Southern Combination Football League Division One
The Beaconsfield, Hailsham
Admission: £5.00
Programme: 50p
Attendance: 91
Match Rating: 4
I decided to take in this midweek game when a work colleague said he would be going too. It would be nice to take in some local non league football anyway, as the previous and next weekends would involve long journeys with quite different levels of football.
Not much has changed at The Beaconsfield for what would be the club's first game of the season, after an unfit pitch caused their opening league fixture to be postponed, after the long hot summer had caused large cracks to appear in the surface. The pitch was still not in great condition this evening despite extensive work being carried out on it by volunteers in recent weeks, with plenty of bare patches and the grass left long, which noticeably held up the ball when played along the floor. After years of the programme following the same format, a change in editor has brought about a change in design and layout. Plenty to read inside and perfectly acceptable, particularly considering the very fair price of 50p is charged for it, and although it is now less neat and tidy compared with previous editions, it certainly has more interesting material inside.
Hailsham opened their season with an impressive 0-4 win away at Midhurst and Easebourne in their only game to date, whilst Seaford won their opening game at home before losing their second, as well as a League Cup tie, both games away from home. Both teams had quite average seasons last season, Hailsham finishing in eighth while Seaford finished in 12th place.
On a bright but slightly chilly evening, this was a really entertaining game between two fairly local rivals. Hailsham were not helped with their striker Peter Cooper having to be substituted on 5 minutes, but they had the better of the opening quarter of the game and after going a close a few times, they did take the lead on 19 minutes. Scott Taylor received the ball from a throw-in, before striking the ball from outside the area into the far top corner. It was a spectacular goal, but whether it was intentional is debatable. That stirred the visitors into life, creating some decent chances and having a goal ruled out for offside on 23 minutes, before they did take the lead on 28 minutes. After a shot was ripped wide, from the resultant corner James Walker stabbed the ball home. It was then Hailsham's turn to have a good spell, and one shot hit the post.
The second half continued in a similar vein, and after Hailsham had a goal ruled out for an apparent foul on the keeper after the striker contested the ball and nodded it into the net, it was Seaford who took the lead on 55 minutes, Walker heading the ball just inside the far post following a corner. But within a couple of minutes, Hailsham equalised, Dean Stevens drilling the ball low inside the post from outside the area - a very good goal. Both teams had chances to win the game in the remaining half hour or so, but in the end the points were shared, which was a fair outcome.
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