Mussels continue Easter form at United

County League Division 1 basement side United, had failed to raise a side for their Bank Holiday Monday clash at East Preston, but fielded a side for this clash between the relegation-threatened side.

County League Division 1 basement side United, had failed to raise a side for their Bank Holiday Monday clash at East Preston, but fielded a team for this clash between the relegation-threatened sides.

Mussels went into the match on the back of a successful Easter period which saw a 3-0 win over Selsey and 1-1 draw with Lancing, after a run of four straight defeats.

On a difficult surface in freezing conditions, chances in the first half were few and far between in an uneventful 45 minutes.

It took just two minutes to break the deadlock after the break, when Shoreham stopper James Shaw picked out Alex Howell who finished neatly to give his side the lead.

Six minutes later, Mussels doubled their lead when Howell punished United when they failed to clear their lines.

Howell put in a cross and picked out Jonno Melia, who slotted home to take his tally to two in his last three appearances.

In the 83rd minute, Dan Jordan was brought down in the box and Mark Pulling stepped up to put away the penalty and score his 12th league goal of the season.

Shoreham assistant manager Lee Cox said: “It is another win in bad conditions that were not ideal for a game of football.

“It’s another three points to take us away from relegation, we defended as we should and the team has found a pattern of play which is good.”

Shoreham travel to ninth-placed Lingfield on Saturday looking to keep up a recent good spell of form and continue to pull away from the bottom of the table.

SHOREHAM: Shaw; Eastman, Jordan, Davis, Clayman; Bant, Green, Pulling; Melia, Callaghan, Howell. Subs: Benn (Green 80).