Saturday 26th April 2014
East Sussex League Division One
Riverhall, Mountfield
Admission and programme: None
Attendance: 14 (head count)
Today I decided to stay local to watch a local derby that could result
in promotion for the visiting team.
Riverhall is located about three miles north west of Battle, and is
adjacent to both the busy A2100 road and a railway line. Despite this and the inevitable
accompanying traffic noise, this was a really pleasant venue to watch football
at, surrounded by trees, which cover a steep hill behind one of the goals.
Facilities are very basic, although there is a waist-high wooden fence along
one length of the pitch and a wooden building houses the changing rooms in one
corner of the ground, with a further smaller corrugated iron building located
adjacent. The pitch is certainly not conducive in any way to good football,
undulating considerably throughout, and with a pronounced slope towards one of
the goals. The pitch has been poorly maintained in recent times too, with the
grass rather long but with some bare patches also.
Coming into this game, Battle Baptists led the division with two games
remaining (including this one), and a victory here would virtually guarantee
promotion, and might also be enough to become champions, if third place
Sedlescombe failed to beat second placed Crowborough Athletic III today. Battle
had accumulated 35 points from 16 games, Crowborough 34 points from 17 games,
Sedlescombe 34 points from 16 games, whilst fourth placed Hollington had 12
points less than Battle but had three games in hand. Battle have been in great form recently,
dropping just two points from their last six games, which included win against
promotion rivals Sedlescombe and Hollington United II. Mountfield went into the
game in seventh place in the ten team division with 19 points from their 16
games. They have drawn their last five league games and unbeaten in their last
six. In the reverse fixture of today’s game, Battle comprehensively won 5-0 in
early September.
On a warm afternoon which frequently alternated between bright sunshine
and overcast skies, with Mountfield kicking down the slope, they almost took
the lead inside the first minute when a looping cross struck the top of the
crossbar. They did take the lead on 7 minutes though, when a free kick from the
left was floated into the area, and Johnathan Novis was completely unmarked as
he headed across the keeper and into the net. Battle were very disappointing
given their lofty status in the first half, and only on 35 minutes did they
have a good chance to equalise, when a cross from the right was poked just wide
of goal. But by the time half time arrived, Mountfield were worthy of their
lead.
Battle did look a little more threatening in the second half, now
kicking down the slope, and another close range toe poke following a cross went
just wide. Mountfield almost doubled their lead twice though – on 68 minutes, a
gentle looping cross seemed to be an easy take for the keeper, but the ball
went through his hands and hit the cross bar, whilst on 73 minutes, the ball
was ballooned over the bar from close range after the Battle keeper spilled a
previous shot. On 78 minutes, Battle got back on level terms with a slightly
controversial goal. There seemed to be a high boot from a Battle forward as he
took control of the ball before crossing the ball low, allowing Josh
Barraclough to hit the ball home at the far post. From this point, the game
could have gone either way, on 82 minutes a Mountfield striker headed the ball
over from a central position at close range following a cross from the right,
whilst on 86 minutes, following sustained Mountfield pressure, Battle broke to
the other end and forced a point blank save from a shot, and in added on time,
another breakaway move ended with a shot that went just wide of the left hand
post. But eventually the points were shared, for Mountfield’s six consecutive
draw, whilst Sedlescombe’s win at Crowborough meant that Battle dropped to
second but cannot now be overhauled by Crowborough, and a win at home against
mid-table Orington next week will ensure promotion.
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