East Sussex Football League: Bexhill AAC, Pevensey & Westham and The JC Tackleway celebrate cup glory

Pevensey & Westham, Bexhill AAC and The JC Tackleway III were the teams celebrating cup glory over the bank holiday weekend.

Pevensey firstly lifted the ESFL Challenge Cup (Division Three/Four), sponsored by A2B Decorating Ltd, after a 2-0 win over higher-grade Mountfield United at Hastings United FC last Friday night.

Division Four side Pevensey overcame a Mountfield team which finished third in Division Three courtesy of goals from Stuart Potter and Joe Sherriff.

AAC and Tackleway were then victorious in the Macron Store Hastings Challenge Cup and Macron Store Hastings Vase finals respectively at Westfield FC on Saturday afternoon.

Although set to finish bottom of the Premier Division, AAC were 2-0 victors against a Punnetts Town outfit which barring a 10-goal defeat in its final league match will end up third.

Both goals came during the second half after Punnetts, playing in their third cup final of the campaign, had been reduced to 10 men.

Ben Barton and Jonny Sloat were AAC’s goal heroes against ESFL Challenge Cup (Premier Division) winners Punnetts.

Shortly afterwards, Tackleway defeated higher-grade Ticehurst 2-1 to become the first-ever Macron Store Hastings Vase winners.

Tackleway, from Division Four, held a narrow half-time lead and went on to double their advantage before Ticehurst, of Division Three, pulled one back.

Joe Adams and Rikki Matthews were on the scoresheet for Tackleway, while Shane Bumstead replied for Ticehurst.

Meanwhile, Little Common II and SC Pass & Move will contest the Hastings & District FA Junior Challenge Cup final at Hastings United FC this Friday night.

The Commoners earned the right to compete for the silverware courtesy of a 3-1 home semi-final success against Division Two rivals Westfield III on Saturday.

The finishing of Cyrus Abbott, Taylor Norton and Kit Harris-Macrae got the job done for the Commoners at Bexhill College.

Pass & Move, who finished third in Division One, booked their place with a narrow 1-0 win over Bexhill AAC II in the first last-four showdown last Wednesday evening.

A solitary Brandon Kovacs goal was enough for Pass & Move - who were playing their first game for well over a month - to overcome the Division Two champions at Netherfield Recreation Ground.

The Hastings & District FA Lower Divisions Cup semi-finals were played on Monday and one of them culminated in an extraordinary penalty shootout.

Ticehurst put their Macron Store Hastings Vase final disappointment swiftly behind them by winning 17-16 on penalties at home to Crowhurst III.

That was after the Division Three sides contested a 2-2 draw in which all the goals came before half time. Darren Nicol and Thomas Buckingham notched for Ticehurst.

Bexhill AAC III enjoyed a less nerve-jangling passage through as they overcame Westfield IV 3-0 at Sidley Recreation Ground.

Strikes by Kurt Excell, Andrew Matthews and Ethan Rise ensured AAC, from Division Four, got the better of their Division Three visitors.

As for the league, the penultimate Premier Division match of the season was played last Tuesday evening and Westfield II edged out Punnetts Town 1-0.

A first-half strike by Conor McManus was sufficient to move fourth-placed Westfield level on points with their third-placed victims, but they've now finished and Punnetts have a game left.

Two Division Four fixtures were played on Saturday and they proved somewhat contrasting affairs.

Matthew Bricknell, Luke Darvill and Luke Gasson all scored hat-tricks as third-placed Northiam 75 II ended their season with a 16-0 triumph at home to Hastings Athletic II.

Jordan Bull, Julian Carney, Alex Neville, Danny Smith, Jordan Turner, Callum Beattie and Cieran Fitzgerald also got in on the act.

Fifth-placed Sovereign Saints Development contested a 2-2 home draw against St Leonards Social II, for whom the point wasn’t quite enough to move up to eighth.

The goals of Ryan Bere and Charlie Purvis for Saints were matched by Kenny Hutchinson and Jeffery Harbour for Social.

Standings – Premier Division (played-points): Hollington United 18-42 (+37 goal difference), Rye Town 18-37 (+17), Punnetts Town 17-28 (+22), Westfield II 18-28 (+13), Jesters Town 18-23 (0), The JC Tackleway 18-23 (-5), Sandhurst 17-20 (-7), Sidley United 18-20 (-23), Sedlescombe Rangers 18-15 (-26), Bexhill AAC 18-12 (-28). Bexhill Town withdrawn.

Division 1 (played-points): Ninfield 16-42 (+44), Northiam 75 16-35 (+31), SC Pass & Move 16-34 (+31), Rye Town II 16-34 (+28), Herstmonceux 16-20 (-11), Hawkhurst United 16-16 (-19), St Leonards Social 16-15 (-19), Crowhurst II 16-5 (-55), Battle Town II 16-4 (-30).

Division 2 (played-points): Bexhill AAC II 15-39 (+27), Victoria Baptists 16-33 (+28), Wadhurst United 16-28 (+13), Little Common II 15-26 (+5), Westfield III 16-26 (-4), Hooe 16-15 (0), Catsfield 16-15 (-8), Parkfield 16-12 (-13), Sedlescombe Rangers Development 16-1 (-48). Jesters Town II withdrawn.

Division 3 (played-points): The JC Tackleway II 18-44 (+46), Crowhurst III 18-40 (+32), Mountfield United 18-34 (+30), Battle Town Development 18-30 (-11), Burwash 17-27 (+3), Ticehurst 18-23 (+2), Orington 18-20 (-2), Robertsbridge United 18-20 (-11), Westfield IV 18-11 (-41), Hastings Athletic 17-7 (-48).

Division 4 (played-points): Pevensey & Westham 20-48 (+86), The JC Tackleway III 19-46 (+75), Northiam 75 II 20-46 (+57), Bexhill AAC III 20-41 (+42), Sovereign Saints Development 19-33 (+9), Robertsbridge United II 20-27 (+7), Icklesham Casuals 20-21 (-16), Hastings Comets* 20-18 (-7), St Leonards Social II 20-18 (-37), Hawkhurst United II 20-16 (-37), Hastings Athletic II* 20-0 (-179). * = points adjusted.

Fixtures – Friday May 9 (kick-off 7.45pm)

Hastings & District FA Junior Challenge Cup final: SC Pass & Move v Little Common II (at Hastings United FC).

Saturday May 10 (kick-off 2pm)

Premier Division: Sandhurst v Punnetts Town.