Parkfield 1 v 1 Icklesham Casuals

Bank Holiday May 3rd May 2021, Kick-off 18.30
East Sussex League Division Four and Five Supplementary Cup
Eastbourne Sports Park Grass Pitch, Eastbourne

Admission & Programme: None
Attendance: 20 (approximate)

For my final game of three on this Bank Holiday Monday, I had a choice of two games on the grass pitches at the Eastbourne Sports Park, and with my partner joining me, we decided to go to the one which had one of her workmates playing for the visitors.

The Eastbourne Sports Park is a large complex of sporting facilities, consisting of an athletics complex, an indoor sports centre, a 3G pitch (sometimes used for East Sussex and Mid Sussex League games), and many grass pitches for football, rugby,  rounders and stoolball. This game would be played between the 3G pitch behind one length and the athletic complex behind the other, with the indoor sports centre close behind one goal and a row of tall trees closely lining the other end - which serves as a boundary from the other playing fields. A grass bank between the pitch and the athletic centre makes for a good viewing point of the action, and a few bushy trees along the top make for quite an attractive setting. Behind the length with the 3G pitch, the South Downs give quite a dramatic backdrop, with residential housing also visible part way up the hillside. For a large sporting complex, this pitch is a surprisingly pleasant place to watch football at, quite an easy on the eye, with an enclosed feel to it.

This match would be between two clubs from the fifth tier of the East Sussex League, Division Four, and in the regular season before it was curtailed, Parkfield won two and drew one of their seven league games, while Icklesham Casuals won six and lost two of their eight league games. When these two clubs met in the regular season, Parkfield won 4-0 at the Eastbourne Sports Park. In this Supplementary Cup competition, neither side looks likely to qualify for the final, with only the group winners qualifying. Parkfield had won three and drawn one of their games, whilst Icklesham had drawn two and lost three of their five games.

With the strong wind still a factor, and overcast conditions eventually giving way to some light rain by the end, this was another very decent game to watch. Parkfield started the stronger, and they took the lead on 9 minutes when a long throw in was headed on and the ball went over the keeper and into the net. And they almost doubled their lead a couple of minutes later, following a lovely pass to set his team mate clear on his right, and he kept on running before striking the ball, only to see it come back off the crossbar. Icklesham got more into the game as the half progressed, and on 39 minutes, a drilled shot from the edge of the area came back off the post. Three minutes later, they saw a shot go just wide of the far post. 

Icklesham were much improved after the break, having most of the play and creating most of the chances, and they eventually equalised on 67 minutes following a run down the left and the ball was crossed in, a defender couldn't deal with it and Thomas Cumber tapped in from a fairly tight angle at the far post. The visitors couldn't find another goal, and as the game reached its conclusion, it was Parkfield who had a good spell, creating some very decent chances, but in the end, the game ended all square.