Matchday Reports

Featured

Away vs Hangleton FC

Hangleton FC vs Sands United FC Brighton and Hove

Sussex Sunday Football League Division 6

1800 Thursday 10th September 2020

Attendance 22

Final Score 0-3 (HT 0-1)

Sunday league football on a Thursday night. What a treat!

More importantly, what commitment from the squad, despite an awkward kick off time, players traveled far and wide to make it and amazingly manager Jamie Stratton had to rotate due to so many being available.
The opening day defeat hadn’t dampened spirits.

Jamie shuffled the pack with Dan replacing Jake in goal, Aaron replacing Chris to partner Allan in defence, swapping Wayne’s at left back and Callum coming in at right back.
Danny was to make his first appearance this season alongside Luke and Jason in midfield, leaving TK, Andy and Louie up top with Joe and George making way, joining Ant, Martin and Tim on the bench.

Jamie’s message to the team was as before, we want to play high pace, pressure based game, keeping defenders on the back foot…
The boys were ready to get the first points of the season against a team hotly tipped to be contenders.

Minutes Silence for World Suicide Prevention Day

The game started as a cagey affair, it seems both sides had similar intentions, to pressure and force mistakes.
This meant there was little being played in the midfield, with both teams playing the channels for field position and causing problems from there.

It’s fair to say that Hangleton had the more dangerous chances early on, they picked their moments well to play to the channels and managed to get in behind.
However, Aaron and Allan were resolute in the middle of defence and quashed deliveries into them.
It’s worth highlighting how well those two paired at CB. Allan stepping out to meet aerial threats and Aaron with the pace to cover.
Dove tailed by exceptional performances from Callum and Wayne either side, this was to be basis Sands could build on through the game.

As mentioned earlier, neither team really put a solid spell of possession together, but that’s not to say Sands didn’t create problems.
Louie and TK ran the channels tirelessly, chasing the kinds of balls that if wingers get onto the end of, are brilliant passes, but can be disguised as timely clearances also.
The first goal threat came in that vein as TK took down a ball from Allan to beat his full back and deliver towards Louie at the back post only to see it whistle just past him.
It was clear the Hangleton defence weren’t comfortable on the ball, but seemingly determined to play from the back.
This was music to the ears of Andy, TK and Louie as they refused to allow the defence to play out, winning the ball deep in opposition territory several times.
A moment of squeaky bum time for the keeper as he used the defender as a diversion to drag past the oncoming TK, wrongly thinking he had more time, TK nicked the ball from him forcing some last ditch defending to stop Jason having a sight at goal.

From here, the tone was set for 20 minutes, with Hangleton getting themselves into trouble and Sands using Andy and Luke as trouble makers from Jason’s long throws and corners.

Sands were growing in confidence and some nice link up play between TK and Jason allowed the overlap from Callum to get a shot away.

Jason was in the thick of it again, picking up a loose ball, beating a man and stinging the keepers palms.

Luke then won a header. It went over.

With 15 minutes to go in the half, it was beginning to feel like a similar situation to Sunday, all the threat, but no final product.

The first half momentum started to swing back to Hangleton.
A few fouls allowed them to really challenge in the box, a couple of goal mouth scrambles and some poor defending from a corner really had Sands lucky not to be 1 down.

A shout from Luke really summed up the feeling.
“We’re fine, we survived, now we go”
He was right.
For 10 minutes, Hangleton had thrown the kitchen sink at us and but for a few ranging shots and some resolute defending, Sands stood firm.

It felt like a turning point.
That we weren’t there to make up numbers.
That we were, in our own right a football team.
Confidence grew.

The ball started to stay on the floor with Danny and Luke combining well in the middle to control possession and allow movement further forward.
Danny was becoming a thorn in the side of Hangleton midfield, turning defence into attack quickly, just before half time, Hangleton had enough and chopped him down having turned through 2 players.

With little time left in the half Allan went up. We very much had the height with Andy, Luke and Allan in the box.
They combined brilliantly.

Jasons freekick found Andy, who flicked the ball across the goal to a waiting Luke, in yards of space and nothing to do but cushion the goal.
He 50p’d it into Allan though, who finished!

0-1 Sands!

Jamie, Luke and TK were the main voices at half time and unlike Sunday, there wasn’t an air of hope… It was confidence.
Sands were already growing into the season, we’d taken a team many expected us to struggle against and condemn them to half chances.
It was time for Sands to push on from here and start to play the football we’d been practicing.

Spirits were high and Sands started the second half like a team wanting to kill a game off.

Possession was won back immediately from the Hangleton kick leading to a Luke shooting into the keeper.

There was an inevitable rally from Hangleton, but the back 4 were again immense.
Every header saw Allan tower above, every pass cut out by Aaron, every dribble attempt mopped up by Callum and every 50/50 won by Wayne.
This was a defence determined.

Sands hasn’t quite maintained the settled approach we’d ended the first half with, but with the fresh legs of Joe replacing Louie, we had another quick outlet to get us on our way.

He was in thick of it soon, meeting the keeper after a lofted ball, not backing out and winning possession for us high up the pitch and the keeper with a sore ankle.

He was rewarded with the resulting throw dropping to him and allowing a strike on goal that didn’t trouble the keeper.

Before long another pivotal moment.
Some composed play from Wayne drew a freekick deep in the Sands half, chasing another goal, we committed forward and a few fortuitous headers had the Hangleton striker through on goal.
Many will say he put the ball wide, but full credit to Dan, who had been picking up several long balls from Hangleton and aware of the danger, was off his line incredibly quickly.
He forced the striker to find a finish, he couldn’t. Full credit to Dan.

From there, Hangleton heads really dropped.
George was introduced to replace Andy, who should have been rewarded for his efforts with an assist were it not for Luke’s heading ability to steal the spotlight.

George, full of running and determination was not what Hangleton needed.
His momentum lifted Sands and we were back at the races.

Callum mopped up another attack down the right and passed into TK who stood defender up, dropped a shoulder and saw his cross go off for a corner.
Jason delivered, George towered, you know the rest.

0-2 Sands!

With light fading and momentum shifting, Sands started to play some of their best football.
Tim was Introduced to replace Wayne after he landed awkwardly making another excellent challenge. Jason dropped in to the left back role to cover for the eventual man of the match, but five minutes later, he had to be replaced by Martin after cramping up on the side of the pitch.

Hangleton to their credit, ramped up the pressure on Sands trying to force errors, but it was too late, Sands had the wind in their sails.
Danny was dictating in a deep role, finding little triangles with the defence and midfield and Hangleton were chasing shadows and gaps were appearing.

We were playing good football.

At this stage, Luke was replaced as central striker by Ant, who worked tirelessly keeping the defenders occupied for the remainder of the game, creating space for his wide men to do a lot of work on the wings, the final ball just lacking the accuracy to put him in on goal.

That’s not to say we’d forgotten what got us to the dance, TK who had tirelessly pressured the defence, again won the ball high up the field and played in George.
Somehow, George both managed to cross the ball and finish the cross?
The keeper spilled the delivery high into the air and George leaped above to cushion into an empty net.

0-3 Sands.

Little more than 10 minutes left and whilst Hangleton pressed to get a consolation goal, the calming effect of Tim in the middle and the enormous defensive display meant nothing more than half chances fell to Hangleton.

If anything, Sands could have got a 4th with TK riding the challenge of 3 players to curl a ball into Joe who was through on goal. A tame shot, in dying light, but the game was won.

FT Hangleton 0 – 3 Sands

Exceptional performances all over the pitch tonight with an immense foundational display from the defence.
A coming of age performance perhaps for this Sands team?

Next up, Hove Park Wednesday.

Featured

Away vs Crawley Tamil Sports Club

Crawley Tamil Sports Club vs Sands United FC Brighton and Hove

Sussex Sunday Football League Division 6

1030am Sunday 6th September 2020

Attendance 79+2 Dogs

Final Score 2-1 (HT 1-0)

Any groggy heads from an early wake up for what will be one of our longer away days were quickly shaken off as the team started to come together and pre match excitement started to grow.

Both teams join for a minutes silence in memory of Spike and Jayaraja

With pre season preparations complete, a clear identity and way of playing to our team in season 2, manager Jamie Stratton made it clear what was expected.

A lay off the size of the one Covid 19 had presented to us was going to go two ways.
A slow, cagey affair with neither team taking the ascendancy early or someone racing out the blocks and controlling the game early.

Thankfully, Sands took the latter option.

Camping

Early on Sands were camped out in the Tamil half with the opposition offering little more than long punts that Chris and Allan comfortably dealt with.

Before long we had our first clear chance.
Some composed play from Wayne sent Joe in behind the Tamil defence, earning a corner. Jason floated the delivery to the edge of the box where Joe met the ball well only to see it cleared on the line. A stinging drive followed from Jamie Hyde.

From there Tamil started to show signs of life, but Jamie Hyde was thwarting their attempts to play through the middle, mopping up in front of the back four and setting us on our way.

Sands had been on top for 25 minutes, but has failed to make clear cut opportunities and were made to pay the price.
A clearance from Tamil turned into a fortunate pass to their forward players, some neat play between the lines resulted in a speculative effort that nestled into the top corner, giving Jake no chance.

Shortly after Jamie looked to his bench to mix things up with TK coming on for Callum, who been giving his full back problems from the beginning. George was moved to the wing to do the same.

Tamil were continuing to grow into the game, but playing for field position more than anything and Sands continued to be the more dangerous side.

Close!

Niggly fouls started to make their way into the game as both sides were frustrated.
A clipped in freekick from Jason was inches from a diving Joe and a brilliant low driven freekick from Luke was somehow, in unorthodox fashion tipped over the bar.

The resulting corner lead to Chris looping a header onto the bar, towering over Tamil.

The biggest talking point from the half came as George judged a ball over the defence better than the defender, at which point he decided to handle the ball out of George’s path.
Everybody stopped, except the referee, who casually asked the home linesman if he saw it. He claimed he didn’t.
That somehow resulted in a goal kick… Answers on a postcode.

Emotions were high and Sands were gutted to have not have the reward their first half had deserved. Not in the character of the team or what we stand for, we didn’t let the decision go and as we started to get on the referees back, what seemed like fewer and fewer decisions were going our way.

At half time the message was clear.
Continue what we were doing and chances will come.
A rousing speech from Andy and the team looked ready.

9 Men

However, the hangover from previous refereeing decisions was to cost us.

Shortly into the second half, both Jason and Jamie found themselves in the sinbin for challenging refereeing decisions.

Sands were down to 9.

Tamil knew they had a chance to put the game to bed and we’re growing in stature.
Their defenders were starting to drive forward with the ball and making use of the 2 man advantage.

Most teams would’ve sat back and taken a 10 minute bombardment.
Sands United aren’t most teams.

Joe and George tucked in to support TK in the middle as he took a deeper role.
Being down to 9 men seemed to invigorate Sands… Tackles had more bite, tracking back easier, forward runs more urgent… Sands were on top, still.

Unbelievably, that pressure finally told, TK picked the ball deep on the right with both Joe and Luke driving forward. TK delivered the ball across the corridor of uncertainty for on unrushing Joe to strike home, opening the account for Sands United, season 2.

Captain Allan called for calm and game management at this point. The team delivered. Before long Jason and Jamie were back on and Sands at full strength.

As was to be expected, the momentum started to wain from Sands, having given everything in those 10 minutes.

Tamil were now very much in the game.

The game became a battle for the midfield, with fouls coming thick and fast and several bookings.
Callum was reintroduced to give the outstanding Wayne a break, a cultured performance from the full back.
Allan, having being strong all game, left the field for Darren with Jamie dropping into the back 4.
Joe had also earned a rest from his tireless running, being replaced by Louie and finally chairman Andy replaced Luke.

Fresh Legs

With fresh legs, Sands were hunting for the win.

Some great hold up play from Andy allowed Sands to make their way up the field, he played the ball back to the defence to deliver, but a rare lapse in concentration allowed the Tamil forward to pounce. He was away, and finished well against the commanding Jake.

For the second time, against the run of play, Sands were behind with 20 minutes to play.

With George and Andy on, the tactic was clear in the final 3rd, find them and pick up the 2nd ball.

Tamil were very much starting to show confidence though, where they were getting tackled previously, the lead gave them a spring in the step and were starting to cause Sands trouble.

Sands needed an equaliser though and with a back 4 that had rarely been troubled, the midfield joined the attack more often.

Some more great play from Andy lead to a Gascoigne moment for George as he couldn’t quite reach a ball across the box from Andy.

A long throw from Jason was met by George and the Tamil defence flapped, TK put his foot through the loose ball, only for it to fortuitously drop back to him, this time, some quick feet saw him beat the defender and drive into the box, he’d made the space cleverly and was bearing down on goal, but the finish on his left didn’t match the build up and the keeper saved. Should have been 2-2.

Tamil were not only a threat on the break, but were finding passes in their own right through the midfield, but the back 4 stood resolute.
Their wingers will not want to see Grant again in a hurry with little getting past and Chris clearing everything aerially.

Time was running out for Sands.

As always in tight Sunday League games, there was to be one more talking point.

George won the ball on the right and found TK, who passed between the lines to Jason who had timed his run perfectly… He was in, albeit at a narrowing angle, his strike was true but full credit to the defender, he’d got himself into a position to slide. However, again, Jason’s strike clearly hit an arm again.
Certainly not as stone wall as the first half, but again, a fairly clear penalty.

Today was not going to be Sands day.

Full time
Crawley Tamil 2 – 1 Sands

A tough lesson for Sands return. A stark reminder that you don’t always get what you deserve in football.

That doesn’t take away from the heart, effort and passion shown by the team though. A valiant effort that had more positives than negatives, despite the scoreline.

Featured

Home vs Hove Lions First

Sands United FC Brighton and Hove vs Hove Lions First

Sussex Sunday Football League Division 4

1030am Sunday 12^th January 2020 – Buckingham Park

Attendance 32 + 3 dogs

Final score 1 – 1 (HT 0 – 0)

After a number of weeks without a match report – owing to a brief run in the team from the match reporter, absence over the festive period and a little bit of laziness! – the notebook was back on the touchline this weekend.

This weekend we faced Hove Lions, who ran out comfortable 4-0 winners when we faced them at Victoria Rec in September. Since then they seem to have struggled and have failed to win a game in all competitions since early October, leaving them 2 points and 1 place above us in the league table. Results over the festive period have been hard to come by. Since our last report we’ve struggled to accumulate points, losing to East Brighton Wanderers and Hassocks Fatboys Reserves 4-1, then losing a double header vs Sussex Albion 3-0 and 2-1 before being knocked out of the Junior Invitational Cup at the quarter final stage vs Fatboys 3-1 despite being on top for large parts of the game.

Baby Davids Game

This weekends match was being played in the memory of Baby David Allingham, son of striker Ed Allingham and his wife Nikki, whose 7^th birthday was the next day. A number of Ed and Nikki’s family were on the touch line to watch the lads try to do Baby David proud. Before kick off a minutes silence was perfectly observed by both teams and their supporters.

Our squad this week was pretty strong and looking to build on the performance in the cup last week. We started the match with regular keeper Youseff Kheir, a back four of Jason Hamilton at left back, Chris Mates and Steve Bolland at centre back and Grant Ashworth at right back. A centre midfield trio of John Westcott, Jamie Hyde and Jason Bantock with a front three of Ed Allingham, Darren Wyatt and Kev Thaxter. The bench was exceptionally strong this weekend, consisting of Tom Kunde, Josh Don, George Whiting, Mat Crann and Callum Underhill.

With Storm Brendan approaching the south coast preparing to settle in for a weeklong stay in the UK the match would be played in high winds, with us having the wind with us in the first half. After struggling in recent weeks to get our foot on the ball and play this week we started well and dominated possession in the early stages. Despite this domination, on 6 minutes a chipped ball to the edge of the box led to Grant and a Hove Lions striker coming together and with the lightest of touches from Grant the striker fell to the ground leaving the ref no option but to give the penalty. There was contact for certain, but it was minimal and if you’re falling over there one has to fear for your safety with winds approaching 80mph later in the week!

Fore!

We have a reasonably good record when it comes to penalties against us this season, with only one being scored from 4 conceded and that trend would continue today with an incredibly poor penalty – even by Sunday League standards. A wild left footed swipe at the ball meant the effort resembled a giraffes arse as it sailed over the bar an ensured that we did not fall behind against the run of play.

A few minutes later we were back on the front foot and after some very nice football in midfield the ball found its way to the feet of Darren who snatched at an effort which failed to trouble the Hove Keeper. We continued to probe, looking for the opening goal and on 11 minutes Jamie put a lovely ball into the box from the left straight to Ed. Despite connecting well with the ball Ed was unfortunate not to convert the effort on such a meaningful day.

With one minor blemish, the opening 15 minutes were predominately played in the oppositions half and after another spell of excellent passing John found himself within shooting range and with time to pick his spot had a go from around 25 yards. The effort was always rising and you could sense Johns frustration as the ball went over, with the extremely experienced midfielder expecting more of himself.

For large parts of the remainder of the first half it was a battle of midfields, with Hove struggling to clear their lines in the wind and us struggling to break down Hoves defensive lines and create meaningful efforts. The only half chance fell to Jason Bantock after an acrobatic half volley cross from Jamie – clearly inspired by watching Daniel LaRusso win the All-Valley Karate Championships (albeit illegally, but maybe that’s a discussion for another time!). Jason stooped to head the ball goal bound but his effort was straight at the keeper.

Frustration

You could sense the frustration as we came in at half time all square in a half we had dominated for large parts and now had to defend with the wind in our faces. The half time team talk focussed on making sure we didn’t defend too high up the pitch which would leave us exposed to the long ball over the top, as well as continuing to play as well as we had been in the first half.

The second half started as the first had ended with the war of attrition continuing in the middle of the park and little action in either penalty area. 9 minutes in to the first half we made our first change, with Jamie – who had taken a heavy knock in the first half and seemingly run it off – needing to come off to be replaced by Josh.

With an hour played we finally got our reward for the extended periods of dominance. The ball fell to Josh on the edge of the box who looped an effort towards goal. The keeper did an excellent job to back peddle and follow the ball in the wind as it fell towards goal, tipping it onto the bar. Unfortunately for him the first to react to the rebound was Kev, who directed his header out of reach of the keeper as he scrambled to his feet to give us a deserved lead.

Josh’s introduction seemed to be having an impact, a couple of minutes later he was at the centre of things again, delivering a lovely ball in for Ed, only for the keeper to thwart another good opportunity and deny Ed again. Soon after there was another chance for Ed as Darren unselfishly squared the ball to him when there was an opportunity to shoot from a tighter angle but this time Ed couldn’t get the ball out of his feet to get a strike away.

20 minutes into the second half TK replaced Darren who was making his first start after a long layoff with injury. TKs impact was almost as immediate as Josh’s as a minute after coming on TK had a great opportunity to double our lead but once again the Hove keeper was equal to the challenge and made another very good save to keep them in the game.

Kev and John made way for Mat and George as we moved into the last 15 minutes. Then, against the run of play Hove Lions were back level. After 30 minutes of trying they finally managed a dangerous ball over the top. Youseff, who had been largely a spectator through the game had a good starting position – almost too good – to deal with the threat and was out of his area well to deal with the ball, but had time to allow the ball to run back into the box and pick it up. As Youseff dived onto the ball a combination of a bobbly pitch and the weather conditions led to him spilling the ball into the patch of the onrushing forward who sent the ball goal bound. Chris Mates did his best to get back as the ball rolled agonisingly towards goal but couldn’t get back in time.

Dissapointment

Despite the disappointment of conceding we didn’t allow our heads to drop and went looking to retake the lead. Minutes after conceding we forced a corner and following an excellent delivery from Jason Hove struggled to clear their lines. After a bit of a goal mouth scramble the ball fell to Mat who had a pop shot which narrowly missed the target. Shortly after Callum replaced Ed, who was suffering with a slight knock and came off to a standing ovation from his team mates and supporters on the sidelines.

Standing ovation for a captains performance

With 10 minutes remaining Jason, who had been a constant thorn in the Hove Left Backs side all through the second half, delivered a lovely ball in which was narrowly missed by TK and George in the area. It started to feel like it just wasn’t going to be our day.

With moments left in the game Hove went searching for an undeserved lead to send the home fans away disappointed but lost the ball on the edge of the box to the looming figure of Steve, who broke away searching for a late winner for us. After a marauding run to the half way line he found TK in space and onside, who drove towards the Hove penalty area with Steve continuing his run to offer support. As TK closed in on goal, a Hove defender somehow got back, seemingly from nowhere to make a great covering tackle and ensure his team went away with a point. That was to be the final act in a thoroughly enthralling game as the ref brought the game to a close.

Another point on the board for us and more importantly, a marked improvement against a team who comfortably beat us earlier in the season.

Up next for us is another cup tie against opposition from a division above as we face Hove Park Rangers at the Sussex FA HQ in Lancing on Sunday 19^th at 8pm for Evie’s game. We hope to see you there to cheer the boys on.

Home vs Lancing United

Sands United FC Brighton and Hove vs Lancing United

Sussex Sunday Football League Division 4

1030am Sunday 1^st December 2019 – Buckingham Park

Attendance 28 + 3 dogs

Final score 1 – 1 (HT 0 – 1)

On arguably the coldest Sunday of the season so far, we were back at Buckingham Park this week for our first game against opponents we had already faced in the league this season, squaring off against Lancing United who gave us a tough welcome into the league back in September beating us 5-2 on our first competitive outing. Lancing came into the game in 5^th place while we remained in 12^th despite our loss to Peacehaven last week.

This week’s match was being played in honour of Olivia Wyatt, daughter of injured midfielder Darren and his partner Sam, whose 3^rd birthday was on November 30^th. Darren, along with many of our other players either missing out through injury or rotation were on the side lines – along with Nym the club mascot – to cheer the boys which was great to see, and really helped create a positive atmosphere for the lads on the pitch.

Once again rotation and a lengthy injury list led to a number of changes from last week’s squad, with Jamie Hyde, Tim Holt, Grant Ashworth, Jason Bantock, Jamie Pardoe, Chris Mates, Josh Cobden and Tom Kunde all returning to the squad for this game. There was also a change in the dugout this week with Jamie Stratton on Holiday – seriously, who takes a vacation during the football season! – Kev Thaxter stepped in to fill the role.

It took 2 to fill Jamie’s boots this week!

While the result from the opening game may have seemed like a comfortable one for Lancing, the match was decided on a few brief lapses in concentration by our newly formed team, and for that reason, we felt confident going back to our tried and tested 4-3-3 formation this week rather than the more defensive 4-5-1 we adopted vs an excellent Peacehaven team last week. We started with regular keeper Youseff Kheir, a back line of Grant Ashworth at Right Back, Chris Mates and Grant Hopkins in the middle and Ross Leckey at Left Back. In the middle of the park this week were John Westcott, George Whiting and Tom Kunde. Leading the line were Andy Lindley, Tim Holt and Jason Bantock. A strong bench this week of Jamie Pardoe, Josh Cobden, Ed Allingham, Jamie Hyde and Allan Pike.

The match got off to a slow start, with both teams having lots of play in the middle of the park, with very little action in either teams attacking third. The first clear chance of the match fell to us on 16 minutes, when TK drew a foul on the edge of the box after a number of stepovers bamboozled the Lancing Defence. John struck the resulting free kick well but unfortunately too close to the keeper who theatrically pushed the ball over the bar for a corner. The following corner caused a huge amount of confusion in the Lancing penalty area, with the ball finally dropping to Grant Hopkins at the back post but he couldn’t finish off the half chance.

Lancing then broke down their right and the attack looked dangerous until Jason got back to make an excellent challenge and snuff out the attack but 2 minutes later Lancing went ahead after one of their forwards lost his marker and was able to turn and slot past Youseff to break the deadlock.

Lancing had their tails up from then and started to press the advantage and expecting that having got the breakthrough they would put is away like they had earlier in the season, but we’ve come a long way since that defeat and are much more resolute that we once were. On 24 minutes they spotted an opportunity to lift one over Youseff, but the execution didn’t match the idea and the ball sailed safely over.

After that spell of pressure, we were back on offense on 31 minutes with an excellent ball from the left Ross finding Andy but after beating his man with some good control he blazed over from the edge of the penalty area.

It seemed Lancing’s plan was to look to counter attack quickly whenever they could with balls over the top, and they tried this again on 34 minutes, but an excellent defensive line allowed the linesman to dramatically raise his flag, much to the annoyance of the Lancing defence a full 50 yards away, who clearly had a much better view of the decision and were showing zero bias!

Moving in to the latter stages of the first half, we were in the ascendancy. Firstly TK had an excellent chance from another good free kick from John. While the initial control was superb, he lost his footing as he was about to strike and the keeper managed to pounce on the ball. A couple of minutes later TK found Andy, who again beat his man but with the ball sitting up and the keeper coming out to challenge him, he looked for the lob but he caught it too well and sent the ball over the bar for a solid three point drop goal! As the referee was checking his watch to call time on the half, George went on a marauding run down the left, beating a couple of Lancing players before driving an effort across goal which left the keeper scrambling, unfortunately the strike was just too high, and we came in to the break one down, far from out of the game.

During the break we spoke about the importance of our first actions in the second half and making them positive ones in order to set the tone for the second half. That message clearly sank in as straight from the off in the second half we were in the faces of the Lancing players, winning a number of challenges and pressing forward. The ball fell to George who took a well struck shot which deserved more than to go the wrong side of the left hand post.

Moments later during a Lancing attack it was Grant Ashworth taking the half time words to heart with a superb sliding tackle, clearing out the ball first and then the forward, denying Lancing any thoughts they might have had about doubling their slender advantage from the first half.

Our first substitutions of the game would come with Jamie Pardoe being introduced for Andy and Jamie Hyde coming on for Ross. 11 minutes in Lancing had their first meaningful attack of the half, with their forward closing in on goal Youseff came out well to close the angle, and while the striker eventually rounded Youseff, he had been pushed so wide that he only found the side netting.

The tempo in the game dropped for a while, with both teams seeing a lot of the ball in the middle with very little attacking threat, the best chances falling again to George but we were still unable to find the equaliser. During this period Ed replace Tim up front, once again Tim had worked tirelessly chasing everything he could and causing problems for the Lancing defence, but with no reward for the clubs first ever scorer – it’s coming though!

Finally with 15 minutes to go, we finally had the ball in the back of the net for a well-deserved equaliser. Good pressure from Ed down the right hand side forced a throw level with the edge of the 18 yard box. Chris came up from the back to take the throw and launched it towards the penalty spot. George got up above everyone else – to be fair he literally has a head start over most players – to meet the ball and flick it towards the back post, but this time the ball fell the right side of the post and George wheeled away to celebrate with the rest of the team.

The goal seemed to spark Lancing into life after being pedestrian for most of the second half, and a couple of minutes later they had a good attack which forced a goalmouth scramble which we somehow smothered clear. This would turn out to be Lancing’s last decent chance of the game, although they continued to press on looking for the winner our defence was excellent in keeping them limited to half chances we could deal with easily. Final changes for us introduced Josh for Jason on 33 minutes and then Jason was given the last 5 minutes to press for a winner replacing TK, who was excellent in midfield throughout the game.

On balance, the 1-1 draw was a fair result and again shows how far we are coming as a team following our earlier season defect to Lancing along with a number of impressive results they have had since we faced them. Caretaker boss Kev offered these thoughts after the game ‘We started well against a team who expected to pick up an easy 3 points. We played some very good football going forward but a couple of individual errors lead to us going in 1 down. Overall an excellent performance again and we did well to press on and get the equaliser.

Next up for us are East Brighton Wanderers, who sit just above us in the league table, at 1030 on Sunday 8^th December at Buckingham Park. Why not take a break from the madness of Christmas and come along and cheer on the boys in Orange! If nothing else, we might need some people to help with the nets rather than sending the kids to work!!

Training the youngsters early how to do the nets

Home vs Peacehaven Athletic

Sands United FC Brighton and Hove vs Peacehaven Athletic FC

Sussex Sunday Football League Division 4

1030am Sunday 24^th November 2019 – Buckingham Park

Attendance 37 + 3 dogs

Final score 0 – 5 (HT 0 – 2)

After what seems like an age since our last league home game, we returned to Buckingham Park this week to face high flying Peacehaven Athletic. Top of the league and undefeated in their opening 10 games, this was likely to be our toughest on pitch challenge to date. We remain in 12^th place after last weeks draw with Associates, 4 points ahead of Whitehawk Rangers in 13^th and only 2 points behind Hove Lions in 11^th.

This weeks match was dedicated to Ava Nicholls, who’s funeral was held on Friday 22^nd November, and to all the angels who were laid to rest this week. Our hearts go out to Joe, Elle and all the families who have had to say goodbye too soon.

Availability led to a swathe of changes for this weeks squad with Chris Mates, Steve Bolland, Grant Ashworth, George Whiting, Jason Bantock, Tim Holt and Mat Crann all unavailable this week. Coming into the squad to fill these huge boots were Paul Peacock, John Westcott, Andy Lindley, Chris Kowalkowski, Allan Pike and making their club debuts Grant Hopkins and Ross Leckey.

With the knowledge we were going to be up against it from the off this week, Jamie Stratton tweaked the starting formation away from our familiar 4-3-3 to a more compact and defensive 4-5-1. Starting in goal for the boys in Orange this week was Youseff Kheir, last weeks man of the match as voted for by the matchday squad, a back line of Jon Goodwin at Right Back, Ross Leckey at Left Back with Chris Kowalkowski and Grant Hopkins at Centre Back, the midfield quintet of Joe Nicholls – captain this week – and Ed Allingham providing the width with Callum Underhill, John Westcott and Luke Kennedy providing the engine and Andy Bersey leading the line. Starting on the bench this week were Kev Thaxter, Andy Lindley, Paul Peacock, Darren Silverson and Allan Pike.

The game started off at a steady tempo this week, with Peacehaven getting the ball down and playing some nice football, but with our compact defensive line making it difficult for them to work the ball around us. The first chance of the game fell to us on 2 mins when Andy won a free kick on the edge of the box after pressuring their defence. Set pieces were going to be key to any chance we may have of causing an upset today and with the experienced head of John Westcott over the ball, there was a sense that an early goal could really set the cat amongst the pigeons. Unfortunately it wasn’t to be this time with John blazing over the bar.

Soon after we forced a corner on the right hand side, which was swung in by John aiming for the head of Luke. As Luke came down from the header he landed awkwardly with his ankle buckling under him, and then as he fell a Peacehaven player stumbled into him accidentally, falling on the same ankle and leaving Luke in agony. After a couple of minutes of treatment on the pitch Luke had to be carried off, still in pain and with his right ankle seriously swollen. A later scan would show no damage to the bone but with Luke leaving hospital on crutches and out for between 4 and 6 weeks. A huge loss for the midfield and the team as a whole with the festive season approaching.

Another fine mess!

On 7 minutes, your very own match reporter was called into action! After a quick break down the Sands Left, Kev miscued a cross which left the Peacehaven keeper scrambling low to his right to collect the ball, almost finding a deposit that some irresponsible dog owner had decided not to pick up. Fortunately, we always have bags on hand for this kind of issue and the offending mess was removed. Should any dog walkers find themselves reading this, please pick up after your dogs! The park is there for everyone to use.

The game was quite flat for some time after that early flurry of activity, with Peacehaven dominating possession but being restricted to long range efforts or half chances which were generally dealt with quite comfortably by our defence. Then on 27 mins a Peacehaven ball across the box missed everyone, and then with Ed chasing to clear, he was nudged off the ball with what looked like an arm in the back rather than shoulder to shoulder. The ball was then returned into the box and Peacehaven broke the deadlock with a tidy finish.

Uncertainty

3 minutes later Peacehaven doubled their lead with a well taken free kick from their left aimed at our back post. At a higher standard commentators talk about finding the ‘corridor of uncertainty’ for these kind of free kicks, where defenders and keeper struggle to commit to the ball in case a striker gets in front of them and scores an easy tap in. Peacehaven definitely found the corridor this time and the ball nestled in the side netting for a 2-0 lead.

Before kicking off again Kriss Akabusi’s new best mate Andy ‘Phil’ Lindley was introduced for Andy Bersey up front. As we moved towards half time there was chance for one more attack from us with John finding a lovely ball over the top looking for Joe, who collected well and looked to have beaten his man, only for the defender to recover well. The half ended with a bit of a goal mouth scrap in our penalty area, but our defence stood strong to keep the arrears to 2 going in to the break.

At half time the manager looked to keep things positive, after all we were up against a team who had scored 17 goals in their last 4 league games as well as putting 5 past a team second in the league above in the cup recently. With no changes at half time the plan was to try and stay compact and keep the game competitive.

Early in the second half another change for us saw Paul Peacock introduced for Jon at right back. Not long after this, Peacehaven had a huge penalty appeal turned away following a challenge by Kev. I could be extremely biased and say that Kev obviously got the ball here and that the appeals were a waste of time, but by all accounts it was the clearest penalty you’ll never see given!

It didn’t seem to knock Peacehaven out of their stride though, who continued to attack and found the back of the net after a quick strike was initially parried away by Youseff, only for their striker to be quickest to react to the save and calmly slot home from close range.

Andy-Phil-Diego!

We were by no means out of the game and still looked to attack when we could. Callum quickly broke away following a Peacehaven attack and found John who came forward with the ball and then looked to play in Andy who ended up handballing after a bit of a tussle with the defence. Andy was back in action soon after, clearly inspired by his recent hand ball he showed further Maradona-esq skill with a clever flick over his head, giving the Sands United fans something to cheer about even if the match wasn’t going our way.

After the earlier shout for a pen wasn’t given, Peacehaven were then given 2 pens in the space of 2 minutes. The first was missed after an excellent save by Youseff diving to his right and getting a strong hand to parry away. Peacehaven made no mistake with the second pen though, sending Youseff the wrong way and taking the visitors lead to 4.

With the result now seeming a formality, a number of late substitutions were made, with Jon coming back on for Ross, Andy B returning to action for Joe after an excellent performance given the difficult week he has had. With 15 minutes to go Darren replaced Grant at the back and Allan came on for Ed.

There was still time for Peacehaven to find another goal, this time with a lovely strike from the edge of the box to take all the points back east along the A259.

After the match Jamie Stratton offered these thoughts “I thought the lads worked extremely hard against excellent opposition today. They had a lot of quality and deserved the victory but I am very proud of the players for how they played throughout the game”

All in all a tough game for us this weekend against an excellent team who are understandably setting the pace at the top of this division and played the game with the correct attitude throughout. We acquitted ourselves well and have to take heart from that as we look to build as the season progresses. We are due a run of games soon against the teams around us, which will really give us a true feel of our position in this league, but it’s clear for all to see now that we’re not here just to make up the numbers.

At the moment we’re scheduled to face Lancing United next Sunday at Buckingham Park, 1030 kick off. We hope to see everyone there for what should be a fantastic match!

Away vs Associates FC

Associates FC vs Sands United FC Brighton and Hove

Sussex Sunday Football League Division 4

1030am Sunday 17^th November 2019 – Convent Field

Attendance 36 + 2 dogs

Final score 2 – 2 (HT 0 – 1)

Today we travelled to Lewes to play against Associates, a well established team but one familiar to us with a fellow bereaved father who played in our inaugural game on Father’s Day in Jamie Hart, we also faced them in preseason while the team was still forming in a match we lost 8-1, yet another sign of how far this team has come since our formation.

Associates came into the game 8^th in the league in indifferent form recently, having won 2 and lost 4 of their last 6 league games. We we’re still in 12^th place, but with daylight between us and the teams below us and in sight of the teams above us and games in hand on the majority of the teams.

Caspar’s Game

Today was Caspar’s Game, as we came together to play for founder member Tim Holt’s eldest son Caspar who turned 10 on November 4^th and sadly passed away 12 days later on November 16^th. The past couple of weeks have been a time of reflection for the team as we’ve taken time to speak to Tim and his family, light candles and today, play in Caspar’s memory.

As has become customary on these occasions, before the game we joined around the centre circle for a minutes silence for Caspar. Perfectly observed as always, with our entire squad, touchline team and Tim’s family linked, proving once again that this is more than your average Sunday League football team.

Rotation and returns from injury meant a change in line up from last week’s narrow defeat to Telscombe, with 8 changes to last week’s squad. Lining up as a 4-3-3 this week was Youseff Kheir in goal returning from a groin injury; a back 4 of Jon Goodwin, Chris Mates, Steve Bolland and Grant Ashworth; Midfield trio Luke Kennedy, George Whiting and Jason Bantock; with a front line of Joe Nicholls, Kev Thaxter and spearheaded by todays captain Tim Holt. This week’s bench was comprised of Mat Crann, Ed Allingham, Darren Silverson, Callum Underhill and Andy Bersey.

Once again, we set the early tempo in the game, controlling possession and looking for an opening and on 3 minutes, the first chance of the game fell to us with Joe beating his defender on the left after a lovely ball from George, but unfortunately the ball wouldn’t sit up for the shot and the attack was snuffed out by the Associates defence. Not long afterwards Luke sent a free kick goal bound from around 25 yards. Initially it looked as though the effort was too lofted and was lacking pace, but the keeper struggled to follow the flight of the ball and with him beaten, the crossbar and then his defenders came to his aid and prevented the opener.

Keepers!

A minute later and we were on the attack again, Jason picking up the ball in midfield and putting the ball over the Associates left back for Kev to spin into space, with two in the middle to hit the ball was sadly wayward, but the signs were there that the deadlock was close to being broken and on 10 minutes, we converted that early pressure into the lead. Once again Joe beat his man and played the ball low into the box, a loud cry of ‘Keepers’ meant everyone stopped except for George, who nipped in front of the keeper, rounded him and squeezed the ball in from the tightest of angles.

Hollywood

On 16 minutes Associates registered their first real attack of the game with a quick break and a ball over the top, looking to use their pace to get in on goal but the ball was read well by Chris and the threat neutralised quickly. A few moments later the first real save of the match was made by Youseff after an effort just from the right of centre of our box. Youseff showed excellent agility to get to the ball and parry it away to safety, there was a suggestion there was a bit of hollywooding from the bench, obviously someone forgot to renew their Keepers Union membership didn’t they gaffer!

After soaking up that pressure, we looked to break away down our right had side with Tim who beat the Associates left back only to be unceremoniously upended, resulting in the first booking of the match. From the free kick which followed, Luke shaved the near post with the keeper stranded.

The first tactical change of the game came on 29 minutes with Kev taking heed of Coco Channels famous words and swapping his orange headband for a little black number.

After this, the game fell into somewhat of a farcical state for a period of time, firstly with Jon receiving a booking for a mistimed – but not dangerous – challenge on the half hour which felt like an opportunity to level things up after the earlier booking. Then after numerous attempts to scythe him down failed, Jason received a booking for retaliation, and then there was a flare up with both teams arguing and lots of finger pointing, among other things. After this, the match continued with a huge amount of gamesmanship which seemed to unsettle us and disrupt our rhythm.

On 37 minutes, a cross field ball from the left found Kev, who’s eyes lit up at the thought of striking a 20+ yard volley into the back of the net, but the idea and desire didn’t quite match up to the execution, and instead he knee’d the ball square across the box. We somehow retained the ball and put another cross in giving Kev the chance to redeem himself with an audacious overhead kick which went marginally wide.

As we moved into the last few minutes of the half Youseff was called into action again, making another acrobatic save from a well struck shot from the right of goal. We then made our first change of the match with Darren replacing Chris in the centre of defence. Grant was called into action to clear the ball off the line following a dangerous corner, we then broke away with Tim cutting in from the left beating his man. With only the keeper to beat he couldn’t quite find the finish to round out the half in style and give him the goal his efforts linking up the play through the first half would have deserved.

At half time the Manager had nothing but praise to offer for the work rate shown in the first half, and was keen for that effort to continue into the second half. It was vital we kept our heads in the second half and played our game rather than allowing us to be dragged into a dog fight. A second change was made with Chris returning to the pitch for Steve.

The second half was a scrappy affair to start off with, but a strike from the left by Associates brought a superb save out of Youseff that surpassed his efforts in the first half, watching the venomous strike all the way and brilliantly tipping the ball over the bar.

Straight In

A couple of early substitutions saw Ed introduced for Joe on 52 minutes and then Steve brought back on for Darren a minute later. Then on 59 minutes Jason whipped in a dangerous corner towards the near post. The keeper left it for his man on the post, only for him to leave it for the keeper, leaving us as the beneficiaries of this lack of communication as the ball went straight in, doubling our lead. This was Jason’s 5^th goal of the season, taking him back to the top of the goal scoring charts on his own.

A few minutes later another free kick from Luke found George at the back post, but from a reasonably difficult angle he was neither able to test the keeper or put the ball back across the goal.

Chasing a goal to get them back into the game, Associates seemed to start playing with an urgency that matched their aggression, and on 64 minutes a good move down their left side created an opening but the shot was skewed wide of the mark. Then on 68 minutes an outswinging free kick from the right was put into a dangerous position, but a strong defensive header from George saw the ball to safety.

As we moved towards the last 10 minutes of the match we made a series of substitutions – Mat replacing George on 70 minutes; Callum on for Kev on 71 and finally Andy on for Tim on 79. All three players coming off had put in an excellent shift for the team, but special mention has to go to Tim for his tireless efforts up front, leading the line brilliantly, bringing others in to play when he had the opportunity and chasing back when required, all in all, a fantastic league debut.

With the final minutes approaching, we could start to sense a second league win of the season. But on 88 minutes, Associates finally found the strike to beat Youseff. Once again it was from range and across the face of goal, but this one was struck far too well for Youseff to have a chance of getting to it and nestled in to the side netting, setting up a nervy last couple of minutes.

Offside?

Then with only seconds on the clock and with associates laying siege to us in the final third, we conceded a scrappy free kick to the right of goal, approximately 30 yards out. Associates sent everyone including the keeper up for a final roll of the dice. The ball was swung in and found the head of one of their players on the penalty spot, with the ball travelling goal bound, another player prodded the ball home from inside the 6 yard box. Queue celebrations from the home side, but the linesman’s flag was up signalling for offside. The referee chose to not even consult with the linesman to get an understanding of why the flag had gone up, deciding that his vantage point was enough to rule the goal a legal one. With the lack of a VAR check it seemed we were to be cruelly denied the 3 points we so thoroughly deserved for an excellent performance over the 90 minutes.

There was barely enough time to kick off following this and the game finished a draw. A far cry from the preseason mauling, but proof that we are a competitive side in this league and are prepared to give teams a run for their money.

After the game I caught up with Manager Jamie Stratton who offered his thoughts on the game – “I thought the lads put in another amazing performance in a very difficult game. It was very disappointing to lose a goal in the last minute but I am really happy with the progress the team are making”. Andy Lindley added “Thank you to Associates for allowing us to remember Caspar in what was an impeccably observed minute’s silence. To come away disappointed with a point just shows how far the team has developed, and to be able to perform under such emotional circumstances demonstrates the strength and support our brotherhood offers to each other”.

Up next for us is a return to Buckingham Park on Sunday 24^th November for a home game vs top of the league Peacehaven Athletic. Kick-off is at 1030am. If you’re free and in the area, why not come along and cheer the team on!

Away vs AFC Telscombe

AFC Telscombe vs Sands United FC Brighton and Hove

Sussex Sunday Football League Division 4

1105am Sunday 10^th November 2019 – Peacehaven Sports Ground

Attendance 31 + 1 dog

Final score 1 – 0 (HT 0 – 0)

We returned to league action for the first time since October 20^th, facing AFC Telscombe. A team in fine form, with 4 straight away wins in all competitions going in to this game and sitting 3^rd in Division 4 of the Sussex Sunday Football League. Sands United currently sit 11^th in the league, but with games in hand on all the teams around them the league position seems irrelevant at the moment.

Lest We Forget

Today’s match was being played in honour of Evalyn Lang – daughter of Sands United Solent’s founder Nick Lang, and Ava Nicholls – daughter of debutant Joe Nicholls. In addition to this, we also honoured those servicemen and women who have given their lives in conflicts around the world with an impeccably observed 2 minute silence before kick-off. The lads all proudly wore poppies on their shirts today as a mark of respect.

Rotation saw 9 changes to the squad involved in last week’s excellent cup win, with Callum Underhill, Jason Hamilton, Anthony Smith, Andy Bersey, Steve Bolland , Chris Kowalkowski, Josh Cobden and Tom Kunde returning after absence and Joe Nicholls making his first appearance having joined the club this week.

After even more rain this week, the pitch was more suited to agricultural endeavours than football. With large puddles and boggy ground both teams would struggle to get the ball down and play a fluent passing game but for any fans of the slide tackle, this was practically heaven!

We lined up in our familiar 4-3-3, with Kev Thaxter deputising for Youseff Kheir (injured) in goal. Grant Ashworth at starting at right back after an excellent debut last week, Steve Bolland and Chris Kowalkowski at Centre Back and Jason Hamilton at Left Back; A midfield of Jamie Hyde, George Whiting and Tom Kunde; and finally a front three lead by Andy Lindley – taking the captains armband this week – with Jamie Pardoe and Callum Underhill providing width and support for the talisman. The bench this week had an attacking feel to it, with four forwards in Ant Smith, Josh Cobden, Joe Nicholls and Andy Bersey. Only Jon Goodwin offering a defensive option if one was needed for this game. Perhaps a sign that we fear no-one in this league anymore and are willing to take the game to teams.

With players on both sides struggling to get to grips with the playing surface, chances were difficult to come by at either end of the pitch and both teams struggled to find their footing in the game. The first chance of the game fell to George Whiting, who snatched at a chance from the right edge of the box and failed to test the keeper.

A minute later, Telscombe were on the attack with a quick ball over the top, which keeper Kev read well and was out to deal with. However the clearance went straight to a Telscombe player, but the keeper made amends for the earlier mistake and recovered well to safely collect the ball on the line after an attempted chip lacked the power to clear everyone and find the net.

On 12 minutes Jason struck a good effort from the edge of the box which the Telscombe keeper watched go safely wide of the upright. A minute later we were on the attack again, with a half chance falling to Andy to the right of goal, but again we struggled to make the keeper work.

With the pitch cutting up the game then went back and forth with possession being turned over regularly and very few chances being created at either end. Then on 23 minutes Telscombe broke down their right hand side, and with their forward seemingly one on one, a superb covering challenge from Grant after sprinting across the pitch to get their saved Kev from being called into action and Jason tracking back to clear. Finally some signs from Telscombe showing why they have been stringing some excellent results together.

Soon after Jason found himself with acres of space to drive into, he found George who managed to manipulate a bit of space for a clean strike which the opposition’s number 1 held well under pressure. Not long after a well worked Sands free kick from a central position fizzed past the wall but was straight at the keeper who was equal to the task.

The remainder of the half went by without much incident at either end but our front line, backed up by Tom in the middle worked tirelessly to harass the Telscombe defence and midfield, denying them time on the ball and frustrating them to the point that the players were arguing with each other as the squelched off the pitch at half time. Clearly they had placed more stock in our early season performances and current league position than we had.

Tom ‘TK’ Kunde hard at work in the middle

Tempo

During the break Manager Jamie Stratton wanted the players to keep up the high tempo we had been playing, allowing them the ball deep in their half and applying pressure when Telscombe came out of their defensive third. The focus needed to be avoiding trying to play through the quagmire in the middle of the pitch and look to get the ball wide on the better ground. No changes at half time, but the bench were keeping warm, ready to make an impact if required.

The second half started much like the first ended, with very little goalmouth action but now with the addition of a number of niggly fouls from both sides, many of these fouls were due to the poor pitch leading to the ball being overrun or getting stuck underfoot. This also contributed to a few spicy sliding challenges, some well-timed and some not so much, but it would be unfair to suggest there was any maliciousness in any of the challenges, just two teams with a desire to win a hard fought match.

The substitutions started on 52 minutes, with Ant replacing Jamie, who had been working hard out on the left all game, this was followed by Joe coming on for his debut replacing Callum. Joes first touches made an instant impact, beating his marker but unfortunately not being able to capitalise on the space in behind.

Finally, some action on 66 minutes when Jamie Hyde swung in a corner from the right which fell around the six yard box, Joe sent a snatched effort goal bound only to hit Tom on the line. The ball then dropped at Georges feet and the Telscombe defence somehow managed to scramble to ball away only for Chris to then strike from 14 yards, with the keeper nowhere to be seen the post came to his aid – footage of this and the earlier free kick will be on our socials this week. Telscombe then hit on the break with some fast passing setting them clear. Once again, it was Grant getting back and making what is fast becoming a signature clutch challenge as the last man.

Relief

With 15 minutes to go, two more subs were made with Andy B and Jon G replacing Andy L and Jason respectively, soon after that Telscombe won a free kick in a dangerous position. A well struck free kick found its way under the wall and with Kev unsighted as it travelled through, the ball somehow squirmed under him to give the home side the lead. Cue scenes not to dissimilar to recent Champions League final victories, with all of the Telscombe bench storming the pitch to celebrate with the goal scorer. You could sense that this was a team overcome with relief to finally score against a side they fully expected to roll over.

With us now undeservedly behind, changes were made to go searching for an equaliser, with the youth of Josh and Callum being introduced for Jamie Hyde who was struggling with a knock and Ant. It seemed it wouldn’t be a long search when after good work from a set piece, Tom turned in the box, beating his man only to be unceremoniously dumped to the ground for what has to be the clearest penalty ever seen. Unfortunately the referees’ position meant that despite all the players and the crowd expecting to hear the whistle, it didn’t come and Telscombe were let of the hook for what would have been a deserved draw for us.

With time fading away, Jamie Pardoe was reintroduced replacing Grant as we threw caution to the wind and continued to push, but unfortunately it didn’t come and Telscombe escaped with a win by the narrowest of margins.

Proud

After the match, Manager Stratton was asked for his comments. ‘I thought the lads put in a great effort against a really good side. We should all be proud of the performance and were unlucky not to come away with a result. Club founder and match day captain Andy Lindley added ‘I’m immensely proud of the lads today. The league table states we should have been outrun, outplayed and out gunned. But we weren’t, we took the game to them, we hit the post, we were denied a clear penalty. We don’t conform to the league table standings. Everyone played for the names on our chest and did Evalyn and Ava proud ©.’.

Up next for us is a home game in the league vs Associates FC – the last team to beat Telscombe – at Buckingham Park at 1030am on Sunday 17^th November where we will be playing in memory of Caspar Wrightson-Holt.

©

Home vs Queens Park Reserves

Sands United FC Brighton and Hove vs Queens Park Reserves

SSFL Junior Invitation Cup First Round

1030am Sunday 3^rd November 2019 – Buckingham Park

Attendance 28 + 2 dogs

Final score 6 – 0 (HT 3 – 0)

After the torrential rain and howling gales of the day before, Sunday morning saw clear skies and a pitch in great condition for this SSFL Junior Invitation Cup First Round tie against Queens Park Reserves of Division 3.

Queens Park Reserves arrived in poor form but with goals in the team and hoping that a win verses a team in the league below might kick start their season. But despite their early season results, Sands United were coming into the game with results improving, buoyed from 2 excellent Charity Matches during Baby Loss Awareness Week vs their brothers representing Solent and Kent, a 3-3 draw vs Woodingdean Wanderers in their last league match and a thrilling 4-2 defeat vs Division 1’s Pevensey and Westham in the Roy Terrington Trophy. The whiff of a cup upset last week still fresh in the nostrils of the squad, giving us the desire to go one better in this competition.

We welcomed back Dave Thaxter into the squad this week after a few weeks of unavailability, Jason Bantock after missing last week through injury following a nasty collision towards the end of the Woodingdean game and Grant Ashworth joined the squad for the first time, representing his daughter Myla.

Before the match began the teams surrounded the centre circle to impeccably observe a minutes silence in memory of Myla Ashworth and Teresa Hyde. The camaraderie of this squad can really be seen in these moments and the roar that goes up after the ref blows his whistle only serves to motivate the team further and remind us of why we’re here.

Sands lined up as a 4-3-3, with Youseff Khier in goal, a back 4 of Jon Goodwin, Chris Mates, Jamie Hyde – captaining the team today on the anniversary of his mums passing – and Dave Thaxter, the midfield trio of George Whiting, John Westcott and Luke Kennedy looking to get out and boss the game early and a front line full of youth and experience with Jason Bantock, Mat Crann and Jamie Pardoe. Starting on the bench were Grant Ashworth, Dan Brice, Andy Lindley, Tom Silverson and Kev Thaxter.

Sands kicked off and immediately took the game to Queens Park, with some nice interchanges between Luke and John in centre midfield. Despite the biblical downpour the day before, the playing surface was in excellent condition and perfect for our passing game, with plenty of zip in the ground. The first chance was carved out following a set piece on 4 minutes, with the ball dropping to Chris who struck a beautiful half volley from the left edge of the box. The Queens Park keeper scrambled and was beaten all ends up but the far post denied Chris a fantastic first goal for the club and the ball bounced back and into the arms of the grateful keeper.

Chances

The chances started coming thick and fast after that. 2 minutes later Jason was put clean through on goal after a lovely bit of work from the midfield but the keeper held his ground and made a good one on one stop, then on 9 minutes a superb corner from John found George unmarked between the edge of the six yard box and the penalty spot, but Georges header missed the mark.

Finally the deadlock was broken on 15 minutes, when Dave found Jason in acres of space on the left. Jason drove into the box looking for his 4^th goal of the season, his effort was slightly miscued but found the covering defender who put the ball in his own net, the keeper powerless to do anything about it. The upset was on!

5 minutes later a ball over the top gave Queens Park their first real attack and an opportunity to get back into the game. Some initial confusion between Jamie and Youseff lead to their forward being allowed the ball in a dangerous position but then both recovered to limit the attack to a half chance, but a clear warning to us not to get complacent, the match was far from over.

On 25 minutes our midfield maestro John felt a pull in his calf, and rather than risk a worse injury and a spell on the side lines took the decision to come off, replaced by Dan Brice. A minute later, Dan was on the score sheet with a cross-come-shot that completely bamboozled the keeper and beat him from the best part of 35 yards. The goal was caught on camera, look out for it on our socials and decide for yourselves if it was meant or not.

Queens Park continued to battle, with most of their good moments coming through their Number 8. They were frustrated on several occasions through excellent work from our forwards tackling back, with Mat being exceptional as the first line of defence on numerous occasions throughout the game. But on 32 minutes Youseff was called into action again, coming out to close down their forward and making a very good save.

We were back on the attack not long after, with some excellent work between George and Mat put George clean through on goal, but unfortunately the final effort didn’t match the quality of the build-up and it saw another chance go begging. The game wasn’t yet put to bed and we hopefully wouldn’t be left to rue these misses as the game went on against a young side.

Nearing half time and another ball over the top called Youseff into action, again making an excellent save one on one. We then went forward and forced a corner with what would surely be the final act of a gripping first half of football. Jason’s in swinging corner from the left found George at the back post, who towered above everyone and made amends for his earlier misses, putting us 3-0 up at the break.

Focus

We had been here before having lead Woodingdean 3-0 before drawing 3-3, and Manager Jamie Stratton was in no mood for the same thing to happen again, ensuring the team stayed focussed and gave nothing away in the second half. Jon Goodwin made way for Grant to come on at Right Back, and Jamie ceded the captaincy to Grant on the match day dedicated to his Daughter Myla, whose 6^th Birthday was on October 21^st.

The team talk hit the right note, and there was no drop in intensity from the boys in the second half. A quick free kick from Luke 3 minutes into the half found Dan with time to shoot from range, but the bar denied Brice a brace on the day. Luke was clearly loving the freedom his role as the anchor of the three man midfield was allowing him and 2 minutes later was pulling the strings again, pinging a superb ball out to Jason, now on the right hand side of the trident of the front line. After his initial cross to Jamie Pardoe was blocked, the ball fell back to him and on the angle from 12 yards powered the ball home, beating the keeper at his near post. We seemed home and hosed now, but with 40 minutes left to play, focus shifted to the importance of not only a win but a convincing one and a clean sheet to boot.

Thriving

Jason was another player thriving on the day and the freedom he was finding on either side of the pitch. He was again put clean through, going one better than his previous one on one and beating the keeper, but unfortunately a Queens Park defender got back on the cover and cleared before the ball could cross the line. Not long after he beat his defender with a cheeky step over and a dirty nutmeg that left his man with his head in his hands contemplating his life choices and our supporters raucously cheering on the side lines.

Another quick Queens Park break was shut down quickly thanks to an excellent starting position from Keeper Youseff.

As we moved into the latter stages of the game and with the front line working incredibly hard throughout, Andy was introduced to lead the line replacing Jamie Pardoe who’s tireless effort throughout deserved more tangible rewards. Not long after, Tom and Kev were introduced for George and Mat.

On 73 mins, we scored our fifth, with Andy banging one in low and to the left of a stranded keeper, taken unaware by the early strike. Shouts of ‘Feed the Beast and he will score’ came from the touchline and who could argue? This was Lindleys 4^th goal in 5 matches, keeping him level with Jason in the top goal scorer standings.

Despite the game being all but over, Queens Park kept coming and 2 minutes later finally put the ball past Youseff as he closed their striker down, but an excellent clearance from Grant – who had a superb debut – underlined how much this defensive unit wanted the clean sheet.

As the game moved into the final 15 we made one final change with Jon coming back on for Dave. The game was rounded out after Luke found Tom in space 20 yards out. His eyes lit up as the ball sat up nicely for a strike, only to fluff his lines, but the resulting pressure from Kev lead to the defender showing Tom how it’s done and belting the ball in from 15 yards out.

The final 10 minutes were uneventful, and Sands romped in to the quarter finals of the cup, setting up a tie verses the winner of Sussex Albion and Hassocks Fatboys Reserves – formerly managed by Stratton.

Thrilled

Talking after the game, Stratton said he was absolutely thrilled by the performance today. We executed the game plan to perfection and dominated the game from start to finish. We said before that we fancied the upset, and we’re targeting this cup as an opportunity to raise even more awareness for the Club and the Charity.