Ringmer win Christmas cracker as Crowhurst are upset

On an afternoon of howling winds and persistent drizzle at Hailsham Community College’s 3G pitch, Ringmer barely let their hosts have a sniff as they controlled the match throughout.

Two excellent strikes from Rhys Taylor and a stonking header by captain Charlie Northeast did the damage, lifting the Blues into the title fight just before the MSFL takes its annual winter break.

Coming into the match, Ringmer were effectively on the home stretch of their season, with this the first of the Blues’ last ten matches of the league campaign.

With five wins and two draws in their previous seven matches, they were in ideal form to take on Crowhurst, who despite being second in the table, lost convincingly at Westfield the week prior.

Ringmer had a shorter trip than their hosts to Hailsham, too, which served as a useful advantage against a Crowhurst side who had won eight of their nine home matches this season.

The Blues made just one change to their starting XI, with Dan Oliver unable to play a full role and being replaced by George Maybury in defence.

From the outset, Tommy Haddon and Jon Hart’s side played with great composure in testing conditions, including irksome weather and a smaller-than-average 3G pitch.

Keeping the ball on the ground and moving it with purpose, Ringmer pushed their hosts around with some exciting early moves.

Fraser Argyle was a constant threat in attack, while Rhys Taylor and George Coleman threatened from wide and Jamie Blackford and Ellis Webster controlled the middle of the park.

Despite Webster going down with a nosebleed after winning a header, Ringmer were committed to their energetic pressing approach, which was having real success.

Crowhurst were unable to get the ball to their danger man – 12-goal striker Reece Johnson – as their engine room, with Lee Paine, Sean Baldwin and vastly experienced captain Wes Tate, struggled to match the Blues’ energy. After plenty of pretty possession play, Ringmer then struck at the perfect time.

Allowed far too much space by the Crowhurst defence, Rhys Taylor drove in from the left and pierced a gap in the backline beautifully in the 37th minute.

His tracer bullet of a shot beat Crowhurst’s debutant goalkeeper Elliot Stokes by the barest of margins into the bottom left corner, surprising everyone in attendance and sparking excellent celebrations.

Not content with that, Ringmer soon followed up with a decisive second goal.

In the 45th minute, Taylor was felled as he marauded down the left and the Blues won the ball deep in the Crowhurst half.

With the ball clipped in from the corner, the delivery found Northeast, who timed his run to perfection and rose highest to head the ball past ex-Hollington United ‘keeper Stokes.

At 2-0, Ringmer did not seem likely to relinquish control. They were, however, wary of a Crowhurst comeback in the second half, especially considering the hosts – who were top goalscorers in the MSFL Premier Division – had only failed to score in two of their previous 17 matches.

Encouragingly, the Blues began the second half identically to the first, with plenty of energy as they restricted the hosts to futile moves out wide.

These often fizzled out as widemen Ash Kidman, Bavon Alaba and Jay Edwards ran out of space to put balls of any quality into the box, and Ringmer simply recycled possession.

The Blues remained dangerous as long as they had the ball, with Argyle enjoying more space as Crowhurst went more expansive.

Chief amongst Ringmer’s beneficiaries, however, was Taylor.

Repeating his trick from the first half, the winger cut inside in the 55th minute and scored a goal even better than his first, using the strong winds to his advantage by bending a shot into the top right corner.

That sent the Blues into overdrive, and there were further chances for Argyle and Coleman as they tried to take advantage of through balls into the Crowhurst box.

While the hosts could control these, it took them a while to muster any chances of their own.

It was only after the 80th minute that they truly threatened, with Johnson hitting the post after a low cross from the right burst through to him, while Ben Taylor made a couple of solid stops in goal.

This only reminded Ringmer how impressive their execution had been, however, and when the game ended at 3-0, there were huge celebrations to mark a fine end to the year.

A massive three points, plus a key swing in goal difference, lift Ringmer above Crowhurst and up to third in the MSFL Premier Division table at Christmas.

The Blues, who are now the division’s form side, will set their sights on more positive results in 2025.

Four sides, including Ringmer, now sit on 28 points, just a point behind leaders Balcombe and two points above sixth-placed Cuckfield Rangers.

With plenty of drama to come between now and the end of the season, Ringmer will hope to continue their fine form into 2025 as they kick off the year at Crawley Devils on Saturday, January 4. Kick-off will be at 2pm at the Warden Park Academy 3G pitch (RH17 5DP).

Ringmer AFC: B. Taylor, Coleman (Colwell, 67’), Verrall, Maybury, Northeast (C), Webster (Oliver, 25’ (Webster, 33’)), Easton (Butterworth, 81’), Blackford, Argyle (Fox, 88’), Earle, R. Taylor (Cullen, 81’)