, but those are the moments you play football for, and those ups always outweigh the downs.

"I feel like it was deserved, we were on top the whole of the second half, we thoroughly deserved that win, and for it to come in the last minute and to know we don't have to play them at our place against 11 men, it's what the FA Cup is all about really."

Preparation for Chichester Challenge

On Monday 1st September at 1 pm, The FA released the results of the Second Round Qualifying draw, which put Whitstable up against Sussex outfit Chichester City, another team from step 3 of Non-league.

Whitstable Town v Chichester City in the next round https://t.co/bz1rM5pIaD

— Whitstable Town Football Club (@whitstabletown) September 1, 2025

"I'm confident that this team will be able to deliver against Chichester, we've shown what we are capable of and I believe having that success against Dulwich was important for the remainder of the season. I'm sure that the level of detail that went into the Dulwich game from the management will be matched in this game as well.

"Being in front of the home supporters as well, down in Whitstable, I'm confident that the team will be able to deliver an upset on the day. It will be a good game and I'm looking forward to it, I'm more than confident that it will be a good day."

Whitstable will play Chichester City at The Primcura Healthcare Stadium on Saturday 13th September at 3pm.