Lightning strikes twice for Selsey – Little Common held at Roffey

This time it was the same outcome as in the home game as Epsom snatched a late winner.

Epsom had the better of the early stages but Selsey came back into it after conceding in the opening 15minutes.

Selsey boss Daren Pearce said: “To their credit the lads got a deserved equaliser with a well worked free kick which saw Corey Burns turning home the delivery at the near post.

"Just as we were settling down and heading towards half-time we conceded a second as an Epsom forward fired over Syd Davies, who had earlier been down injured after a collision in the box with a Epsom player.

"So we were 2-1 down at rhe break and forced into a change which saw U18s goalkeeper Ryan Matlock come on for his debut.

"We started the second half brightly, taking the game to our hosts and got our equaliser as a corner wasn't dealt with and was bundled into the net by Bradley Vaughan.

"Soon after we should have taken the lead but James.Hemton fired against the post.

"Shane Brazil then fired wide and Cian Griffin-Tiley had a close range effort saved and the scores stayed level.

"As the game was entering the last few minutes a deep free kick was half cleared and an Epsom player headed back over everyone and into the net.

“It was another result that was tough to take defeat against an Epsom side who we have had two close encounters with but been beaten in both games when they looked like they were heading for draws.

“We must make sure we concentrate for the full gane and not switch off late in the match when teams are trying to push us back.

“Our attention now moves to our last home game of the season against Arundel Fc tonight (Thursday, 7.45pm).

Roffey 2 Little Common 2

SCFL premier

Less than 48 hours after their previous fixture, Little Common made another journey into Horsham to take on Roffey on Saturday afternoon.

The match itself was switched to Horsham FC’s ground to ensure it went ahead following another bad spell of weather. The Commoners made one change to their starting line-up with Josh Turner coming in to replace the injured Ollie Weeks.

Despite the hosts enjoying a positive start to the game and hitting the post within the opening minute, it was Common who opened the scoring in the 5th minute when Sam Cruttwell converted a penalty following a foul on Freddie Warren.

In a fairly even contest both teams had chances to add to the scoring, Warren saw a shot graze the top of the bar and Sam Ellis fizzed in a shot that flashed across the face of the goal.

Roffey did not look like a team placed at the bottom of the table and created a number of chances themselves, Matt Cruttwell twice saving well whilst wayward finishing saw two efforts clear the crossbar. The equalieer arrived in the 25th minute when a ball into the area was laid into the path of George Cousins who made no mistake from eight yards.

It was the hosts who started the second half stronger, knowing that a win was vital in their bid to avoid the drop. Andrade should have given them the lead when a neat turn in the box left him with just Cruttwell to beat but he fired his effort over the crossbar.

Surprisingly, it was Common who regained the lead in the 70th minute when Ellis drove forward and unleashed an effort which beat the home keeper at his near post. The lead didn’t last long, and the hosts were soon level when Jamie Wanstall rose highest to head home from a corner.

Alvin Scott saw a late penalty appeal waved away when he appeared to have been clipped in the area but both teams had to settle for a point leaving the hosts needing to win all three of their remaining games to have any chance of avoiding relegation.