Football: Bosham and Petworth tasted Simmonds success

Malcolm Simmonds Cup wins for Bosham and Petworth are the highlights of our latest round-up of West Sussex League teams' matches.

Bosham 5 Wittering Utd 2 (aet)

Malcolm Simmonds Cup

Bosham drew on all their experience and reserves of strength to come from behind and storm through to the next round of the cup at the expense of Wittering.

Sub Darren Cassey came on to hit a double in extra-time to turn the game Bosham’s way after they had managed to scramble back into the tie with a late equaliser through James Ash late in normal time.

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Wittering - managed by ex-Bosham stalwart Gary Jefkins - started positively but were caught out at the back early on when Neil Redman slotted in at the near post from a lovely cross from James Bracher.

Joe Hancock went agonisingly close having got through on goal. A delightful chip left keeper Ash Rochester floundering but Tom Jefkins had tracked back to clear the ball off the line to keep the blue and white hoops in it.

The game swung towards the visitors and Tom Kelly headed home from a cross from Jefkins to give Wittering renewed hope.

Right on half-time Wittering got their noses in front when the Reds defence failed to deal with a cross from Greg Robinson and Jefkins stabbed the ball home to give the Blues a surprise half-time lead.

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Bosham should have squared things up when Hancock and Graeme Dowden combined down the left before Dowden squared to Bracher with an open goal begging. Somehow the striker scooped the ball over the bar.

Bosham fought on and Wittering rode their luck at times.

With time running out, the Reds got back on level terms to force extra-time. Ben Blanshard produced a peach of a cross from the left and substitute Ash dived to head home to the delight of the large home crowd.

Extra-time proved one-sided as an immensely-fit Bosham team dominated and a clinical double from Cassey saw them through.

Dowden also netted with a scorcher of a free-kick.

Bosham: Hasted, Blanshard, Brett, Redman, Docherty, Probee, Wilson, Dowden, Redman, Joe Hancock, Bracher. Subs: Ash, Cassey.

– ALAN PRICE

Petworth 4 Lavant 3

Malcolm Simmonds Cup

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Lavant crashed to their third consecutive defeat and were knocked out of the cup by determined Petworth.

Martin Dillon opened Petworth’s account in the sixth minute and Rob Levett hit the side-netting soon after.

The visitors played good build-up football, but the final approach let them down.

Even so, Mike Bartley and James Sandford went close and a penetrating run by stand-in central defender Matt Lyttle set up Sandford. His stinging shot was superbly saved by Alex Wadey.

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Levett was upended in the box and Dan Warren converted the spot-kick just before the half-hour.

When the ball was given away in midfield by Lavant, Dillon netted his second on 37 minutes, giving Petworth a 3-0 lead at the break.

Dillon completed his hat-trick two minutes after the restart.

Bartley had a penalty appeal denied and at the other end Neil Sanson saved from Levett.

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But Lavant were a different side in the second half and when Bartley fed Sandford the striker pulled one back on the hour. Bartley hit Lavant’s second from 30 yards four minutes later and when he was fouled in the box he converted the penalty three minutes from time.

Petworth held out against non-stop pressure although Richard Gabb shaved the home side’s crossbar in stoppage time. Petworth moved on to the next round while lavant have questions to answer of themselves.

LAVANT: Sanson; Coe, Purgavie, Lyttle, Latham; Gabb, Bartley, Stevens, Ayers; Sandford, Parker. Subs: Hughes, McClean.

Stedham United 2 Bosham Res 1

Division three south

In a scrappy first half, all three goals came within five minutes.

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Bosham went ahead with a misunderstanding in the Stedham ranks.

Stedham found an equaliser almost immediately when the ball was played into the path of in-form striker Matt Tilbury, who put the ball out of reach of the keeper.

Two minutes later a penalty was given when Tilbury went shoulder to shoulder with the Bosham centre-half. Tilbury made it three goals in two games from the spot.

Stedham’s Rupert Sleight, Alex Jones and Tilbury all wasted good opportunities and Peter Riding curled a fantastic effort towards the top corner from 25 yards from which the keeper was forced to make a good save.

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The game ended on a sore note when a Bosham defender was sent off for a nasty retaliation on Barry Stevens after a late tackle. Stevens was booked for his part in the incident.

This was Stedham’s first league win this season.

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