Langney Wanderers 3 v 1 Little Common

Wednesday 30th March 2016
Southern Combination League Division One
The Oval, Eastbourne
Admission: £5.00
Programme: £2.00
Attendance: 65
Match Rating: 3

With milder evenings now upon us, I decided to take in some midweek action tonight, to watch Little Common for the second time in three days, and the second time I have watched them at The Oval this season, although on the previous occasion the home team was Eastbourne United Association.

Approaching the end of their first season following promotion into senior football, their home ground at Shinewater Lane still lacks floodlights, and so their floodlit midweek matches are currently taking place at the home of Eastbourne United Association. I took the opportunity to stop off at Shinewater Lane before heading to The Oval, and the ground remains extremely basic, and would be more suitable for intermediate football – the only recent addition being a small metal stand covering a flat standing area located in one corner. But there is still no seating, little hard standing available, the ground remains open – in short, looks anything but a senior football venue, and Westfield and Rustington, relegated from this division last season, can surely continue to feel very aggrieved that at being relegated at the end of last season for having grounds no worse than Shinewater Lane. With regards to The Oval, some ground improvements are taking place to what was already a very decent ground. An atcost all-seater stand, previously installed at Sidley United's Gullivers ground before the club was forced to leave, has been temporarily positioned in one corner out of use before it is soon transfered, with seats added, to a new location beside the dugouts.

Both of this evening's teams are heading for mid table finishes. Langney Wanderers came into this game in 12th place, with eight wins and four draws from their 22 games, but having at least three games in hand on every other team in the division means a top ten finish is quite achievable  in their first season in senior football. After their derby day victory against Bexhill United,  Little Common were in seventh place, with 12 wins and two draws from their 25 games. In the reverse league fixture played last Tuesday, Little Common won 3-2, whilst in the divisional cup, Langney Wanderers won on penalties after a 2-2 draw.

On an evening which soon became cool by nightfall, the first half was a closely fought affair, with Little Common having slightly the better of things and having the clearer sights on goal. But five minutes before half time, the home side were awarded a rather soft penalty, as the Langney player went down under pressure from a defender running towards goal. Paul Rogers fired the ball into the bottom right corner despite the keeper getting a hand to the ball. Straight from the kick off, Jamie Crone fired a shot on the move from the edge of the area but the ball flashed just wide of the left hand post and Langney Wanderers held the slender lead at the break.

Langney Wanderers started the second half the stronger, and they soon seized control of the match. They doubled their lead on 57 minutes when the ball rolled into the path of Shane Saunders in a central position on the edge of the box, and he drilled the ball into the bottom left corner of the net. They all but sealed the win on 69 minutes. A weak back header by a Little Common defender gave a chance to the onrushing striker to beat the keeper to the ball, but the keeper managed to smother the ball away. From the rebound, a shot from an angle on the turn hit the post, but then after the ball was cross into the box from the right wing, Saunders headed in from close range. Lewis Hole gave the visitors a glimmer of hope with a nice finish hooked over the keeper and into the net, but they rarely threatened for the remainder of the match as it became a little scrappy with some rather crude fouls, and in the end Langney Wanderers deserved their win for a commanding second half performance.

Hastings United 6 v 0 Peacehaven and Telscombe

Monday 28th March 2016
Isthmian League Division One South
Pilot Field, Hastings
Admission: £2.00
Programme: £2.00
Attendance: 624
Match Rating: 3

Following my morning game at Little Common, I headed eastwards to visit another venue that I have visited many times over the years, taking advantage of reduced admission from the usual rather steep price of £10.00 for Step 4 football.

The Pilot Field remains a very nice place to watch this level of football at, with its large main stand towering over the pitch along one length, tea bar and clubhouse either side of the entrance and a tall covered terrace beside the clubhouse, and a small standing covering a couple of terrace steps behind the other goal. Hard standing is available along the remaining length, with a large grass bank behind. A detraction of the ground remains that spectators are fairly distant from the action, a remnant of having a speedway track back in the 1950's. The pitch was in remarkably good condition considering the club groundsman tweeted pictures of several large puddles on the pitch first thing this morning. The 58 page programme was attractively laid out and covered all the basics with some interesting reading material, but was rather heavy on advertising, 27 pages worth to be precise.

This match would be between two teams possibly heading in different directions out of this league next month. Hastings came into this game in sixth place, with 22 wins and four draws from their 40 games, but were five points adrift of Worthing in the final play-off berth in fifth. After relegation from the Premier Division last season, Peacehaven look certainties for relegation this season, after having their budget slashed. They have picked up just one point from their last 18 games, since their last win in late November. Overall, they were second bottom of the 24 team division, with six wins and six draws from their 41 league games. When today's teams met in the reverse fixture in January, Hastings won 0-4.

On an afternoon which had become sunny and the wind had reduced in intensity but remained a stiff gusty breeze, in the opening stages, Peacehaven did not actually look too bad in midfield, but looked impotent in the final and a disaster waiting to happen defensively. On 14 minutes, Hastings took the lead when the ball was crossed high into the box and Billy Medlock sent the ball looping past the keeper and into the net with his head. One felt that had already decided the destiny of the three points, and they came close to extending their lead on several occasions until they finally did on 40 minutes. Jack McLean ran onto a through ball and after tapping the ball to the side of the keeper, his shot from an angle came back off the post, rebounding to the feet of Medlock, who had the simple task of driving the ball into the net from a central position. Hastings made it three a minute before the break when Medlock ran onto the ball, rounded the keeper before passing the ball into the net from a slight angle to complete his hat-trick.

Despite having the game as good as won at half time, Hastings started the second half full of attacking intent, but their fourth goal did not come until the 54th minute. Sam Cole crossed the ball high over the goal, and Medlock volleyed the ball into the net at the far post. Medlock almost hit his and his team's fifth on 57 minutes, but saw his header come back off the crossbar, and then Peacehaven actually had their best spell of the match, forcing a couple of smart saves from the Hastings keeper and saw a free kick skim the top of the crossbar. Hastings scored their fifth on 83 minutes, when the ball was looped across the six yard box and above the keeper, and Medlock has the simple task of heading the ball in from close range. Medlock almost scored his and his team's sixth on 89 minutes, but his shot flashed across the goal from a very tight angle. Two minutes into added on time, Hastings completed the rout with their sixth, this time not scored by Medlock, as substitute Bright Temba ran onto a ball over the top and slotted it under the keeper.

So, a simple, straightforward victory for Hastings which pulls them to within 2 points of fifth place Worthing with five games remaining.  No doubt Billy Medlock was the star man today with five goals today, making it 25 for the season. As for Peacehaven, they really looked a poor team at both ends of the pitch and will probably benefit from a spell back in the Southern Combination League next term.

Video highlights of this match can be found by clicking here.

Little Common 3 v 1 Bexhill United

Monday 28th March 2016
Southern Combination League Division One
Recreation Ground, Little Common
Admission including Programme: £4.00
Attendance: 163
Match Rating: 3

I had looked forward to an Easter Monday visiting new grounds at Spelthorne Sports and Stained Town today. However Storm Katie brought heavy rain throughout the previous night which cause both of those games to be postponed, and with the very strong winds continuing into the morning, I decided to play it safe and stay local, to take in games at grounds I have visited many times previously, starting off with this local Bexhill derby with an 11am kick off.

Unsurprisingly and sensibly with the strong winds today, the usual temporary matchday sheeting "enclosing" the football pitch was not erected today, and so spectators had a view of the rest of the fairly large recreation ground, as well as being able to watch games down this length which is not usually possible. The programme remained good for the level, with some interesting reading material and all of the necessary stats.

Little Common came into this game higher in the table, in eighth place in the 17 team division, with 11 wins and two draws from their 24 games, whilst Bexhill United were in 11th place, with eight wins and five draws from their 26 games. Little Common were going for a hat-trick of wins against Bexhill United this season, having won 0-2 in the reverse league fixture which saw five players sent off, four of those Bexhill players, and Little Common also won 3-2 at home in the League Cup, a competition in which they have since progressed to the semi-final after being reinstated following defeat in the quarter final thanks to their conquerors fielding an ineligible player.

Little Common played into a very strong wind during the first half, but they still looked the better team for the most part, although chances were at a premium. On 31 minutes, Bexhill’s Dan Cruickshank headed the ball into the net but the goal was ruled out for offside, however ten minutes later, the visitors did take the lead. After the keeper parried a shot and a follow up shot was blocked by a defender, Wesley Peoples finally tucked the ball home from a fairly tight angle. And Bexhill led at half time, to take a slender lead into the second half when it would be their turn to play against the strong wind.

The second half was quite a dull affair for the most part, with it looking like Bexhill would see the game out as Little Common looking unable to threaten. However, they did get back on level terms when Lewis Hole struck the ball home despite the keeper getting his hands behind the ball. On 80 minutes, Bexhill’s player-manager Marc Munday was shown a straight red card for a late tackle followed by a stamp on Dan Estherby. A minute after Bexhill had a shot well smothered by the keeper, Little Common went into the lead, when their player-manager threaded a free kick around the wall and into the net. The home side made sure of the three points when they scored a third a minute into added on time. The ball was played through the middle, their striker ran onto the ball, tapped it wide of the keeper but too wide to get a shot on goal, so he passed into the area and Jamie Crone took a couple of touched before firing home .

So Little Common did indeed claim a hat-trick of wins against their cross town rivals, a win that looked unlikely up to the final quarter of an hour. This was a game that was spoilt by the extreme wind, but at least the game went ahead which had looked most unlikely during the overnight heavy rain – indeed, the pitch held up remarkably well.

Sheerwater 3 v 0 Dorking Wanderers Reserves

Saturday 26th March 2016
Combined Counties League Division One
Recreation Ground, Sheerwater
Admission: £4.00
Programme: £1.00
Attendance: 20 (estimate)
Match Rating 3

In the middle of two quite expensive day outs over the Easter period, I chose a cheap option today, to tick off another ground in the Combined Counties League, and one that is living on borrowed time as the club looks forward to moving to a new ground compliant with step six senior football requirements within the next couple of years.

The Sheerwater Recreation Ground is about a half hour walk from Woking train station, with the option of walking most of the way along the Basingstoke canal. Once at the recreation ground complex, one passes by the railed off football pitch that the Sheerwater first team used to use from time to time, before passing through the entrance which was unmanned, with admission being taken once the game started as a club official made his way around the spectators. This was an interesting ground, something of a throwback to times when ground grading rules were much less stringent. These days, it falls below what is required of a senior football venue in several respects. There are no floodlights here, and after passing the clubhouse - with spectators using the same entrance as the players use to access their changing rooms – there is a fairly tall but narrow stand with three rows of seating straddling the half way line. There is also some uncovered seating to the other side of the entrance. The only hard standing available is in front of these seating areas, with just grass around the rest of the pitch, and the path is rather tricky to negotiate behind one of the goals. It is a neat and tidy venue though, with plenty of tall trees all around to give a pleasantly rural setting, as well as having a friendly feel about the place. An athletics track around the football pitch means that spectators are quite distant from the action. The ground will still be allowed to host senior football here next season, after some minor improvements have been made, such as lengthening the hard standing area, in advance of a new ground expected to be ready in 2018. The programme was really very good for this level, with some interesting articles about the club's and the league's futures, as well as all of the important stats. It contrasted very favourably with the appalling one I picked up from Bemerton Heath Harlequins, a step above Sheerwater, last Saturday.

Both teams are heading for a mid table finish, and indeed this looked likely to be a clash between two closely matched teams, with Sheerwater in 13th place in the 17 team division, with six wins and three draws from their 26 League games, one position and four points better off than today’s visitors, who had won four and drawn five of their 22 league games. It speaks volumes for the rapid development of Dorking Wanderers Football Club that the last time I watched their first team was in intermediate football, in the Sussex County League Division Three, in 2009. It has recently been announced that Dorking Wanderers will no longer field a team in the Combined Counties League after this season. When the two teams met in September, Dorking Wanderers Reserves won 3-0.

On a blustery afternoon, always overcast with intermittent heavy drizzle making for difficult playing conditions, Sheerwater were always in the ascendency, although there were few attacks on goal in the opening half hour, until the home side were awarded a penalty for a trip putting an end to some fancy footwork in the penalty area. Shane Rideout fired the ball into the bottom left corner. Within a minute, they almost doubled their advantage when a lucky deflection set a Sheerwater player through on goal, but the keeper parried the shot.

1-0 was how it remained at half time, but with a minute of the restart, Sheerwater scored their second. The ball was played low past a defender and Rideout just managed to tap the ball to the side of the keeper before  slotting it into the net. Sheerwater really dominated the second half, eventually scoring the third goal they deserved on 72 minutes, with Rideout completing his hat-trick with a smart shot on the turn deep inside the area. Dorking came closest to scoring in the 82nd minute when the ball was whipped in low from the right wing but the ball was stabbed just wide. But Sheerwater kept the clean sheet with a convincing win which their play certainly merited.