FOOTBALL: Rustington held by Loxwood

A win would have seen Rustington jump into the top half of the County League Division 2 table – a dramatic turnaround since Short and Terry Withers took over back in November, when they were second from bottom, with a relegation battle looking likely.

Short said: "We probably could and should have won the game. We should have nicked it, especially as we had a penalty. It is a bit disappointing as it would have put us on 44 points and into the top half. When we took over we were second bottom so it's nice to be around the mid-table.

"We have been on a great run, especially when you look at our run-in. With all the top six to play, we wondered where any points would come from."

Andy Boxall was shown a yellow card on 15 minutes for a dive in the area, although Short believed it was a stonewall penalty.

Blues did get a spot-kick 10 minutes later when the linesman flagged for handball but Boxall hit the post from the penalty.

On the stroke of half-time, Rustington's Chris Darwin beat a defender to the ball but the Loxwood goalkeeper somehow produced a fine save with his legs.

After the break, Blues went close a couple of times from Darwin corners, while Loxwood, who only had a couple of efforts from long range in the first half, could have taken the lead but their striker missed the ball from an excellent cross.

RUSTINGTON v Rye: McCarthy; Tucker, Neal, Wimbleton, Green; Darwin, C.Matthews, Butcher, Boxall, Morten; Butt. Subs: Hudson (Butt 50), Bennett (Boxall 60), Kirkham (Butcher 78), Duffy, Peters.

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