Oh dear, oh dear. Whitstable played well on Saturday at Canvey Island apparently. A pity they did not replicate that form yesterday at The Belmont in the first annual Bruce Smith shield. On that sort of performance, the forthcoming season might well be a struggle and as one Herne Bay supporter was overheard saying, the team in red might well get its comeuppance in the Ryman league this year. And this is surprising given that the squad is definitely stronger this term than last.

That former Whitstable strikers Stuart King and Dan Lawrence should score Herne Bay's goals had a feeling of inevitability about it, but they did more than that. They wanted the ball all the time, dropped into deep spaces, and played for their team.Will Graham at the back and their busy No.8 also kept the defensive line and midfield in good shape. This is more than can be said for Whitstable's shape. Shape, what shape? It looked like Tom Parker was playing a holding midfield role and to be fair to him, he actually had a pretty decent first half. He saw some good long passes, but he did not always connect with the intended recipient. I have no idea where Jake Gess was supposed to be playing, somewhere on the left possibly, at times at the back and other times in the hole. Marcos Perona was all over the middle, which is fine if all is going well, but not if the shape in the middle is being out-thought and out-manoeuvred at every opportunity.

There were two wing-backs, Eastwood and Tipple. They had quite decent games and on one level it was good to see Eastwood being more threatening than Tipple. Good for the competition at right back.

Up front, Ian Pulman looked like he is regaining some of his sharpness of last season and his poacher's goal from Eastwood's darting run, dribble and cross from the right was just what the doctor ordered on the stroke of half time after Dan Lawrence had put Bay in the lead with a nice lob over Kevin Fewell earlier in the half. His strike partner Dave Cory looked up for it and his pace caused a couple of problems for the Herne Bay back line, but he was clearly frustrated by the lack of service. But ultimately, it would have needed some very clever play indeed to break through a very solid Bay back four and such play was not going to occur with the striker's back to the goal.

In stark contrast was Stuart King's threatening play. He looked stronger and faster than he did for Whitstable two seasons ago and it was incredible to see how much time he seemed to have on the ball compared with almost anyone else on the pitch. This was not because he was given more space than anyone else (although the players in red had a tendency to back off him when he attacked). Rather, he simply refused to be intimidated by any incoming Oysterman and just took his time, picking out players at will. He had almost an intuitive sense of where his teammates happened to be (maybe because they stuck to their positions?). He gave a masterclass not only in that regard, but also with his unfazed dribbling into the Whistable penalty area. His volleyed goal for Herne Bay's second was also perfectly executed giving Fewell no chance. And he didn't stop there almost adding another two or three with shots from the acutest of angles as the game progressed. If anyone is going to get Herne Bay promoted, he is the man, and despite any potential dressing-room issues, it seems to me that Whitstable have missed a trick there! Good luck both to him and Dan Lawrence who played with a freedom and determination that was rarely on display during his time with The Oystermen. Maybe it was his hairstyle?

Whitstable played better in the second half especially after reverting to their standard 4-4-2. Tommy Martin in particular put his all into the game. Bagley also looked threatening at times adopting Kingy's attitude of refusing to be hustled off the ball and showing off some trickery. And although Whitstable played some fairly neat attacking football in the last 15-20 minutes, arguably over-reliant on the ball over the top, they never really looked like they were the better team. James Campbell came very close with a header that hit the bar from a set piece (and set pieces improved considerably after Tom Parker was relieved of those duties) and Clint Gooding sent a ball just wide when one-on-one with the Herne Bay keeper.

But in the end, Herne Bay were just too strong for Whitstable and this does not bode well unless they get their act together sooner rather than later. And although it hurts, well done to Herne Bay. Deserved winners.

Oysterman of the match: Ian Pulman

There was another poor performance of note and that was the absence of a vocal group of Oysterboys. My guess is that there were more Herne Bay fans at The Belmont yesterday than Whitstable fans. Not only that, but not one song was sung. Perhaps this has something to do with he new notice outside the ground; perhaps there are other reasons? But in any event, it was quite apparent that the missing singing contingent made for a poor atmosphere and I have no doubt that their absence would have been noticed by management and players alike. It could even have affected their performance.

For some reason, the site won't allow me to upload pictures at the moment but they are available to see at http://www.kentphotography.uk.com