Bexhill eager to right some wrongs in quarter-final

The Pirates will travel to Langney Wanderers in the last eight of the Macron Store Southern Combination Football League Division One Challenge Cup tomorrow (Saturday). Kick-off is 3pm.

Langney scored a whopping 13 goals in the two league meetings with Bexhill this season, following up a 5-0 home victory in August with an 8-1 demolition at The Polegrove on January 2.

Light said: “We’ve discussed it and it’s almost like if I could choose to be drawn against anybody that’s still in the competition, I want Langney Wanderers.

“They’ve given us two absolute spankings and you don’t often get the opportunity to have another crack. I wouldn’t want to end this season with that (the two heavy defeats) and we’re looking forward to putting a few wrongs right.

“But as much as we’re relishing a third game against them, they’ll be delighted they’re playing against us.”

Despite the results of the league games between the two clubs, ninth-placed Bexhill are actually one position and two points above Langney in the table, albeit having played three more matches.

“I don’t think they’re 8-1 better than us,” continued Light. “They’re very clinical going forward, but we had an under-21 back four on the day and I think they’re there to be got at at the back.”

Langney have lost their two games since last facing Bexhill, both against teams in the bottom five, while Bexhill have picked up one from point from their two - last weekend’s 1-1 draw at home to Oakwood.

“Obviously the scores are going to be in the backs of their (the players’) heads, but the personnel will be different to what played on New Year’s Day,” Light went on. “It’s a knockout competition and anything can happen.

“We’ll have a gameplan. We’ll have to keep a closer eye on Nathan Crabb and Paul Rogers, and give players individual tasks to stop them. When they’re in full flight, they’re players that shouldn’t be playing county one football.”

Kevin Barden, Matt Cunnington and Billy Trickett are still out, but Gordon Cuddington will return from suspension. Ashley Kidman is rated 50-50.

Light added that Bexhill will be bringing in a couple of new faces to ‘freshen things up’, although the players in question will be cup-tied for tomorrow’s game.

Little Common, meanwhile, are without a fixture tomorrow as they are out of the same cup and no league games are scheduled across the whole division.

Common won 3-2 at Ringmer last weekend to remain top of the table on goal difference from second-placed Saltdean United.

Player-manager Russell Eldridge said: “In a way yes we would like to play again to keep the momentum going, but in a way it’s nice to have a week off to let knocks and niggles recover. I’m not really fussed either way.

“I think it was important we played last week because having two weeks without a game wouldn’t have been ideal at all.”

The first of Common’s 10 remaining matches is at home to Selsey next Saturday (January 28).

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