Finn O’Mara netted a vital second for Whitstable in their massive FA Vase first-leg semi-final home win on Saturday - he just has no idea how he did it!

The defender, wearing the captain’s armband with skipper Jake McIntyre suspended, diverted a delightful left-footed corner from substitute Robbie Rees past Hartpury University keeper Stephen Sarkodie after the interval to give the Oystermen a two-goal cushion, ahead of this Sunday’s second leg in Gloucestershire.

But he revealed: “I didn’t really know what happened!

“It came off my knee and was then in the back of the net. We’ve been trying to do a bit better from set-pieces.

"We’re a big side and I’m glad the hard work paid off.”

For O’Mara, it was only a third goal this term, albeit a second in March.

He’s aware it’s key the goalscoring burden is not left solely on the shoulders of Whitstable’s frontline.

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“It’s good we’re getting goals and they’re not just having to come from the forwards,” he said.

“Fin Cotton got a goal the other week, I’ve scored and Coyley (player-boss Jamie Coyle) is due a goal soon.

“You don’t want to rely on one goalscorer. If that one goalscorer gets injured, who else is going to score?

“We’re all scoring, we’re all doing our bit, so it’s good.”

A sell-out club-record crowd of 2,905 watched on at The Belmont as goals from talented teenage forward Nathan Jeche and O’Mara put the Oystermen in control.

O’Mara said: “We did analysis on them.

“They’re a young, fit, side - but I just felt we were too powerful for them in the first 10 or 15 minutes.

"They were a bit shell-shocked and we sort of took advantage of that.

“It could have been more than 2-0 if we took our chances, but their keeper made a couple of really good saves.

“Let’s hope, in the second leg, we’re nice and strong and we do the job.”

O’Mara was thrilled to see the team deliver on the pitch to reward the hard work of the club’s volunteers off it on a fine day for the Oystermen.

He said: “The club is an amazing club.

“Even when we weren’t doing very well, everyone still backed us.

“That’s with everything, whether it’s with training facilities, training kit and even little things that other clubs haven’t got at Step 3, for example. We have good sessions and good training facilities.

“The board have done really well and it’s good to have backing from them.”

For Jeche, it was a sixth Whitstable goal already. The 19-year-old is on dual registration from Isthmian Premier Cray Wanderers and had enjoyed a scoring debut in Whitstable’s Vase quarter-final.

O’Mara said: “He’s fighting against big 6ft 4in centre-halves - which is crazy! He’s just so raw. He’s done so well.

“For a little lad, he’s very strong and good at holding off the defenders, which makes a massive difference.

“If you can hold the ball up as a No.9, run in behind and have good feet, really, you have got a little bit of the perfect striker.”

Another bumper crowd watched the first-leg game, which surpassed the crowd Whitstable had attracted for their quarter-final 3-2 home triumph against Whitchurch Alport - which itself had been a record attendance - by more than 200.

“Even when the game had got to the 80th minute, you could hear the crowd still roaring for us,” said O’Mara. “I didn’t know they had fans here.

“I don’t want that to sound disrespectful but all I could hear was our fans. Hopefully in the other leg, it’s the same.

“If we can have a good away following, they can be the 12th man.

“We’ll need that because they’re going to have spells in the game.”

O’Mara has found himself playing alongside his manager since 41-year-old Coyle laced his boots back up in November.

He said: “I’ve known Coyley for quite a few years but, really, we’ve only started playing together this year. It’s strange.

“It works well because we have got that good relationship. I’ve known him for ages so, playing together, that’s good.

“He has got the experience. He tells me what to do and, if I do something wrong, he tells me off!”

O’Mara, who left for Isthmian Premier strugglers Hastings earlier this term, only to rejoin Whitstable in February, has plenty of experience for someone of his age.

He started at Gillingham as a youngster and counts Folkestone, Hastings, Herne Bay and Faversham among his former clubs.

“It’s strange,” he said. “Starting men’s football at 17 or 18, that’s given me good experience.

“When I come to a club, people sometimes say ‘Oh, he’s got loads of experience’ - but I’m actually only 26.”

O’Mara also praised the camaraderie in Whitstable’s squad.

“I think the changing room is really good,” he said. “We don’t get too ahead of ourselves.

“There’s no big-time players in there. If someone is being a bit big time, we pipe them down pretty quickly!

“When we came in the changing room on Saturday, some people were shouting and screaming, and we just said ‘Hold on a minute, it’s only half-time.’. We have still got another 90 minutes to go so let’s just stay level-headed.

“But there’s not been many cases of that. It’s a really good bunch.

"We’ll look to work hard when we come in for training this week and hopefully, on Sunday, we’ll do well.”

And while playing the second leg on a Sunday is slightly unusual, it’s something O’Mara has recent experience of.

“I did it for a brief bit last year at Erith & Belvedere,” he revealed. “It's strange because you’ve got to go to work the next day, but it’ll be all right.

"We’re just excited for it.”