Southern Combination League Premier Division
The Polegrove, Bexhill-on-Sea
Admission: £6.00
Programme: £1.00
Attendance: 440
For this week's midweek action, I decided to take in an attractive looking derby game, the first time the two clubs from Bexhill have met since 2018, with Little Common having played in the higher division since then, although since being elevated from Division One last season, Bexhill are going great guns this season after a slow start.
Both clubs came into this game in great form, particularly Bexhill United, who have been unbeaten in the league since early September, and their only defeats in cup competitions came against runaway league leaders Littehampton Town on penalties and against Bognor Regis, who ply their trade two steps higher in the pyramid. They came into this game in fifth place, following 15 wins and eight draws from 26 league games, and their unbeaten run has stretched to 19 games. Little Common are having a solid season, coming into this game in 11th place, following nine wins and nine draws from their 26 league games, and were in reasonable form, unbeaten in their previous four league games, although three of those were draws.
On a dry and relatively mild evening, the first half was rather typical derby fare, mostly a midfield battle, but it was Bexhill who came closest to opening the scoring, most notably on 7 minutes, they saw a low shot across the keeper come back off the inside of the far post and bounced into the six yard box, but safely as a defender comfortably hacked the ball away. But the scoreline remained goalless at the break, with Little Common still very much in the game, despite struggling to carry much of a threat going forward.
Bexhill continued to create chances after the break, but it wasn't until the 69th minute when they finally broke the deadlock, when a shot from an angle deflected up over the six yard box, and talisman Jack Shonk headed home. That rather opened the floodgates, as the home side doubled their lead on 71 minutes, when a ball forward beat the offside trap for Evan Archibald to run onto, before drilling the ball across the keeper and inside the far post. On 76 minutes, Bexhill were awarded a penalty when the Little Common keeper came rushing out to meet a high ball landing in the box, clattering Archibald in the process. In truth, it was a decision that probably could have gone either way, but Shonk converted the penalty, striking emphatically down the middle. The scoreline started to take a rather ugly look for the visitors on 82 minutes when a free kick took a big deflection, with the ball falling kindly for a simple tap in by Archibald, and on 84 minutes, Bexhill made it five when the ball was sprayed down the right into the path of Shonk, and he ran through towards goal before firing past the keeper to seal his hat-trick, his second hat-trick in consecutive games within three days. They looked likely to make the final scoreline even more emphatic in the closing minutes, but in the end had settle for the five goal margin.
This result lifted Bexhill to fourth in the table, and they are certainly a very impressive outfit these days, playing good attacking football on the pitch, which certainly helps to attract very decent attendances these days - this was their second 400+ attendance of the season, with attendances otherwise hovering around 200.
Video highlights of this match can be viewed by clicking here
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