It’s no classic, but Mile Oak are happy to beat East Preston

In a game which severely tested the skills and stamina of everyone, the home side triumphed thanks to two first-half goals.

The first came from acting skipper Liam Smart, who headed home from a corner, and a second ensued when a Ben Kirkpatrick free kick managed to evade everyone and bounce into the far corner.

East Preston responded in lively fashion but the Oak defence was solid, a Kirkpatrick header off the line ensuring Oak held the advantage at the interval.

As conditions worsened in the second half the players struggled to provide any cohesive moves, this suited the home side but led to some ill disciplined moments from an increasingly fractious East Preston.

One of their number was shown a red card for an off-the-ball incident and a number of yellows were shown as heavy challenges flew in from the opposition.

As the final whistle blew and the drenched players squelched their way off the pitch the EP manager incurred the wrath of the referee and also received the dreaded red card.

It was that kind of day but it was a welcome win for the Oak and they move into 8th spot.

Sopping-wet Oak boss Sam Cornish said “Given the weather conditions that hit Sussex on Saturday afternoon we knew this one was never going to be a thriller - and it wasn’t!

"We started really brightly and were able to gain control of the game fairly quickly, a large spell of pressure was capped off with a goal from Smarty and we never really looked back from there on.

"At half-time we knew the biggest challenge would not only come from an East Preston reaction to being behind, but we were then out with the wind in our faces and worsening weather conditions.

"It was a well deserved three points and I thought we were excellent again, particularly off the ball. We never gave EP a chance to regain any foothold in the game and were able to limit them to very few chances.”

Mile Oak visit Guildford City on Saturday.