Hope lives on for Roffey – Broadbridge Heath title bid suffers setback Hassocks beat Lingfield

Roffey 2 -2 Little Common

by Sam Chapman for Roffey

Roffey hosted Little Common at Horsham FC due to the waterlogged pitch at the Theatre of Trees. With a 4.15pm start Saltdean’s victory over Alfold was known before the end of then game and it became clear that a victory would be required to keep Saltdean within reach at the bottom of the SCFL premier.

For the second week running Roffey conceded a penalty in the first few minutes and again it appeared to be a wrong decision both at the time and on the match video as Mark Bevan challenged a visiting striker.

One nil down early, it took Roffey twenty minutes to get into their stride against a very direct Little Common side. Kelvin Lucas broke into the area and crossed for George Cousins to shoot against the post and see the keeper scoop the ball out from what looked like behind the goal line but no goal was given.

Tiago Andrade put Ricardo Fernandes through but he blasted the ball to close to the keeper. Maher and Cousins hit shots over as Roffey upped their game and after a slick passing move Cousins hit the ball into the roof of the net from fifteen yards for the equaliser.

The second half continued with Roffey having the majority of possession and Little Common looking to break. One of these attacks saw Jasper Sheikh have to get down smartly to save from Hole.

Roffey continued to press and forced several corners one of which was only half cleared and when the ball was fed back into the area Andrade turned his man but could only fire over from 6 yards.

Against the run of play Little Common retook the lead when a lows hot found the bottom corner of Sheikhs goal. Roffey now needed two goals in the last twenty minutes.

The equaliser eventually came from yet another corner with Jamie Wanstall timing his run perfectly to head into the top corner. The final few minutes saw Roffey throw everything at the visitors but they could not find a winner and nearly conceded another penalty when the referee waved away Little Common’s appeals.

So although the gap to Alfold is now only two points, Saltdean are all but mathematically out of reach. However if Roffey can avoid finishing bottom there is still a chance that the restructuring of the divisions for next season could include only one being relegated as was the case last season.

Roffey: Sheikh, Prill, Bevan(Baldwin), Wanstall, Gibbs, Fortune, Lucas, Fernandes, Cousins, Andrade, Maher(Maunder). Subs: Carmo, Collins, Relleen.

Roffey 2-2 Little Common

report from Little Common FC

Less than forty-eight hours after their previous fixture, Little Common made another journey into Horsham to take on Roffey on Saturday afternoon.

The match itself was switched to Horsham FC’s ground to ensure it went ahead following another bad spell of weather.

The Commoners made one change to their starting line up with Josh Turner coming in to replace the injured Ollie Weeks. Despite the hosts enjoying a positive start to the game and hitting the post within the opening minute, it was Common who opened the scoring in the 5th minute when Sam Cruttwell converted a penalty following a foul on Freddie Warren.

In a fairly even contest both teams had chances to add to the scoring, Warren saw a shot graze the top of the bar and Sam Ellis fizzed in a shot that flashed across the face of the goal. Roffey did not look like a team placed at the bottom of the table and created a number of chances themselves, Matt Cruttwell twice saving well whilst wayward finishing saw two efforts clear the crossbar.

The equaliser arrived in the 25th minute when a ball into the area was laid into the path of George Cousins who made no mistake from eight yards.

It was the hosts who started the second half stronger, knowing that a win was vital in their bid to avoid the drop. Andrade should have given them the lead when a neat turn in the box left him with just Cruttwell to beat but he fired his effort over the crossbar.

Surprisingly, it was Common who regained the lead in the 70th minute when Ellis drove forward and unleashed an effort which beat the home keeper at his near post. The lead didn’t last long, and the hosts were soon level when Jamie Wanstall rose highest to head home from a corner.

Alvin Scott saw a late penalty appeal waved away when he appeared to have been clipped in the area but both teams had to settle for a point leaving the hosts needing to win all three of their remaining games to have any chance of avoiding relegation.

Broadbridge Heath 1-3 Crowborough

Broadbridge Heath held a special charity day for St Catherine’s and invited mascots from the youth sides to enjoy the last home game of the season in front of an impressive 304 crowd. But the game ended in defeat for SCFL premier title hopefuls Heath as Crowborough were more clinical in front of goal, ending Heath’s run of 12 games unbeaten.

Heath looked unsettled at the back for probably the first time this season and after only five minutes Crowborough took the lead through Elliot Duncan. Heath began to settle and after good build-up down the right, Matt Penfold drove into the box and shot – but it was blocked by the sliding Thomas Boddy.

Five minutes later Doughty nicked the ball from the full-back and shot from long distance which was well saved by the Crowborough keeper.

On 38 minutes a 20-yard screamer from Heath’s Jack Frankland levelled the score as Heath started to push for the lead Mason Doughty dragged a shot just wide of the post to the relief of the scrambling keeper. HT 1-1

On 50 minutes a free-kick from Heath’s Charlie Weller was attacked by Brad Peters but he was flattened by the advancing keeper, the penalty shouts were waved away by the referee and then on 54 minutes an attack by Crowborough was poorly defended and not cleared and Jacob Lambert smashed the ball past Matthews to give Crowborough a 1-2 lead.

It was Matthews to the rescue again as a long range shot from Lambert was tipped brilliantly on to the crossbar and then away to safety.

On 90 minutes Crowborough got their third, again it was poorly defended down the left side and then an unusual error from Brackpool gifted Lambert with his second of the game to end Heath’s chances.

Heath should have pulled one back straight from the kick-off, Taylor putting Barbary clean through on goal, only for him to hit it straight at the advancing keeper. A disappointing performance and result for Heath but against a very good Crowborough side

MOM; Liam Matthews

Heath boss Chris Simmons said afterwards: “We didn’t defend well as a side and we didn’t win enough first or second balls but we actually played pretty well for 60 minutes and had chances, but Crowborough were excellent and were more clinical In front of goal. It was a real shame because it was a great day for the club and charity on a beautiful day for football with a brilliant crowd – but that’s football!”

Heath’s title bid moves on to Midhurst on Thursday evening.

Lingfield 1 Hassocks 3

With Godstone Road unable to host Lingfield against Hassocks, the Beacon found itself with a bonus fixture on the penultimate weekend of the Southern Combination League premier division season.

The Robins put this unexpected home advantage to good use, running out 3-1 winners to snap their seven game winless streak and boost their chances of a first top half Premier Division finish since 2014.

Victory kept Hassocks 10th in the standings, moving them three points and four goals ahead of Little Common, who have a game in hand.

The Robins know a win over Eastbourne Town in their final game of the campaign will secure their top 10 placing, an excellent achievement in James Westlake’s first year in charge.

This clash with Lingfield was the third time the sides have met this season. A Conor Wilford own goal which went viral with over 750,000 views on Twitter handed Hassocks a 1-0 FA Cup Extra Preliminary Qualifying Round win back in August whilst the previous league clash ended in a thrilling 2-2 draw.

Neither game had been particularly feisty, so it was something of a surprise to see questionable challenges flying in from both teams in a heated 90 minutes.

Such was the tension that even Mike Williamson found himself in the middle of it. The normally placid and well-mannered midfielder was the victim of a terrible Haydn Dickinson tackle five minutes before half time worthy of a red card.

Dickinson followed up with a headbutt in the ruckus which followed, something referee Daniel Cooper must have missed. Nothing else could explain why it went unpunished with only Sam Smith ending up in the book. Williamson then found himself serving a 10 minute spell in the sin bin early in the second half after Wilford converted a penalty which brought the scores to 2-1.

Not that playing shorthanded bothered Hassocks, their third goal of the afternoon arriving via Liam Benson whilst Williamson watched on from the bench.

It was Benson who opened the scoring for the Robins with 14 minutes on the clock via a poacher’s finish. Hassocks had a penalty claim so strong that the 21 other players on the pitch all stopped, waiting for Mr Cooper to point to the spot.

Benson though was not taking any chances and his decision to play to the whistle paid off when he smashed a right footed strike into the bottom corner after Mr Cooper remarkably said no penalty.

The Robins doubled the advantage on 37 minutes with a superb passing move which swept from one end to the other.

It began with James Shaw taking a short goal kick and ended with Super Pat Harding firing a clinical low drive beyond Lingers goalkeeper Tommy Sceal.

Falling two behind clearly did not sit well with Lingfield as the incident involving Dickinson came next, leaving the Robins incensed.

Hassocks channelled this anger in the right way, fashioning two more opportunities in the little time remaining before the break.

Jack Troak came on a charge forward from left back, only to hit a volley over the goal, the fence behind the goal and the trees on its way to the railway track. It was the second Troak shot of the afternoon to pose a danger to passing trains following an almost identical effort resulting in a lost ball in the seventh minute.

Benson then had the ball in the back of the net on the stroke of half time, only for the goal to be correctly chalked off by the assistant referee for offside.

Lingfield enjoyed their best period immediately after the restart. Shaw was forced into a flying save on the stretch from Richard Wetton before Hassocks conceded that penalty on 56 minutes.

It was confidently despatched by Wilford, going someway towards banishing the memory of his fantastic own goal from eight months ago.

Having just scored and with Hassocks down to 10 for a period, the momentum should have been with Lingfield. The Robins therefore deserve a huge amount of credit for the way they not only nullified their opponents, but went onto kill the game off with the final goal of the afternoon.

Troak was the creator, delivering a beautiful ball from the left which Benson headed home from five yards for his 18th goal of the campaign.

Lingfield were left deflated and the game petered out from there with only one further opportunity coming for either side.

It fell to Harvey Blake, who ran the length of the pitch to beat three men and smash an effort last seen flying towards Hurstpierpoint for a third lost ball, much to the chagrin of Dave John.

Hassocks: Shaw; Blake, S Smith, Bygraves, Troak; Loversidge, Williamson, J Westlake, Bull; Harding, Benson. Subs: Bradley (Bull 70), Parker-Williams (Harding 75) Rogers (Westlake 80), Wilkes (Loversidge 82), Broomfield (unused).

SCOTT McCARTHY