Lancing are soaring – Steyning on up in league and cup – Worthing Women win on road – Mavericks held

Lancing 4 Ramsgate 2

Isthmian south east

by Dave Wilmott

Lancing faced what, on paper, would be their toughest test of the season as they played host to a Ramsgate team sitting top of the table with 46 points, 9 clear of Cray Valley on 37 points but with 3 games in hand. Ramsgate had scored 50 goals so far, having conceded only 12, with prolific goal scorer Joe Taylor on 31, and had only suffered one defeat, on the opening day of the season, to Sevenoaks and one draw, against Cray Valley.

With home league gates sometimes reaching over 1,000 as in the match against Sevenoaks (1,042) and Herne Bay (1,625) there was an expectation of a bumper home crowd for Lancing and that proved to be the case as Ramsgate supporters helped to boost the attendance to 422.

Lancing, as previously reported, are enjoying some excellent form and, with a settled team, were not lacking in confidence. David Altendorff made one change from the recent successful line -up by throwing newcomer Ben Pope in at the deep end to give him a start, with Charlie Pitcher dropping to the bench.Ben has plied his trade at clubs at a higher level, starting with Worthing, moving on to Lewes and Hastings ,where he scored 20 goals in the promotion winning team. From there he joined Whitehawk.

Also in the squad, but on the bench, was the exciting young defender, Danny Howick, signed from Bognor Regis.

The size of the task facing Lancing was “rammed” home as early as the second minute. Alex Laing was out-jumped when a long ball was delivered down Lancing’s right. The ball ran wide and from there played into the box to Jack S.Paxman who skilfully manoeuvred himself into a scoring position and he did not waste the opportunity, giving Louis Rogers no chance from close range.

In times past, Lancing supporters might have developed the jitters, after seeing their team conceding so soon, but the current crop of players has proven that they have the resilience and belief in their ability to simply knuckle down and set about playing their way back into the game.

A nice passage of play down Lancing’s right led to Knory Scott hitting a cross for Lukas Franzen-Jones, who turned with the ball but it ran away from him. Lost possession in midfield created a shooting chance for the Rams but Louis Rogers was on hand to make a save.

It took Lancing barely 14 minutes to draw level. Ben Pope sped clear down the right and delivered an inch perfect cross to Lukas Franzen-Jones who had found space in the six -yard box. He brought the ball under control and calmly passed it into the opposite corner.

Ben Pope showed fine control laying the ball off to Charlie Bennett who drove clear of the cross bar.S.Paxman and Joe Taylor were proving to be a real handful .Paxman fired point blank at Louis Rogers but the Lancing keeper got two strong hands in the way to control the ball. Paxman then slipped a clever pass in behind for Taylor to run on to but Charlie Gibson and Sam Bull were quick to close him down.

Knory Scott was enjoying a good spell on Lancing’s right, retaining the ball well and using it to good advantage. He played a one two with Ben Pope and completed the move with a shot on target, but without the power to trouble keeper Tom Hadler.

S.Paxman continued to pose a threat, making his way across field and passing the ball out wide .A corner ensued and Louis Rogers did well to punch the ball well clear.

The Lancing front men were showing plenty of energy and covering the ground to deny the visitors an easy passage from the back, pressing at every opportunity. Sam Bull was penalised for a foul at the edge of the box. Charlie Bennett rose well to head the free-kick away, but the ball fell to a Rams player whose instant volley cleared the safety net. landing clear of the ground.

Just when Lancing seemed to have weathered some dangerous attacking play by the lively Rams forwards, a careless cross field pass was intercepted by Joe Taylor who spotted Louis Rogers away from his goal and calmly lobbed the ball towards the empty net.Knory Scott made a desperate effort to keep the ball out but it bounced over the line.36 minutes gone and the league leaders were back in front.

Louis Rogers was kept busy with a couple more saves to make and Jack Meeres had to make a vital tackle to keep the Rams at bay. Charlie Bennett was showing some fine first touches and was bringing Knory Scott into play. Scott was proving very elusive with the Rams defence unable to get close enough to regain possession from him. They worked along the right with Bennett’s run towards goal halted with a foul. Lancing’s front men were growing in confidence and finished the first half on the attack. Franzen-Jones and Pope were showing good control with their backs to the goal but the visitor’s defence held firm not allowing the front men to trouble Hadler.

An early cross from Alex Laing, as the second half got underway, reached Lukas Franzen-Jones who controlled the ball superbly but got underneath his shot. Joe Taylor continued to be a danger and he set up Alfie Paxman who brought another good save from Louis Rogers.

The busy schedule had taken its toll on the Lancing players and, with plenty of options on the bench, it was no surprise to see David Altendorff ring the changes. On came Charlie Pitcher for Lukas Franzen-Jones. with 30 minutes to go. Charlie showed some fine ball control wide on the left and hit a sweeping cross to pick out Knory Scott on the far side. Scott made a bee-line for the goal but his finish swerved just wide of the target.

Lancing were gaining control, thanks to some dogged work in midfield from Briggs, Taggart and Bennett. .Jack Meeres got his head to a corner on the far post which came off a Rams defender and went behind for another corner but Lancing could not make their possession count.

The vital breakthrough was made by George Taggart bringing Lancing level on 67 minutes. This sparked a goal blitz as Lancing scored twice more in just over ten minutes. Charlie Bennet finished off a fine attacking run by laying the ball into the path of Ben Pope who struck the ball with power into the net Alex Laing was then replaced by Dan Howick. Pope then repaid Bennett by managing to get his head to the ball and direct it towards Charlie Bennett, with referee Andrew Dunn appearing to allow advantage to be played. To the tumultuous roar from the Lancing faithful, Bennett put some daylight between the two teams with Lancing’s fourth.

Harry Heath then came on for Ben Pope, to use his pace to maintain the pressure on the Rams’ defence and soon tested keeper Hadler with a low drive on the turn, which Hadler pushed wide for a corner.

Joe Taylor had not given up the ghost but his over exuberance got himself into the referee’ s note book for a foul on Louis Rogers. He was still able to get another effort on goal but it flashed wide. With the comfort of a two-goal cushion, Lancing were able to see out the game.

The roar from Yellow and Blue supporters as the whistle blew for time, after 6 added minutes, was as loud as I have ever heard and this result, following on from their recent run of success, certainly sends out a message to the rest of the League.

Lancing have now moved into the promotion play-off zone, occupying 5th place, their highest ever, level on points with fourth place Three Bridges and two points behind Sittingbourne in third, but with a game in hand on both.

I cannot praise the work rate and unity our players are showing high enough but do not want to get carried away when there is still a long way to go .However, when the Ramsgate chairman goes on the record to say “That second half was the best I’ve seen from any team so far this season”, I need not say any more, except to congratulate Ben Pope for a fine debut, laying on one goal and scoring our second with a great strike, a performance recognised by Emilia Hamilton, match ball sponsor with her family, and a dedicated fan, who selected Ben as her Player of the Match.

Lancing: Louis Rogers, Alex Young (Capt. )(Dan Howick 77.),Jack Meeres, Sam Bull, Charlie Gibson, Andrew Briggs, George Taggart, Charlie Bennett, Knory Scott, Ben Pope(Harry Heath 80), Lukas Franzen-Jones(Charlie Pitcher 59). Unused subs: Alex Plummer, Eliot Jenks.

Lancing drew 1-1 at Cray Valley PM on Tuesday night – Charlie Pitcher the scorer. The point moved them up a place and they’re now fourth. They go to Erith and Belvedere on Sunday.

Steyning unbeaten over festive period

by Richard Woodbridge

The Barrowmen completed four matches over the Christmas and early 2024 period and won one of them & drew three of them. With three of the games being away from home on the face of it, this would look like a decent return for the matches given.

However, given how these matches played out Steyning will have an overriding sense of frustration at the points dropped.

The latest game of these four matches came on Saturday away to Peacehaven. Town dominated long periods of the game, especially in the first half, when in all honesty they should’ve scored three or four goals and been well out of sight. Towning, Chalaye and Francis all wasting excellent opportunities. A shame for these three as otherwise they were three on the stand out players in the first half. Remfry also crashed a drive against the bar.

The combination of the poor finishing and good goalkeeping meant Town only had one early goal from Radley-Martin to show for their dominance.The second half was a slightly less one-sided affair. However, with Lucas in goal only making one save all afternoon, it was the impressive Stroomberg in the Peacehaven goal who was far busier; great handling all afternoon.

Again Steyning wasted a number of very promising opportunities in the last third and a miss by Chalaye in the final couple of minutes after a great move summed up the afternoon for the team.

In other games over the festive period town started off with an away game at Crawley Doen Gatwick, where they raced into a three-goal lead through goals from Cooper, Chalaye & Barnes. On the hour Town were so much in control that you couldn’t see anything other than them returning home with the three points and more goals coming. However, a woeful defensive display in the final 30 minutes from the whole team let in the hosts with three goals when they hadn’t threatened the Town in the whole first hour. Credit to them for capitalising, but really the game should have been put to bed.

On Boxing Day at home Town we’re determined to make amends and they did exactly that with a fine display against local rivals Shoreham FC, and a cracking hat-trick from Tom Chalaye and an extra goal from Nathan Cooper meant they ran out comfortable 4-1 winners. Ex town hitman Ben Bacon notching for Shoreham.

On the 30th of December Steyning travelled to in from Haywards Heath. On paper, the toughest game of the whole period and a game in which Town probably performed best again, creating the better chances in the first half and being the better side for 45 minutes.

Around the hour mark , they took a vital lead with great work by Lloyd Francis who had his shot parried and it was followed up by Chalaye who slammed the ball home. However, Town could not hold on with the equaliser from Finney meant the shares were spoiled.

Things got better for Steyning on Tuesday night when they reached the semi-finals of the Sussex Senior Cup – winning 5-3 on penalties after a 2-2 draw in 90 minutes at Burgess Hill. They will face Horsham in a semi-final at Culver Road.

There had been a thrilling end to the match after 90 minutes, as Harry Shooman popped up in the box after an almighty scramble to prod home a last minute equaliser for the Barrowmen. This was the least they deserved for a performance, full of passion and commitment as they went toe to toe with their opponents , and in fact, probably shaded the match on the balance of play.

The final 20 minutes especially, after Town had gone 2-1 down, was one-way traffic and Steyning were knocking very hard at the door until Shooman produced the magical prod in the final moments.

The first half been a pretty, even and slightly cagey affair. Burgess Hill were looking very dangerous on the break with their pacey youthful team, and Steyning spent long periods camped in the Burgess Hill half but found it hard to break down the rearguard.

However, on the half-hour they did make the all important breakthrough with the hard-working Goldson, getting on the end of a Cooper freekick on the right and producing a fantastic low cross, which Shooman converted from close range.

Goldson himself missed a decent chance to make it two before half time but shot wide from a decent position.

Hill came out for the second half with a much more purposeful approach. Immediately moving the ball around quicker and applying pressure to Steyning. They were more rewarded almost immediately with a goal from Hallard from 20 yards, which dipped beating Lucas, and then off the crossbar and in.

Town reacted well but suddenly found themselves in a real match. The game proceeded to ebb and flow and to end and the hard working Chalaye had a fantastic chance for Steyning with a terrific run from deep inside the hill half beating the last man, but failing to beat Seymour in the Hill goal.

Powell went close for the hosts at the other end but scuffed his shot wide when through on goal. On 78 minutes Hallard scored a second for the hosts with a low volley from a corner to put Hill in front for the first time.

A lesser team would’ve been down and out, but not Steyning. This team doesn’t lie down and spurred on in the final 15 minutes by the skipper Barnes and the impressive Francis, and and positive impacts of the subs that came on; Remfry, Towning, Clark and Rance it became one way traffic with Hill wasting time and desperate to hear the final whistle. And they got oh so close to that final whistle, but could not see the game out as Rob Clarks deep cross was won by Cooper, sparking a melee in the box and Shooman was there to delightfully prod home from close range; penalties it was.

Full credit to the team as Steyning in fact took five majestic penalties. Skipper Barnes, as normal, set them on their way and Remfry, Chalaye and Towning all converted in style before Ward missed the fourth spot kick for the hosts.

It was left to that man Shooman to calmly slot home to spark the celebrations. What an evening. What a game. What a result.

The Reds are now incredibly just one game from the final at the Amex Stadium, but standing in their way are the force that is Horsham FC from two divisions above. Yet again, Town will be the underdogs, but as we seen time and time again from this team, they can spark a surprise.

The semi final will be played at the Sussex county FA headquarters at Lancing on February 27 at 7:30pm. Don’t miss it.

Town: Lucas Da Costa Fuller Cooper Shooman Barnes Radley-Martin Edwards Francis Chalaye Goldson. Subs used: Rance Clark Towning Remfry Not used: Rondel. Att 225.

Chesham Ladies 2 Worthing Women 4

National League Div 1 SE

by Gareth Nicholas

Worthing completed the double over Chesham United who belied their lowly league position.

Reds returned to action after the Christmas break and continued from where they’d left off with an away win. The only change to the side which had started mid-December’s victory at Cambridge United saw Club Captain Gemma Worsfold return in place of Sammy Quayle. Injury too accounted for Katie Cooper’s absence.

A sunny day accompanied by a distinct chill in the air greeted the two teams as both looked to dust off any cobwebs.

It was the hosts who got to the feather dusters first, thanks to Gemma Fraser testing the strength of the crossbar from distance; igniting a penalty box scrimmage that finally ended when a grounded Emma Blakely did well to block a follow-up effort by Sasha Smith, on the line.

Neither ‘keeper was kept particularly busy for the next twenty minutes after that, aside from a couple of occasions where Lauren Dolbear needed to negotiate the bright sunshine to field a pair of potentially threatening crosses.

Then, a foul on Sophie Humphrey on the corner edge of the eighteen yard box offered an opportunity to Dani Rowe from the subsequent free-kick. One that was very much taken, despite the best efforts of Chesham netminder Lucia Delves and her crossbar who, ultimately, were powerless to prevent Worthing’s leading scorer Becki Bath converting from very close range.

Within a minute, the visitors had doubled their lead and Humphrey featured significantly again. Robbing Hana Hetherington on the halfway line, in front of the respective benches, ‘Soph’ made immediate headway down the left wing before fizzing in a low delivery that came back out to a fully prepared Chloe Winchester. ‘Winch’ placed a precise finish across L. Delves and into the opposite side of the net.

A rampant Reds threatened to make it three a few short moments later, as custodian Delves found herself stranded in no man’s land, only for Ellie Walker-Smith to ensure Worsfold didn’t add her name to the scoresheet.

Although it didn’t take much longer for our ‘Gem’ to have a major say in who did, approaching the break. A delightful reverse pass by the Skipper playing in Humphrey who returned the favour, thus allowing Bath to eventually benefit by burying number three.

Half-time oranges/Lucozades (other energy drinks are available) were all lined up and ready to to go/be devoured, until a late flurry of openings, at either end, almost put a whole new perspective on things.

Firstly, Tierney Scott’s twisting and turning produced a positive punt that stung the palms of Delves (L), prior to Emma Bebbington’s perfectly timed, last-ditch tackle stopping Shannon Albuery in her tracks as she was about to pull the trigger. Thirdly and lastly, the final minute of a minimum of four to be added on saw Dolbear put on a display of equal brilliance; moving across her goal to get not one but two strong hands on Captain Kat Bowers’ long range screamer, to palm it over the top for a corner.

Again, a largely uneventful period elapsed between the change of ends and just past the hour mark, whereupon the Generals sent out a message to the opposing Rebels that, even at three-nil, the result was far from assured.

A simple through ball proved to be the guest's undoing; Natalia Makowska taking it in her stride and calmly slotting beyond Dolbear to revive the home team's hopes.

However, normal service appeared to have been resumed courtesy of Emily Linscer - only on the pitch a few minutes - expertly picking out the dome of Albuery, from tight to the far touchline, who gleefully glanced in a fourth to surely put the game to bed ?

Well, not quite, as it turned out. Goalscorer Smith turned provider when she got down the same side up the other end and crossed into the danger zone for Fraser to sweep in a second; reducing the deficit once more.

In keeping with the new Chuckle Brothers-inspired match narrative of “to me, to you” Rowe fashioned the next shooting opportunity via a flag kick. Albuery’s noggin directin’ the ball goalwards, where Delves pulled off a super save to parry it to safety.

Delves surpassed that particular stop with an even better one to deny Winchester in the last minute of a now absorbing contest.

Again, it all started with a Rowe corner this time being met by ‘Winch.’ Blakely aiding and nearly abetting bringing a hive of activity to a defining outcome, by laying the ball back for the initial recipient to blast a bullet that the Bucks’ number one must have seen late but still managed to keep out.

There was still enough left on the clock in stoppages for two substitutes to combine. Wonderful hold-up play by Linscer preceded a pass for Izzy Glass-Oliver to swivel and test a busy Delves one last time.

Wick 1 Arundel 0

SCFL Division 1

Iceman Dave Crouch fired Wick to victory over Arundel in the freezing cold at Crabtree Park to maintain the Dragons’s red-hot form.

The striker bagged his 14th goal of the season three minutes into the second half, turning in the rebound after Josh Irish slammed a shot against a post.

Wick have now won five Southern Combination Division One matches in a row and have taken 16 of the last 18 points available to climb into the thick of the playoff battle.

Arundel started brightly with two Jordan Crane free-kicks forcing diving saves from home goalkeeper Keelan Belcher as temperatures in the biting wind dropped to -4 degrees but the Dragons responded after the interval and deserved their win.

'We weren’t at our best in the first-half but after a chat during the break we came out and played much better,' said manager Lee Baldwin.

‘It was a very good win to start the year and we have maintained momentum. You can’t ask for more than that.

‘It doesn’t get any easier as we entertain Division One leaders Dorking Wanderers B on Saturday then travel to second-placed Roffey, who are favourites for automatic promotion, on Tuesday.

‘But these are the type of tests we relish and we are looking forward to a strong finish to the season.’

WICK have been granted planning permission for new floodlights at Crabtree Park which prepare the Dragons for a bright future.

The ambitious Southern Combination Division One promotion contenders are intent on improving a ground which is already one of the best at the Step 6 level in the county.

A club statement revealed: 'Wick FC are delighted to confirm they have received planning permission for new LED floodlights at Crabtree Park.

'This now allows the club to draw down their grant from The Premier League Stadium Fund.'

Football Chairman Terry Doyle commented: 'This is a major step forward for the club's plans to establish Crabtree Park as a first class local facility.

'The new lights will replace old inefficient ones with modern new LED bulbs significantly reducing running costs and improving light quality.'

Installation is expected to be complete early in 2024.

Godalming Town 1

Worthing United 1

SCFL Division 1

The Mavericks came away from an absolute pudding of a pitch at third-placed Godalming Town with another valuable point on the board.

United boss Bill Clifford said: “We should take the fact that Godalming chose to use the pitch for a game in the morning, despite the torrential rain that we’ve had this week as a compliment. Clearly they were worried about playing us and decided to make a lottery of the game.”

A first half thunderbolt from Andrew Younger was cancelled out by a late goal from the home side – the draw a fair reflection.

Goring CC FC 1

Horsham Crusaders 1

West Sussex Division 1

Goring's first game for over a month ended in a disappointing draw.

Goring started with a good early chance for Connor Pomeroy which brought a fine save from the keeper.

This was followed by a Jack Cottingham volley which hit the post and a fine effort from Todor Bankov which struck the bar.

Horsham were unable to find a way past Goring's resolute defence of Jacob Pippin, Alex Staines, Ben Crack and Kieron Gillard.

Goring went ahead in the 72nd minute with an unstoppable header from Jay Wealden. Horsham equalised in the 90th minute.

Goring remain undefeated in the league.

Queen's Head 4

Yapton Res 2

West Sussex Div 3S

Leading 2-0 with 20 minutes left, Yapton must have felt confident of victory – but defensive howlers enabled the leaders to run in four in a 14-minute spell.

Jake Dean scored both Yapton goals after good work by Callum Doyle and Connor Jones respectively and Ryan Burch went close to adding a third.

After the first Queen's goal, the rot set in. Dean missed the chance of a hat-trick in the dying seconds, putting a penalty wide.