Late drama as Sidley beat Sedlescombe .. Westfield well-beaten by Lindfield

Sedlescombe Rangers 2 - 3 Sidley United

A stoppage time winner from Charlie Cornford earned all three points and kept Sidley's winning run going in the Mid Sussex Premier League.

It looked like the Blues would have a comfortable afternoon early on as they took a two goal lead. First a neat move played in Sam Crabb clean through on goal and he finished smartly past former Blues stopper Peter Newstead on 16 minutes.

The lead was then doubled on 31 minutes when a long throw from Cornford was half cleared before being fired across the box for Paul Rogers to turn home from close range to continue his run of scoring in every game since joining the club.

But the Blues may have taken their foot off the pedal at that point and the home side pulled a goal back on 36 minutes when a shot was parried out by Sidley goalkeeper Phil Hawkins and Liam Cobley was quickest to slot home the rebound.

And Sedlescombe levelled the scores just before half time as Sidley appealed in vein for offside before the ball was cut back to Ben Seal whose shot crept into the net via the inside of the post.

The second half saw Sedlescombe sitting deeper and trying to catch Sidley on the counter. Alan Foster came close to restoring the Sidley lead but his curling shot came back off the underside of the crossbar.

Cornford's long throw was a weapon Sidley looked to use to their advantage and it caused the home side problems on a number of occasions but the final touch just seemed to be evading the Blues.

But in the first minute of stoppage time, MoM Cornford went on a strong run, passing his man on the right of the area and despite being forced wide, he managed to beat Newstead to the ball, with his shot rolling into the far corner to secure all three points

A tough result for Sedlescombe who were worthy of something from the game but for the Blues that's two weeks in a row where late goals have earned them full points.

Sidley: Hawkins, S Crabb, McEniry, Elliott-Noye, Walker, Foster, Elphick, Ellis, Cornford, Baldwin, Rogers. Subs: Featherstone, N Crabb, Williams.

* Westfield went into their game with Lindfield hoping for a second straight league win, however came up against a strong Lindfield side who beat them 4-1.

Westfield started brightly enough, creating a couple of clear cut chances. Ten minutes into the game however, Lindfield were beginning to cause Westfield problems in the centre of midfield. Lindfield’s strikers were getting in behind and it wasn’t long before they opened the scoring. A move on the left- hand side fell to Lindfield’s striker who calmly slotted in.

Lindfield soon found themselves two up, a handball by Westfield defender Ian May was judged to have occurred inside the penalty box. Lindfield dispatched the resulting penalty confidently.

Things went from bad to worse for Westfield as a brilliant header and hatrick by Lindfield’s striker put the game beyond Westfield. Lindfield later then added a fourth when Westfield lost possession on the edge of their own box.

Westfield to their credit worked hard to get back into the game and the substitutes who came on all contributed to an improved second half. Dom Whittaker and Nick Cox battled well in midfield, with Cox going close with two efforts. Lee Paine held the ball well up front and this allowed Josh Pickering to play deeper. Pickering provided a superb assist for Westfield’s only goal of the game. George King expertly converting a thirty yard Pickering cross with a well taken finish.

Westfield got what they deserved and were outfought by a well drilled Lindfield side. The Westies will hope to get their season back on track next week and welcome back four of the players missing from last week’s win.

Westfield: Banche, May, Rea, Kipps, Durrant, Shelton, Giles, Ferguson, Pethig, Pickering, King.