Red cards and fracas mar Roffey's win at Seaford

In a match overshadowed by controversy on and off the pitch, Roffey extended their winning run to the season with a 1-0 victory over Seaford Town at the Crouch.
Roffey edged a win at SeafordRoffey edged a win at Seaford
Roffey edged a win at Seaford

A second half strike from Josh Neathey sent the visitors on their way to a seventh win of the campaign, at the hands of a Seaford side who had a lack of clinical finishing to blame for not being able to come away with any share of the points.

Roffey began the game sharply, showing an immediate intent to drive at the Seaford backline. After a series of testing phases which had been dealt with for the most part by the hosts, the away side managed their first real chance of the game on the half hour mark, with forward Dan Pearse being found in space cutting in from the left before firing wide of the far post.

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Seaford soon began to create chances of their own, coming close to an opener just minutes later after Charlie Morley found his striking partner Billy Pout through on goal, but saw his effort saved brilliantly by ‘keeper Luis Correia. Just five minutes later Seaford saw another opportunity go begging, this time with Morley unable to direct a free header goalwards following a mix-up from a long throw into the box.

It was a half riddled with delays, first for an injury to the referee which called for the nomination of a spectator to run the line. A sign of things to come unfortunately, with the stop-start nature of the game making it hard for the football to take center stage. Seaford came closest to opening the scoring deep into stoppage time, this time thanks to a well-executed pass from Alex Saunders which found the run of right-back Shaun Skipper, who smashed the ball against the post from 10 yards.

The second half began with everyone in attendance hoping for a more free-flowing display following the constant intermittence of the first 45 minutes. With ten gone in the second period, Roffey were able to take the lead after Neathey was able to evade the challenges of several Seaford defenders in the area before beating ‘keeper Mike Platt at his near post. A definite blow for Seaford’s morale considering the chances they had failed to convert late in the previous half. The home side continued to look for a way back, however, with Simon Piper having the opportunity to square the ball across the box for the unmarked run of Billy Pout, though instead opting to try an effort which he lashed high over the bar after 62 minutes.

With 20 to play in the second half, carnage ultimately ensued after an altercation between Seaford’s James Kendall and Roffey goalscorer Neathey led to an extended period of commotion, which saw coaches and players from both benches enter the field. Upon the on-field drama’s eventual culmination, the stand-in referee showed red to both of the original perpetrators, much to the bemusement of the travelling bench.

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The tension remained very much present as soon as the match resumed, and was ignited once again less than ten minutes later. This time, after good work from Alex Saunders in the Seaford midfield to recover the ball and then find the feet of Pout, who coinciding with ravenous protests from the Seaford area of the sideline had looked to be brought down in the box. While the first half stoppages were just and unavoidable due to injury, the scenes toward the end of the second half undoubtedly left a mark over what in all fairness was a well-battled fixture between the two opponents.

With Seaford unable to find an equaliser in the closing stages, it meant that Roffey would go on to leave the coast in continuation of their perfect start in the league. Seaford manager Paul Wise commended his side’s performance after the game, knowing the difficult task they faced coming up against a Roffey side in such good form heading into the game.

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