Garnham double keeps Lancers flying

he Lancers, still six points behind leaders Rye but with a game in hand, have now won seven consecutive matches in County League Division 1 and joint boss Martin Gander said: “I thought we were excellent. The back four were particularly strong and we controlled the game in midfield.

“The first half wasn’t easy because we were kicking uphill, so it was difficult to get the ball forward quickly. But in the second half things were a little easier going downhill and Lee Garnham was a real threat going forward.

“Tony Di Bernardo made a couple of important stops in the first quarter-of-an-hour but after that he didn’t have all that much to do.

“If you’d have said to me at the start of the season that we would be second in the table at this stage then I would have snapped your hand off. Now we just need to keep it going until the end of the season.

“Obviously, Rye have the points on the board and it will be difficult to catch them. But I think we have the quality to keep in touch and push them all the way.”

Di Bernardo was forced to pull off two stops in the opening 10 minutes as the home side used the sloping pitch to their advantage.

But Lancing took the lead in the 20th minute when Charlie Walker dashed past two Ringmer defenders and crossed for Garnham to head in from six yards.

The away side dominated the second half when kicking downhill and Titus Paterson twice went close when one-on-one, while a long-range effort from defender Sam O’Regan almost doubled Lancing’s lead.

Garnham then sealed victory for Gander’s side 10 minutes from time when he latched on to Darren Boswell’s long pass and slotted into the bottom right-hand corner.

Sub Stacey Freeman went within a whisker of adding a third in injury-time as Lancers eased to a comfortable victory.