Southern Combination League Division One Cup Final
The Lashmar, Angmering
Admission including Programme: £6.00
Attendance: 300 (estimate)
To open my Easter weekend feast of football this year, I decided to take in a Good Friday double on the West Sussex coast. Although both grounds would be revisits, they were appealing games to take in with plenty at stake.
This cup final, kicking off at 11am, was played at the Lashmar, home of East Preston, and the ground is located about a ten minute walk from Angmering train station. Set adjacent to a recreation ground, the entrance to the football ground is located just beyond the clubhouse, which has a raised patio area outside. Entering the ground close to one of the corner flags, almost all of the facilities are located close to the entrance, with a standing area wrapped around the corner, and a modern metallic all-seater stand located towards the half way line. There is just hard standing along the remainder of this length and end closest to the entrance, as there is behind the other goal, whilst the remaining length was supposed to be out of bounds, with no hard standing present, but in spite of various signs advising this, a large number of spectators still clambered around a barrier to stand along this length. The ground has a naturally enclosed feel to it, with tall trees lining three sides and houses the other, and it enjoys a peaceful residential location, and on a warm sunny morning, it made for a fine venue to watch a cup final at. The programme just about covered the basics, with a welcome message, club histories of the finalists, a route to the final map, and predicted line-ups, although being pernickity, it was disappointing that the kick-off time mentioned on the programme front cover was 7.30, and several mentions were made inside of "tonight's game".
Going by the league table, Steyning would be odds-on favourites to lift the cup today, as they were second place in the Southern Combination League Division One, and with every chance of promotion to the Premier Division, being level on points with leaders Alfold but second place may well be enough to secure promotion. They have won 22 and drawn five of their 30 league games, four points ahead of third placed Bexhill with just two league games left to play. Wick were in tenth place, following 11 wins and four draws from their 30 league games. Steyning were victorious in both league encounters between the teams this season, winning 1-5 away back in late August, and then 3-1 at home in January.
On a gloriously sunny and warm morning, things threatened to get ugly very quickly for the underdogs. Steyning took the lead with just two minutes on the clock, when Mayckol Sabino flighted the ball from the right from a free kick and Ben Bacon ghosted through a static defence to head the ball home. In the following few minutes. Steyning saw a powerful shot saved by the keeper's legs, a drive from outside the area tipped over the bar, and the ball landed on the bar direct from the following corner. But after a difficult opening ten minutes, Wick settled into the game well, without looking like being able to score. Steyning had the stand out chance to score again on 31 minutes, when Sabino crossed the ball from the right wing, finding the unmarked Bacon, who took a touch before just managing to tap the ball goalwards past the keeper, but the ball was hacked away by a defender from the goal line. But as unlikely as it was looking after the opening ten minutes, Wick got to half time very much still in the game at half time, with just a one goal deficit to overturn after the break.
Unfortunately for the underdogs, they conceded a second just four minutes after the restart, Bacon nodding home from a corner at the near post for his second of the game. That felt like a decisive goal, and it really was game over on 61 minutes when Steyning scored their third. A corner was played short to Rob Clark, who made his way into the box before curling the ball beautifully over the crowd of defenders and the keeper and in off the underside of the crossbar. On 63 minutes, Wick had Kieron Playle-Howard sent off for a wild and high tackle, and after a couple of good chances, Steyning added a fourth on 76 minutes, when Connor Bull crossed for Alfie Gritt to turn the ball home. The Wick players really looked like they had had enough by now, but fortunately for them Steyning were not ruthless, and so the scoreline was kept down to 0-4. Shortly after the final whistle, Steyning lifted the trophy, the club's first for 30 years, and they still have the opportunity to secure promotion back to step 5 football after an absence of 25 years, and with a chance of going up as champions to boot.
Video highlights, provided by the excellent "Your Instant Replay", can be viewed by clicking on the following link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzulf6SKJps&feature=youtu.be
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