Never mind Storm Ciara - lightning has struck twice for Pagham at Langney

Pagham fell to a goal in added-on time at Langney Wanderers – exactly the same as 12 months at the same venue. As unlucky as it was, you couldn’t really argue about the result.

Langney came at the Lions right from the start and the speed of their players and their long ball tactics gave Pagham problems all afternoon.

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Only their wayward shooting and an excellent goalkeeping display from Tom Crook and some good defensive work prevented the home team from going in front.

Pagham got a foothold in the game after half an hour creating their first chances of the match. First Harry Prisk just couldn’t lift the ball over the advancing Dan Hutchins in the Wanderers goal, having been nicely set up by Joe Clarke, then Callum Chalmers fired over the bar from the edge of the box.

Soon after, Lukas Franzen-Jones somehow managed to hit the post with the goal gaping. Sadly, this was to be the Lions' closest attempt to a shot on target all afternoon.

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Right on half-time, Toby Funnel slid a lovely ball across the six-yard box, but it managed to avoid several inrushing Pagham forwards.

The second half started the same way as the first with Langney piling forward in what was becoming ping-pong football, with the ball spending much more time in the air than on the zippy 3G pitch.

The home team contrived to miss two glorious chances in the 55th and 58th minutes and the Lions had their one and only real chance of the half in the 72nd, when Franzen-Jones slid the ball a fraction past the far post from a glorious Funnell pass.

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And then, in the 94th minute disaster struck. With the Lions failing to take advantage of their second 5-on-2 break, the ball found its way out to Ali Rainford breaking down the right wing and his pinpoint cross was headed home at the far post by the unmarked Shane Saunders.

Pagham: Crook, da Costa, Searle (Barnes), Clarke, Jelley, Jenkins, Funnell, Howard (Slaughter), Chalmers, Franzen-Jones, Prisk (Carroll). Subs not used: Heryet, Hands.

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