By Holly Morris

Marcel Nimani insisted Whitstable’s Kent Senior Trophy run this season has been positive - despite being knocked out at the Semi-Final stage.

A 2-1 home defeat to lower-division Croydon on Tuesday night means their wait for a first trophy since 2018 is likely to continue.

But the Oystermen boss feels there is more to take from his side’s journey in the Trophy than just their last-four loss.

He said: “We’ve gained a lot of positivity.

“We’ve scored a lot of goals, we’ve created a lot of momentum in this competition, and we’ve produced some outstanding performances.

“It has been a positive journey. But it’s gutting because we came so close and it was there for (the) taking.

“It’s just a shame. We’ve been one of the highest-scoring teams in this competition up until now and I felt the very thing that brought us to this stage, we lacked that on Tuesday.”

Ryan Hall’s strike and a penalty from Ryan Palmer saw the visitors race into a two-goal lead early after the break, before Harvey Smith’s goal gave Whitstable hopes of a recovery.

Nimani said: “I felt we had the chances. It’s just the story of our season.

“The decision-making and actual execution just isn’t there at the moment and we’re paying the consequences.

“But we’re trying and we’ll keep going. We’ve still got a lot to play for.

“We had two clear-cut chances to score in the first half and we didn’t so, in tight cup games like these, the team that has got the best quality in the opposition box takes the rewards - and they did.

“I felt they were a well-organised and highly-spirited team.

“They’ve got a strong changing room. They were just fully determined and motivated and they held their own.

“But there was no superior side on that pitch. It was a very even game that could’ve gone either way.

“You can’t argue they didn’t deserve the win, so congratulations to them.”

Nimani is backing his own team to bounce back in this Saturday’s home fixture with league leaders Glebe in the Southern Counties East League Premier Division.

With a win needed to boost their play-off chances, Nimani expressed his confidence in his “fully determined” side.

He said: “The boys are professional and experienced enough.

“You saw it on Tuesday - from 2-0 down after such a terrible start to the second half, conceding two goals so early on - I think, if there’s one thing we proved, there’s effort and character there.

“So, I’m confident the players will use this in a way to get that extra gear for Saturday.”

Midfielder Josh Oliver returned to action in midweek - making a long-anticipated appearance in the second half - and Nimani explained it was good to have him back.

“If there’s one thing, we’ve missed its goalscorers and he’s our natural goalscorer,” Nimani said.

“For the second season I’ve been at the club, he’s been my top goalscorer throughout and missing him, you could argue that’s played a huge part in missed opportunities.”

Cup-tied defender Ollie Gray and striker James Jeffrey, one of the Premier Division’s top scorers, netting 16 so far this season during a successful first half of the season at Lordswood, are set to return to the squad against Glebe.

Nimani said: “Both of them in the last five games have played very well.

“Did we miss Ollie Gray on Tuesday? Maybe. Did we miss James Jeffrey? Maybe.”

Midfielder Victor Aiyelabola remains suspended.