Broadbridge Heath march on – Horsham YMCA suffer home woe – Roffey let in eight

Crowborough Ath 0 Broadbridge Heath 3

SCFL premier

(report submitted by Broadbridge Heath FC)

This was our first visit to Crowborough for several years, a venue that’s always difficult for clubs to get anything from and this season has been no different with the Crows having only lost two of their last eleven home matches which included a win against high-flying Crawley Down Gatwick.

Meanwhile the Bears were looking for a reaction to their FA Vase exit a week earlier. Charlie Parmiter was back in the side having missed the game against Ascot United but top scorer Lewis Croal was still missing through injury.

The hosts started the match kicking away from the clubhouse down the slope which they used to their advantage looking to play long balls quickly to their forwards while Heath played a contrasting style of football building from the back through midfield to their forwards.

The first chance of the match fell to the Crows No.10 Harry Forster who ran at the Heath defence, found a bit of space 20 yards from goal but blasted high and wide of target. At the other end Jamie Chesworth struck the post with a left foot shot before Parmiter setup Alex Barbary for a shot from the edge of the penalty area but the striker’s effort went inches wide of the left post before Parmiter too shot into the side netting.

The Crows responded well at the other end with Harrison Mayhew getting on the end of a left wing cross but he too put the ball into the side netting and Liam Matthews was forced to make a good save low to his left to prevent Mayhew from giving his side the lead.

The deadlock was broken 10 minutes before the break when a good move between Parmiter & Barbary who then played a low cross from the left back to Parmiter who was unmarked on the edge of the box and he took his time to compose himself before placing a right foot shot wide of the keeper into the bottom left corner.

Heath doubled their lead in the 58th minute, Jack Frankland crossed the ball from the right which took a deflection off a defender, the keeper came out to gather the ball but spilled it straight to Barbary who knocked it straight back into the empty net, 2-0 to the Bears.

The third goal came seven minutes before the end, Harry Mark took a corner from the left, Kyle Sim rose above everyone to head home at the near post for his first league goal of the season, ending a very good and solid team performance from the Bears.

MOM was voted as Kyle Sim

Manager Chris Simmons said afterwards: “It was great to not only bounce back from the disappointment of last weekend with a win and 3 points but a good all round performance and another clean sheet against a good young side.”

Next up is another tough home match for the Bears on Saturday (November 26) when Peacehaven & Telscombe are the visitors. Kick Off 3.00.

Bears: Matthews, Frankland, Chesworth, Weller, Sim, Brackpool, Penfold, Evans (Mark 73), Barbary, Parmiter, Lemon (Carvalho 68).

HorshamYMCA 1 Bexhill United 3

SCFL premier

by Martin Read

Horsham YMCA’s puzzlingly poor home form – with just two wins, lastly on 30th August, compared with 8 away successes - continued to haunt them at Gorings Mead last Saturday, when they went down 1-3 to visiting Bexhill United, who had knocked YM out of the FA Vase in September.

Because of weather postponements, this was YM’s first game for two weeks, and, as on previous occasions, they could not be faulted for effort, and created chances, but while the margin of victory might have been flattering to the East Sussex side, its goals that count.

YM started brightly with an early corner amid several Jonathan Kusaka forays. Bexhill responded with a corner of their own, then letting YM off the hook when Aaron Jeal could only parry a shot, the rebound being blazed over. YM re-grouped with 3 more corners, only for the visitors’ prolific scorer, Jack Shonk, to add to his seasonal tally with an opportunistic goal just before half time.

After the break YM surged forward twice, but Jeal was then obliged to save with his feet, the defence being stretched, until a rather soft goal from Aaron Cook doubled Bexhill’s advantage. YM were suddenly under the cosh - until, in the 81st minute - a shove in the box allowed Josh Neathey to get them onto the scoresheet with a well-taken penalty. But, a subsequent breakthrough saw James Stone put the result beyond doubt with a late goal. To their credit, YM earned another corner despite the outcome already having been determined.

After slipping to 13th, YM remain at home on Saturday, for the visit of 16th-placed Uckfield.

Little Common 8 Roffey 2

SCFL premier

by Sam Chapman

Jack Munday’s team had a nightmare trip to the east of the county without seven of the squad that had played in the previous game.

Kaine Stephens, Jack Stafford, Alex Penfold, Ethan Prill Mark Wardell and Ollie Brown were all unavailable for a variety of reasons and Luke Roberts had been reunited with his former coach at Alfold.

On the bright side Jake Relleen returned to the team but could only play for an hour due to work commitments. Ricardo Fernandes also started after rejoining the Boars.

It all started so well with Roffey bossing the first quarter of an hour and Tiago Andrade feeding Morgan Prill and Jehobi Maher who both went close. On ten minutes a move down the right ended up with Josh Maher finishing clinically at the far post to give the visitors a deserved lead.

The whole game shanged between the 21st and 33rd minute with Freddie Warren getting between Maher and Jacob Bennett from a long clearance and finishing clinically and Lewis Hole turning in a deflected free kick.

Fernandes was then booked after a scuffle on the ground with a defender and two minutes later earned a second yellow when bringing Hole down in the area, Sam Cruttwell buried the penalty. With ten men it was important that Roffey got to half time still in touch but Cruttwell smashed a 40 yard free kick into the top corner in the last minute before the interval.

Cruttwell carried on after two minutes of the second half bending the ball home from the edge of the box. Two more goals followed from breaks down Roffey’s right flank and another from a goalmouth scramble from a corner.

Roffey still tried to get forward rather than parking the bus and Jahobi Maher hit a dipping shot over Matt Cruttwell to complete the scoring. A strange footnote in a game with no bad fouls and both sides having their share of free kicks... five Roffey players were shown yellow cards with none of the home side cautioned.

Munday will hope to have several of his players back along with a couple of new faces for the visit to Crowborough this week.

Roffey: Bennett, Jannels(Wood), Josh Maher, Collins, Jacques, Relleen(Chantrill), Barry, Jahobi Maher Fernandes, Andrade, Prill.