Bexhill United U18 2 v 1 Montpelier Villa U18

Sunday 3rd April 2022, Kick-off 10.30

Southern Combination League Under 18 Champions Play-offs Semi Final
The Polegrove, Bexhill-on-Sea
Admission: Free
Programme: None
Attendance: 85 (rough head count)

I decided to take in this bonus game this morning, motivated by a combination of being almost certainly my last opportunity to take in a game at The Polegrove this season, a lovely bright sunny morning, and a semi final tie between two youth teams who have won their respective divisions.

With the Southern Combination League Under 18 competition split into four divisions, play-offs are contested between the winners of each division in two one-off semi-finals. And both clubs contesting this fixture have had really impressive seasons in winning their respective divisions, not losing a single league game between them. Bexhill United won the East Division by winning 13 and drawing the other three of their 16 league fixtures, while Montpelier Villa won the Central Division, by winning twelve and drawing the other two of their 14 league games.

On a bright, sunny morning but with a chilly breeze, Bexhill opened the scoring on 7 minutes when Aaron Cook stepped his way through a nervous looking defence in the area, before poking the ball past the keeper and inside the far post. The rest of the half was quite a tight affair, unsurprisingly, and the closest either team came to a further goal was on 29 minutes, when a long range shot by a Bexhill player forced a good parry by the keeper.

Whereas Bexhill edged the first half, Montpelier Villa came out strongly after the break, and on 63 minutes, they equalised, when the ball was fizzed in from the right, it took a deflection and the loose ball was stabbed into the roof of the net by Arjan Sirjani. But parity did not last long, as Bexhill retook the lead on 67 minutes when the ball was lofted towards the edge of the penalty area, the visiting keeper missed the ball, and Luca Martinaj showed good composure in taking a couple of touches before slotting into an empty goal from quite a tight angle. Bexhill then had some decent chances to put the tie to bed, but in added on time at the end of the game, Montpelier Villa saw a stabbed goalbound shot blocked on the line, with the follow up shot struck just wide of the goal. And so it was Bexhill who progressed to the final, which they just about deserved on the day. It will be some time until they find out who that will be against, as the North and West Division seasons are yet to be completed.

Whereas Bexhill edged the first half, Montpelier Villa came out strongly after the break, and on 63 minutes, they equalised, when the ball was fizzed in from the right, it took a deflection and the loose ball was stabbed into the roof of the net by Arjan Sirjani. But parity did not last long, as Bexhill retook the lead on 67 minutes when the ball was lofted towards the edge of the penalty area, the visiting keeper missed the ball, and Luca Martinaj showed good composure in taking a couple of touches before slotting into an empty goal from quite a tight angle. Bexhill then had some decent chances to put the tie to bed, but in added on time at the end of the game, Montpelier Villa saw a stabbed goalbound shot blocked on the line, with the follow up shot struck just wide of the goal. And so it was Bexhill who progressed to the final, which they just about deserved on the day. It will be some time until they find out who that will be against, as the North and West Division seasons are yet to be completed.