Mid-season Friendly
The Polegrove, Bexhill-on-Sea
Admission: £3.00
Programme: None
Attendance: 80 (estimate)
So, after 4 weeks, or 27 days to be more precise, of the national lockdown imposed to reduce the rising number of Covid-19 infections within the UK preventing all "non-elite"football being played, football finally returned this evening, in this oddest of seasons. The restart was certainly looking very precarious, with most of the south-east placed under Tier 2 restrictions, but with Kent being placed in Tier 3, and with leagues either delaying their restart or allowing their member clubs to opt out of fixtures for the coming weeks - either due to safety concerns, or for financial reasons, with clubhouses now allowed to be opened, it would be a rather sketchy, bordering on farcical restart to the football season. Not for my local league, the Southern Combination League, however, as its member clubs voted in favour of restarting their season, albeit subject to periodic reviews.
Having had quite enough of life without football during the autumnal months, I grabbed the chance to take in a game at the first available opportunity, when this fixture at The Polegrove was announced. It was difficult to know what to expect from the game, with no group training nor games having taken place for the last four weeks, today being the very first day out of lockdown. Before the season was halted, Bexhill have had a fabulous start to their season in the Southern Combination League Division One, leading the table following eight wins and a draw from their opening nine games. Westfield play a step below, in the Mid Sussex League Premier Division, and currently lie in ninth place, following three wins and four defeats from their opening seven league games. Tonight's clubs met in pre-season, back in August at the Parish Field in the Westfield Invitational Cup Final, with Bexhill winning 1-4, a game I watched. I experience similar feelings of relief that evening as I did tonight, as that was the first time that spectators were able to watch a game at a Step 7 venue, against a club from the National League System.
For this evening's fixture, obviously no programme was produced, and in addition to the Covid measure required pre Lockdown - leaving contact details via the NHS QR code or by paper, and hand sanitiser gel readily available - now the clubhouse had to be made out of bounds, and instead, snacks were available from a table by the clubhouse door, and hot drinks from a wooden hut. No alcohol was available, as per the latest Covid regulations.
On a chilly evening, with drizzle arriving during the second half, this game was as one-sided as the scoreline suggests, proving to be a thoroughly chastening experience for Westfield, whose players struggled to gain possession, far too readily gave possession away when they did have it, and allowed the Bexhill players far too much room particularly during the first half. Bexhill took the lead on 5 minutes, after a shot was parried and the rebound was tucked home, and the second followed on 13 minutes, a lovely jinking run past several Westfield players and into the box ended with the ball being slotted past the keeper. On 24 minutes, after Westfield took a foul throw, the ball was worked around the penalty area before eventually being steered into the top corner with the keeper static. On 27 minutes, Bexhill scored their fourth, after a run through the middle, the ball was played out wide to Jack McLean, who cut inside before fired a low curling shot just inside the far post. And on 35 minutes, Bexhill were awarded a penalty for a trip just inside the box, which was converted into the left side of the goal, sending the keeper the wrong way. Happily for Westfield, the scoreline remained at "just" the five - it could have been several more.
They certainly were a lot tighter in the second half, not giving away possession quite so readily, although the goals did still keep coming. In 57 minutes, a free kick from deep was launched into the box, and the loose ball was guided home, and four minutes later came an almost unbelievable miss when, following a great slalom run down the left, the ball was passed to his team mate but, a few yards out in a central position, he couldn't connect with the ball. On 71 minutes, Bexhill did score their seventh with their second penalty of the evening, awarded when a Bexhill forward challenged the keeper to a ball that bounced up high, and unusually the keeper was penalised. It was converted into the right side of the goal, with the keeper motionless. Bexhill's eighth followed on 81 minutes, after and initial drilled shot from the edge of the area and the rebound was tapped home, and they made it nine five minutes from time after the ball was threaded through the middle, the Bexhill forward running clear from virtually the half way line, and credit to the Bexhill forward who had all the time in the world to think about what to do, eventually calmly rolling the ball past the keeper.
So, a perfect way for Bexhill to dust the cobwebs off after a month of inaction, and although Westfield's play certainly helped them, as Bexhill exploited the visitors' rustiness, when Bexhill are on form they are a joy to watch with their attacking, incisive play that causes big problems for defences in their own division, let alone a club from a step below. But of course, scorelines count for little and this evening was really just all about regaining match fitness levels after a month of having to "down tools"
No comments:
Post a Comment