Blues left in the mire after loss to Midhurst

Blues looked to be heading for a vital win in their pursuit of survival in County League Division 2 but two goals in the last ten minutes gave the visitors the victory.

Waller said: “It was frustrating as Midhurst looked to have run out of steam but we gifted them a penalty and then they had the momentum.

“The result leaves us deep in the mire. We’ve got six games left and we’ve got to win at least five of them now.

“We’ve lost our last few games by the odd goal and now we’ve got to turn that around and go on a run.”

The contest started positively for the home side and they went ahead after 19 minutes with a well-worked move that was neatly finished by Gavin Heater.

However, the hosts did not build on the opener and failed to really test the Midhurst goalkeeper as they struggled to find any rhythm in their play and the away side began to believe they could turn it around.

The visitors hit the crossbar in the second half, before Tim Leach gave away a penalty with ten minutes to go, which was duly converted by Gary Norgate.

Midhurst then had the proverbial wind in their sails and they took full advantage with a late Liam Dreckman winner that lifted them off the bottom of the table and ensured Rustington remain in a relegation dogfight as they dropped to second from bottom.