BY ISAAC GLEAVE

And then it was October, where a milky Autumnal sun dapples The Enclosed Ground turf.

Whitehawk will return there on Tuesday, when they host A23 neighbours Burgess Hill Town under the lights, but for now those bracing away journeys continue, and a trip to Folkestone Invicta lies ahead.

On Saturday it was another venture away from home comforts; Sheppey United offering their services for the afternoon. It was the classic Hawks start, too, that got things going as Joe Shelley netted his sixth penalty of the campaign — and third in his last three matches — to hand the visitors an early lead.

But the Kent side hit back with a penalty of their own: Billy Bennett on hand to send Luke Glover the wrong way. A point apiece, then, as the Hawks continue their unbeaten start to the league season.

Speaking after the game, manager Shaun Saunders was quick to praise his side: “I’m pleased with a point. Bearing in mind the injuries that we suffered: Ryan Warwick is obviously a loss for us, we lose that edging in midfield; Charlie Lambert, we felt it was too soon for him. I had hoped to get rest into him [Lambert] yesterday but injuries during the game forced him to play.”

Injuries proved a menace in Sheppey, with all three substitutions enforced. Yet the momentum is still with them, and Saunders recognised his opposition’s qualities: “All in all, it’s a tough place to go, volatile crowd and at the end of the day a draw was a fair result – it was end to end, it could have gone either way.”

Saunders’ troops march back to Kent this Saturday for an FA Trophy tie at Isthmian League Premier side Folkestone Invicta before hosting Burgess Hill Town on Tuesday, October 11.