East Sussex Football League quartet advance in Sussex County FA cup competitions

Bexhill AAC, Crowhurst and Westfield II went through to round three of the Sussex Intermediate Challenge Cup, while Ninfield reached the same stage of the Sussex Junior Challenge Cup.

Ben Barton's hat-trick fired AAC to a 3-0 home win over West Sussex League Premier Division side Barnham Trojans.

Crowhurst were 2-0 victors away to fellow East Sussex League Premier Division high-fliers Rye Town courtesy of second-half goals from Jay Edwards and substitute Alex Mulumba.

It was the first time reigning league champions Rye have been beaten in any competition this term.

Westfield made it eight straight wins in all competitions with a 3-0 success at home to Mid-Sussex League Premier Division outfit Rotherfield.

Fabio Pao struck twice in the first half for the in-form Westies, who will head to Southern Combination League Division Two team Storrington Community in the last 16 next month.

Crowhurst will also visit Southern Combination Division Two opposition in the form of Ferring, while AAC will be away to Harting or Rustington.

Ninfield netted three second-half goals without reply to record a 4-1 home triumph over Mid-Sussex League Division Three South leaders Eastbourne Athletic.

Joe Trigwell's hat-trick and one from Mark Franks put unbeaten East Sussex Division One outfit Ninfield through to an away last-16 tie against Portslade Athletic next month.

Meanwhile, Bexhill Rovers, Hawkhurst United and St Leonards Social all went through to round two of the Macron Store Hastings Cup.

Rovers ran out 5-1 winners in an all-Division Two affair at Robertsbridge United, extending their unbeaten record this season to seven matches in all competitions.

Bobby Bowles and Jay Tomlin netted twice each, and Anton Neil got the other for a Rovers side which led 4-1 at the break. Bradley Kipps struck for Robertsbridge.

Hawkhurst, of the Premier Division, were made to work for their 3-1 victory away to Division Three club Mountfield United.

Leon Fisher, Mark Mitchell and substitute George Lawrence found the net for the Hawks, while Aaron Brindley was on the scoresheet for Mountfield.

Social were pushed all the way by Westfield III before edging through 2-1 in another Division Three versus Premier Division encounter.

Sam Way scored for hosts Westfield in a game which was level at 1-1 at half time, but Social narrowly prevailed thanks to the finishing of Mark Larkin and Liam Miles.

The tie between Hastings Comets and Sedlescombe Rangers II was postponed.

There was also plenty of league action on Saturday and Punnetts Town went top of the Premier Division on the back of a 3-0 success at fourth-placed Sandhurst.

Connor Middleton's double and one from Michael Keefe put Punnetts above second-placed Rye on goal difference having played an extra match.

Hollington United cemented their position just inside the top half with a 2-0 home triumph against Sidley United.

Strikes by Casey Ham and Danny Spice did the damage for Hollington, while Sidley's cause wasn't helped by a red card.

The JC Tackleway remain just a point behind Hollington in seventh after Toby Payne's goal secured a 1-0 win at Bexhill Town - their third victory in four matches.

Two teams with 100 per cent records at the start of last weekend went head-to-head in Division One and Jesters Town extended theirs with a 5-1 home success against Peche Hill Select.

A Travis Parks brace, and one each from Shane Saunders, Joel Shannon and Charlie Piper gave the table-topping Jesters yet another resounding victory.

Ben Phipps' strike was nothing more than a consolation for Peche, who had won all of their previous league and cup games this season, scoring a glut of goals in the process.

Fourth-placed Herstmonceux moved above Peche, albeit having played once more, thanks to a 4-1 away win over Little Common II.

Two Bobby Allen goals, and one each by Mark Stillwell and Rory Collins earned Herstmonceux their third victory in five fixtures. Jay Abid replied for the Commoners.

Kieren Martin plundered a five-goal salvo as Battle Town II chalked up their first win of the campaign in style, thrashing Rock-a-Nore 8-1 away from home. Bobby Baldock, Jamie Smith and Giorgio Wingrove were also on target for Battle.

Sadly for them, however, their efforts will count for nothing as the Rocks have since withdrawn from the league and their record expunged. The table has been adjusted accordingly.

Rock-a-Nore are a long-standing East Sussex League club, winning the Premier Division title in 1988-89, 1989-90 and 1999-2000.

They were relegated from the Premier Division at the end of last season, however, and had failed to pick up a point in the early stages of the current campaign.

SC Pass+Move Arrows received a walkover at home to Hollington United II and are up to third, albeit having played more fixtures than anybody else in the second tier.

Division Two pacesetters Northiam 75 suffered their first defeat of the season, losing 2-1 away to a Crowhurst II side which is up two positions to second.

Rhys Warren's goal wasn't quite enough to prevent Northiam's six-match unbeaten start coming to an end as James McGrath and Ben Thorpe gave Crowhurst the spoils.

It means Northiam are just a point clear of the Crows and two better off than third-placed Bexhill Rovers, with the latter having a game in hand.

Rye Town II are fourth - three points back of Crowhurst having played a match fewer - following a 1-1 draw away to Victoria Baptists.

Barnaby Osborne came off the bench to equalise for Rye against a sixth-placed Victoria outfit which has drawn half of its six league contests. Chris May had put the Baptists ahead.

Hooe climbed above Victoria into the top five on the back of a 5-1 home success against Wadhurst United.

J. Walker, Callum Holt-Burgess, Charlie Cornford, Kenny Davison-Mitchell and Aidan Pierce were the five different scorers for Hooe.

Parkfield are still a point ahead of Catsfield at the summit of Division Three after both clubs added three more points to their respective tallies on Saturday.

Parkfield made it four wins in a row and five out of six with a 2-0 triumph at home to 10-man Welcroft Park Rangers II. James Graham and James Ticehurst grabbed the goals.

Catsfield won 4-2 on home turf for the second successive weekend, this time against Bexhill AAC II, to preserve the division’s sole remaining undefeated record.

Two Jacob Jones goals, and one each from Tom Andrew and Ben Newman got the job done for the Cats. Ronnie Gray and Leo Oliver responded for AAC, who finished with nine players.

Orington climbed up two more positions to fourth after making it back-to-back victories with a 3-0 home success against Sedlescombe Rangers Development.

Sonny Benton's brace and one from Sam Saunders continued the upturn in fortunes for a Orington team which propped up the division a fortnight ago.

The top three in Division Four all won, meaning The JC Tackleway II are still four points clear of second-placed Crowhurst III having played once more.

Brooklyn Pennells came off the bench to score a hat-trick as Tackleway triumphed 5-2 at Icklesham Casuals, giving them 19 points from a possible 21.

Steve Payne and Jordan Miller also got in on the act for Tackleway against a Casuals outfit still searching for its first point.

Crowhurst won for the fifth game in a row – and kept a third clean sheet in their last four outings – as they saw off Hawkhurst United II 6-0.

Nathan Dolby and Josh Pool netted twice each for the in-form Crows, whose other men on the mark were Joshua Naylor and Thomas Naylor.

Burwash remain just a point behind Crowhurst in third after extending their unbeaten start to six matches with a 4-2 home victory against Battle Town Development.

Jamie Pelling, Daniel Murrell and Alexander Underdown were among the scorers for Burwash, while Oliver Norris and Jack Ross retaliated for fourth-placed Battle.

Hastings Athletic and Robertsbridge United II both recorded their second draws of the campaign after sharing two goals at Bexhill Road.

A Steven Rowlands strike for seventh-placed Athletic was matched by substitute Alex Barrett for fifth-placed Robertsbridge.

RINGMER AFC

by Will Hugall

Ringmer AFC exited the Sussex Intermediate Challenge Cup at the second round stage as they lost a dramatic tie to Sedlescombe Rangers on penalties.

The Blues were well-matched in a goal-laden contest that finished 3-3 after 90 minutes, but just missed out on the lottery of spot-kicks, losing 4-2 in the shoot-out.

It was a loss that few would have expected given the dominance of an 8-2 league victory over Sedlescombe seven weeks earlier, but the hosts of this contest were much improved from then.

Goals from Emmanuel Kukoyi, Ahmed Mahmud and Alvin Scott saw Sedlescombe drive through the Ringmer defence on this occasion, while strikes from Sheldon Grimes and Edward Easton - who bagged a brace - had the Blues level at full-time.

The hosts then profited on penalties and secured their progress to the third round, where they will visit The Unicorn (Bognor Regis) of the West Sussex Football League Championship on November 11.

Ringmer, meanwhile, will reflect on a cup exit that extends their winless run to three matches, which has halted momentum after five wins from their first six matches.

The Blues visit 8th-placed Oxted & District in the MSFL Premier this Saturday (21 October), with a 2pm kick-off at Grange Meadow in Bletchingley, Surrey (RH1 4PE).

ESFL Standings (played-points) - Premier Division: Punnetts Town 8-19 (+19 goal difference), Rye Town 7-19 (+10), Westfield II 7-18 (+14), Sandhurst 8-15 (+5), Crowhurst 7-14 (+11), Hollington United 9-13 (+2), The JC Tackleway 9-12 (-2), Bexhill AAC 6-9 (-4), St Leonards Social 8-7 (-10), Hawkhurst United 8-6 (-16), Sidley United 7-3 (-14), Bexhill Town 8-(-)1 (-15). * = points adjusted

Division 1: Jesters Town 5-15 (+18), Ninfield 3-9 (+4), SC Pass+Move Arrows 6-9 (-2), Herstmonceux 4-6 (+3), Peche Hill Select 3-6 (+1), Little Common II 5-3 (-11), Hollington United II 3-0 (-6), Battle Town II 3-0 (-7). Rock-a-Nore withdrawn.

Division 2: Northiam 75 7-14 (+11), Crowhurst II 7-13 (+4), Bexhill Rovers 6-12 (+10), Rye Town II 6-11 (+10), Hooe 7-11 (+2), Victoria Baptists 6-9 (+1), Sedlescombe Rangers II 6-6 (0), Robertsbridge United 4-3 (-5), Wadhurst United 7-3 (-11), Sovereign Saints II 6-3 (-22).

Division 3: Parkfield 6-15 (+8), Catsfield 6-14 (+10), Ticehurst 6-10 (+3), Orington 7-8 (0), Mountfield United 5-8 (-1), Bexhill AAC II 6-7 (+5), Westfield III 4-4 (-3), Sedlescombe Rangers Development 6-4 (-16), Welcroft Park Rangers II 6-2 (-6).

Division 4: The JC Tackleway II 7-19 (+22), Crowhurst III 6-15 (+16), Burwash 6-14 (+12), Battle Town Development 7-9 (-1), Robertsbridge United II 6-8 (-7), Hastings Comets 5-6 (-6), Hastings Athletic 6-5 (-4), Hawkhurst United II 6-1 (-19), Icklesham Casuals 5-0 (-13).

Fixtures - Saturday October 21 (2pm unless stated)

Premier Division: Bexhill AAC v Hollington United, Crowhurst v Hawkhurst United, Punnetts Town v Westfield II, Rye Town v Sandhurst (1.30pm), Sidley United v Bexhill Town, The JC Tackleway v St Leonards Social.

Division 1: Herstmonceux v Battle Town II, Hollington United II v Little Common II, Peche Hill Select v Ninfield.

Division 2: Rye Town II v Northiam 75 (3.30pm), Victoria Baptists v Robertsbridge United II, Wadhurst United v Sedlescombe Rangers II.

Division 3: Mountfield United v Parkfield, Orington v Westfield III (3.30pm).

Division 4: Hastings Athletic v Hastings Comets (1.30pm).

ESFL Wisden Sports Challenge Cup, 1st round (1.30pm): Bexhill Rovers v Jesters Town, Sovereign Saints II v SC Pass+Move Arrows.Hastings & District FA Lower Divisions Cup, 1st round (1.30pm): Battle Town Development v Bexhill AAC II, Hawkhurst United II v Icklesham Casuals, Robertsbridge United II v Catsfield, Sedlescombe Rangers Development v Burwash, Ticehurst v The JC Tackleway II, Welcroft Park Rangers II v Crowhurst III.