Bexhill United 4 v 0 Wick

Wednesday 7th October 2020, Kick-off 19.30
Sussex Senior Cup 1st Round

The Polegrove, Bexhill-on-Sea

Admission: £5.00

Programme: £1.00

Attendance: 168

This evening I took in my second Sussex Senior Cup tie on consecutive evenings, with my second visit of the season to The Polegrove, and the fourth time watching Bexhill United. 

It’s certainly a good time to be watching the Pirates, who are continuing their fabulous start to their season, and remain the only unbeaten club in the three divisions of the Southern Combination League. After I saw them win 1-2 at Seaford last Tuesday, they dispatched Arundel 6-0 at home, and with Littlehampton only drawing - only thanks to an injury time equaliser - at home to Seaford on Saturday, Bexhill climbed to the top of Division One, after six straight wins. Wick were one the clubs fancied to do well this season, so their start to their Division One campaign has been disappointing, winning one and drawing one of their five league games so far, although they did progress in the FA Vase, beating AFC Croydon Athletic 2-1 at home, and will play Saltdean United, of the Premier Division of the SCFL, at home in the next round on Saturday. When tonight's two clubs met in the opening game of this season, Bexhill won 0-3 away at Wick.

The programme has undergone a makeover since my previous visit three weeks ago, with a bright, colourful cover featuring the town's iconic De La Warr pavilion. Consisting of 32 pages, it's a decent read, with welcome messages from the chairman and manager, introduction to the opposition, stats and league information for the first team and younger age groups, as well as some interesting historical articles.

On an evening that was mild, starting dry but with ever increasing drizzle sweeping in, and with a gusty wind towards the end, kick off was delayed by about 5 minutes for one of the more unusual reasons - a Bexhill player being unable to remove his sovereign ring from his finger. Once the game finally did start, the opening was quite even, with Wick have a one on one chance smothered by the keeper on 5 minutes, but Bexhill took the lead on 13 minutes. A drilled shot from waist height was parried by the keeper, but only to the feet of Kyle Holden, who tucked the ball home. Three minutes later, and the home side put the ball in the net again following a quick break leaving two against one, but as the ball was laid off to a team mate who then rolled the ball home, the linesman put his flag up for offside. Shortly after, Jack MacLean drove in from the left wing and saw his low shot from a narrow angle go just wide of the far post. And indeed, Bexhill went on to create plenty of chances, finally doubling their lead on 35 minutes following a sprint down the middle, outpacing the defence before the ball was laid off to his team mate, 16 year old Freddie Legg, who tucked the ball home. And within a couple of minutes it was pretty much game over thanks to a mix up between the keeper and his defenders which saw the keeper spill the ball from his grasp near the edge of his area, and Evan Archibald stroked the ball into the unguarded net. Wick did have a great chance to pull a goal back on 40 minutes, Harry Williams' powerful header towards the top left corner forcing an excellent save at full stretch by the Bexhill keeper. But they would certainly have a mountain to climb after the break to force penalties.

As it turned out, the second half saw Bexhill comfortably maintaining their lead, as Wick never threatened to get a goal back after the break, and it was Bexhill who had created the few chances that came along. And with virtually the last kick of the game, Bexhill scored their fourth by winger Maclean, who showed good football before lashing the ball low across the keeper and inside the far post. And so Bexhill look forward to the next round following a commanding performance this evening.

Hailsham Town 6 v 0 Roffey

Tuesday 6th October 2020, kick-off 19.30
Sussex Senior Cup 1st Round
The Beaconsfield, Hailsham
Admission: £5.00
Programme: 50p
Attendance: 83

With an absence of fixtures in the Southern Combination League this evening, my attention turned to finding a game in the opening round of the Sussex Senior Cup this evening, and I decided to continue my tour of local clubs in midweeks this season with a visit to The Beaconsfield, for this evenly matched looking tie.

A couple of cosmetic improvements have taken place around The Beaconsfield since my last visit in September 2019. Above the turnstile block, an eye catching sign in club colours of green and yellow spelling out "Hailsham Town" has been installed, and a similar sign has been installed along the top of the covered terrace steps. Also, the simple whiteboard showing team line-ups, which was hung on the exterior wall of the clubhouse, has just been replaced with a much larger board which is now "permanently" attached to the wall, again in club colours and with the club crest on. Covid precautions were extensive, with track and trace mandatory via the NHS app or by paper, temperatures were taken, and gel was available. Signage was plentiful, and the clubhouse complied with the requirements in offering either takeaway or table service, as well as having a one way system in place. Hailsham continue to produce an excellent paper programme, and excellent value at just 50p, consisting of 36 pages covering interesting features to read, stats and facts of the league season, and a presentation of the opposition - amongst many other items of interest.

This fixture would be between clubs both competing in the Southern Combination League Division One, and a glance at the league table suggested an evenly matched tie, both clubs not making the best of starts to their campaigns. Hailsham had won one and lost the remainder of their five league games played for, conceding 21 goals in the process, and bowed out of the FA Vase at the first hurdle, losing 0-3 at home to AFC Varndeanians. Roffey have won two and drawn one of their seven league games. The two sides have already met at The Beaconsfield in the league this season, less than a month ago, with Roffey winning 0-5, during a nightmare opening to the season for Hailsham, coming after a 1-6 defeat at home to Littlehampton Town and a 7-2 loss away at Mile Oak.

On a mild and dry evening - thankfully so after rain fell towards the end of the working day - this was a surprisingly one-sided game, with Hailsham impressing with good intensity and hunger in their play, always seeming to be first to the loose balls, harrying the Roffey players into mistakes, and as a result the visitors never seemed to get going and seemed half a yard off the pace. Hailsham took the lead with just two minutes on the clock when, playing on with advantage following a foul, Joey Pout saw his low shot from outside the area take a deflection and the ball nestled in the far left corner. They doubled their lead on 17 minutes, Ellis Webster crossing the ball low from the left wing, and Rhys Taylor drilled the ball home first time from the edge of the area. Roffey did then manage to create a couple of half chances to half the deficit, but it was Hailsham who scored their third goal on 40 minutes, Pout crossing the ball low from the left for Taylor to guide the ball home.

The tie really was all over as a contest on 52 minutes when Hailsham scored their fourth, following good build up play and Connor Townsend whipped the ball past the keeper on the turn. Roffey had nothing left to play for but pride by now, but they conceded a fifth on 65 minutes. A free kick from close to the corner flag was whipped into the near post and Pout glanced the ball past the keeper. And on 78 minutes, Hailsham scored their sixth when his waist heigh shot from outside the area took a big deflection to divert the ball past the wrong footed keeper. And so it was Hailsham who proceed to the next round, and gained some revenge for their five goal home defeat in the league last month.

Cornard United 1 v 3 Fakenham Town

Saturday 3rd October 2020
Eastern Counties League Division One North
Blackhouse Lane, Great Cornard
Admission: £6.00
Programme: £1.00
Attendance: 70 (estimate)

As if Covid-19 isn't giving everyone involved with football enough headaches at the moment, Storm Alex decided he would add to the mix, bringing heavy, almost constant rain to southern England for the 24 hours leading up to kick-off today. I decided I would play things relatively safe, heading to Sudbury, where the weather was forecast to clear earlier than to the west. My first choice was a visit to Cornard United, with Long Melford as a back-up, and if all else failed, a revisit to the plastic pitch of AFC Sudbury. Although a tweet from Cornard at 12.30 stated that a pitch inspection was still pending, it was confirmed as “Game On” half an hour later, just as my train was approaching Sudbury.

Blackhouse Lane is about a 25 minute, mile and a half way south eastwards from Sudbury train station, located right on the southern extremity of the village of Great Cornard, and the rolling hills of the countryside beyond makes for a pleasant backdrop. Nestled between the grounds of Sudbury Rugby Club, a secondary school, and quite a large expanse of playing fields, entrance is gained in one corner of the ground, with the gates having an eye catching mural on it, and with a welcome sign / fixture board to one side. The NHS track and trace QR code was posted on the inside of the entrance gate to scan, temperatures were taken and a wash station pedestal was located just beyond a wooden shed where admission is paid. Quite a large stand straddles the half way line, containing three rows of individual plastic seats, with plenty of social distancing between rows. Views are elevated but slightly restricted by supporting pillars along the front. On the opposite side is the clubhouse building, with a fairly spacious bar inside, a tea bar hatch on the outside, around which some overhang provides cover for a flat standing area. A few tables and chairs were also scattered on the grass to one side of the building. Around the rest of the ground there is just hard standing. Happily, a 24 page paper programme was issued, and was colourful and informative, with an introduction to both the home and visiting clubs, a welcome message from the manager, stats and facts from the league, news about the reserve team, player interview and a half time puzzle page.

Cornard United have had a fairly average start to their season, winning one and drawing two of their opening six league games. They have certainly tried to shine a spotlight on the club with some marquee signings in recent times. After registering former Premier League player Marcus Bent last season (although he would only make one appearance for the club), for this season they signed Jake Quickenden, better known for his appearances on The X Factor, I'm a Celebrity and Dancing on Ice, and has made three appearances so far, but those were in the opening three games and has not played since. I have already seen Fakenham Town play this season, when they won in quite impressive style at Downham Town, and they have continued their good form, coming into this game still unbeaten in the league, following three wins and a draw from their opening four league games, and they progressed in the opening round of the FA Vase, beating Diss Town 0-1 away.

On a very overcast but mild afternoon, with the occasional shower passing through, the visitors started very much on the front foot, with their first good chance coming with barely two minutes on the clock, when a low shot was parried by the keeper into the danger area but just evaded a tap in before being cleared. On seven minutes, the ball was floated diagonally into the box, and Joshua Youngs managed to get to the ball just before the keeper but his header sent the ball into the side netting. The seemingly inevitable came on ten minutes, when Jack Robinson beat the full back to get to the byline before pulling the ball back low for Ashley Jarvis to strike the ball into the net. Cornard did respond well to going behind, and they won a penalty on 18 minutes for a trip towards the edge of the area. But keeper Thomas Coombe saved the penalty low to his right, and the loose ball was tapped behind for a corner. On 27 minutes, Cornard almost gifted the visitors a goal after a defensive mix up when a defender headed the ball back but the keeper was out of position and the ball bounced agonisongly towards the goal, but the keeper was just able to get back and hoof the ball clear on the line. On 37 minutes, it was Fakenham's turn to be awarded a penalty, after the ball was played into Jarvis and he was fouled as he tried to knock the ball past the defender. Jarvis himself got up and converted with a powerful finish down the middle. Cornard halved the deficit a minute before the break following an excellent diagonal pass found Charlie Gilbert on the right wing, and he just managed to turn inside and wriggle clear of a defender - with the suspicion of a helping hand - before firing low across the keeper, to ensure it was all very much to play for after the break.

However, on 52 minutes, the visitors restored their two goal lead. A free kick was needlessly given away for a push close to the corner flag, which was floated into the box by Sturman, and Jarvis got a faint header on the ball to divert it off the inside of the far post and into the net, to complete his hat-trick. There was plenty of huff and puff from Cornard, but never really looked like they'd get back in the game, and it was Fakenham who had some decent chances to further extend their lead, but were twice denied by the keeper.