SCFL: Life’s perfect for Steyning, Roffey score 11 in two, Hassocks make Midhurst pay, Wick, Selsey and Bosham win

Steyning Town completed consecutive 4-1 home victories over the Bank Holiday weekend to extend their impressive start to eight straight wins.

On Saturday, they entertained Oakwood in the FA Vase. Town were in control for most of the game and were two goals ahead at the break courtesy of strikes from Charlie Meehan and Rob Clark.

The visitors pulled a goal back on the hour, and for 10 minutes one sensed a comeback may be on the cards.

However, the Barrowmen quickly reasserted themselves and further goals from Meehan – after great work from Harry Shooman on the right – and Jack Barnes from the spot gave the scoreline a look more reflective of the overall game.

Fast forward to Bank Holiday Monday and it was a return to SCFL premier division action against Haywards Heath.

On a beautifully sunny morning, Steyning were simply irresistible and effectively had the game out of sight by the half-hour mark.

The scoring started in the 3rd minute as Shooman swept home from close range following great work by Meehan down the right.

Then, on 10 minutes, Meehan added a second as he cut in from the right, jinked past two tackles and fired home a cracking low shot from just outside the penalty area.

Shooman added a classy second from another Meehan through ball, and minutes later Meehan was brought down in the box.

Barnes was unable to convert the penalty, but this was visiting ‘keeper Alfie Jones’ last action as he suffered a wrist injury making the save.

The fourth goal wasn’t long in coming as Nathan Cooper thumped home a cracking header, while Heath finally got one back before half-time to make it 4-1.

The second half was a less exciting affair, with both sides missing chances and the end result never really in danger.

Hassocks 3 Midhurst 1

SCFL premier

Few records exist about the fastest hat-trick in Hassocks history. But it is fair to assume that the eight minute treble plundered by Liam Benson as the Robins beat Midhurst & Easebourne 3-1 at the Beacon is up there with the quickest.

Benson struck in the eighth, 13th and 16th minutes to end this game as a contest before it had even begun and take Hassocks to the top of the Southern Combination Premier Division table.

For the Robins, it was sweet revenge for the 5-0 hammering they had suffered last time they faced Midhurst back in December at the Rotherfield.

The Stags meanwhile will no doubt be glad to see the back of Mid Sussex having been beaten 8-0 by Haywards Heath Town at Hanbury Park 11 days earlier.

Pat Harding was the architect of the opening goal. He collected a Tom Frankland pass on halfway and chipped a beautiful left footed ball on the angle between two Midhurst players in a defence playing a suspiciously high line.

That enabled Benson to scamper clear with around 35 yards of open space between him and Stags goalkeeper Ricardo Mendonca, whom he beat with a right footed effort drilled clinically into the bottom corner from the edge of the box.

Benson added his second five minutes later. Between those two goals, there was still time for Alex Fair to go close to doubling the lead.

A game of head tennis broke out in the middle of the park involving Benson and tall striker Jamie Wilkes.

The rangy Wilkes eventually nodded cleverly over the top of the Midhurst defence, who had not learnt the lessons of the first goal and were still a long way up the pitch.

Fair latched onto the ball and made his merry way into the box, where one of his famous Cruyff turns created the space needed to test Mendonca with a curling effort well held by the Stags number one.

No prizes for guessing how goal number two came about. Again the Midhurst defence pushed up and again they were outdone by a perfectly timed run and the pace of Benson.

Fraser Trigwell rolled to Matt Gunn, who advanced 20 yards with the ball at his feet before clipping a pass over the top.

Benson did have to work harder for this one, James Lidiard managing to almost catch up with the Hassocks hat-trick hero.

Lidiard though was unable to put in a convincing tackle as he tracked Benson from behind for fear of giving away a penalty.

Benson duly shrugged the attentions of Lidiard off and although at one point it looked like he had overrun the ball, he managed to slide in and fire beyond the advancing Mendonca.

Three minutes later and Benson completed his hat-trick. Harding won a header in the Hassocks half and Fair volleyed the loose ball forward.

Lidiard at least appeared to have learnt some lessons from the earlier two goals as he was now sitting deeper, between Benson and the Midhurst goal.

Not that it made much difference. Benson outpaced the Stags centre back and fired beyond Mendonca into the same bottom corner he had picked out for his first to round off his maiden senior three-goal haul.

In fairness to Midhurst, they did not let their heads drop at such a disastrous start and began to come into the game as the first half progressed.

A long throw from the right caused problems for the Hassocks defence, requiring Trigwell to make a smart reaction save from a Lewis

Rustell volley from point blank range.

Gunn’s attempted clearance then only made it as far Lewis Hamilton in pole position on the edge of the box. Hamilton motored onto the ball and hit an effort which dipped just the wrong side of the post with Trigwell rooted to the spot.

Hassocks might have had a fourth when both Mendonca and Lidiard got in a bit of a mess attempting to play out from the back.

Frankland dispossessed the latter. With Benson and Wilkes both arriving in support, Frankland tried to chip Mendonca one-on-one but did not get the required leverage as the Midhurst goalkeeper made the save.

Benson stretched to turn a Harding cross just wide at the start of a final five minutes of the half which brought plenty of drama; namely, Bradley Tighe picking up two quickfire yellow cards to leave Hassocks down to 10.

Fair made way for Alfie Loversidge at the break in a tactical response to Tighe’s red. The second half subsequently became a case of seeing the game out from a Hassocks point of view.

Gunn had to make a solid block from Stags substitute Charlie Osbourne. Trigwell meanwhile saved a Hamilton drive and smothered bravely at the feet of Marcus Bedford before Matt Rowland scrambled home a consolation for Midhurst in injury time.

Hassocks: Trigwell; B Tighe, Gunn, Bygraves, Bull; Frankland, Wilkes, Williamson, Harding; Fair, Benson. Subs: Loversidge, Geard (used), Woolven, Mundy, Fogden (unused).

SCOTT McCARTHY

Hassocks 3 Shoreham 1

SCFL premier

Six league games undefeated and three points clear at the top of the Southern Combination Premier Division. To say the first month of the 2023-24 season has gone well for Hassocks would be a slight understatement.

Shoreham became the latest victims of a Robins side whose position at the head of the standings is as deserved as it is unexpected. Spectacular strikes from Alex Fair and Kyle Woolven sandwiched a sixth of the campaign from in-form Liam Benson as Hassocks eased their way to a 3-1 win.

It took Fair just seven minutes to open the scoring, his first goal for the Robins coming against the club he helped win the Division One title last season under the management of ex-Hassocks striker Michael Death.

Seeing his side fall behind so early was not the first return to the Beacon as a manager Death would have wanted. He did though have praise for his former side and the job being done in the dugout by old teammate James Westlake.

“Hassocks are flying at the moment and Westy and his team are doing brilliantly. Well done to them, they could really be in the mix this season,” said Death afterwards. There was also a face familiar to the Robins faithful leading the line for Shoreham, Death having convinced Nathan Miles to end a five-year exile from senior football.

The seventh-highest scorer in Hassocks history was afforded a warm reception on his first ever appearance against the Robins. Or rather, a warm reception from the crowd. Bradley Tighe was not quite so generous, fouling his former colleague with less than 120 seconds on the clock.

Tighe redeemed himself by clearing away the resulting free kick, crossed into the box by the Musselmen from a dangerous position. Next came Fair’s goal, a brilliant chest and dipping volley from the edge of the area after collecting a Tom Frankland throw.

The marking from Shoreham was non-existent, but nobody could argue with the quality of the finish which left another ex-Robin in young goalkeeper Joe Southam grasping at thin air. Seven minutes later and Tighe came closer than ever to ending his 179 game wait for a senior goal, putting a header against the bar from a Joe Bull corner.

Shoreham fashioned their first chance on 17 minutes. Neil Munday flashed a shot across goal which Fraser Trigwell did well to divert with his legs. A well worked short corner routine from Hassocks saw Benson lay back to take Frankland, whose curling effort from 18 yards needed a hand from Southam to turn it behind.

Frankland delivered that next corner directly into the box. Gunn nodded onto the chest of Fair but his subsequent volley from much closer range on this occasion ended up on the railway tracks rather than the back of the net. Shoreham left back Tom Bond almost doubled the advantage for Hassocks on the stroke of half time. Benson helped on a Super Pat Harding cross and under no pressure, Bond inexplicably headed the ball against his own crossbar.

From there, it bounced down and back towards Benson. Seemingly flummoxed by Bond’s decision making, Benson could not quite react quickest enough to force the loose ball home. Levi Martin was able to nip in and clear.

Heavy rain arrived during the interval and continued into the second half, making the surface slick and the ball greasy. Tighe embarked on an early charge forward from right back, hitting a fizzing pass into Fair. Some trademark quick footwork from Fair created the space for a shot on the turn which whistled just past the post.

Frankland was equally nifty when lifting the ball over the head of Ross Myers in midfield, carrying into 40 yards of open space and slipping in Benson. It needed a firm block from Bond to turn the ball behind. Benson would not be denied for long. Raging Bull delivered the resulting corner into a dangerous area where Benson headed home just before Southam could gather.

Woolven added the third with seven minutes remaining. Picking up possession some 30 yards out from goal, the substitute advanced a couple of steps before picking out the top right hand corner. That a player as good as Woolven started the night on the bench is indicative of the squad depth Hassocks currently enjoy. Keeping everyone happy will be no easy task for Westlake, but it is undoubtedly a nice problem to have.

The Robins were 60 seconds away from a clean sheet when George Hollah struck the consolation for Shoreham, bending a superb left footed free kick over the wall and into the opposite corner.

Hassocks: Trigwell; B Tighe, Gunn, Bygraves, Bull; Frankland, Mundy, Williamson, Harding; Fair, Benson. Subs: Woolven (Fair 60), Loversidge (Harding 77), Geard (Benson 87), Fogden (Bull 90), J Westlake (unused).

Arundel 1 Wick 2

SCFL Division 1

Josh Irish scored twice as Wick bounced back from their FA Vase defeat to Haywards Heath with a Southern Combination Division One success at Arundel.

Dragons manager Lee Baldwin made numerous changes to his side for Saturday’s cup tie to look at youngsters pushing for places in his squad while resting key players ahead of the derby at Mill Road.

The 4-0 defeat to the Premier League promotion candidates yielded some good performances from youngsters like Liam Conolly and Rys Rawlings and Baldwin said: 'Arundel was our third game in less than a week after beating Saltdean in the Sussex RUR Cup last Tuesday.

‘The decision to rest players paid off although some of them were worse for wear after going to a golf day and staying out late on Sunday.

‘I thought we lacked our usual zip and had a bit of a go at them at half-time even though we were 1-0 up.

‘We’ve definitely played better and I will be expecting more when we entertain Copthorne at Crabtree Park on Saturday.’

Baldwin was again effusive about Irish’s scoring prowess and added: ‘That’s eight goals from him in August which is a terrific start to the season. We’re so glad he’s now with us on a permanent basis.

‘George Bingham is playing really well in midfield and he’s been another terrific addition.’

Arundel bagged a late consolation from Harry Russell but Wick are now eighth in the table five points behind leaders Roffey with a game in hand and starting to hit top form.

Roffey 5-0 Copthorne

SCFL Div 1

Jack Munday shuffled his pack for the first of two days in three days as Roffey welcomed Newly promoted Copthorne to the Theatre of Trees. The Boars started fast with Tiago Andrade Scott Faber and Kelvin Lucas all going close then on 19 minutes Jahobi Maher finished a flowing move by drilling the ball home after a dummy from Andrade. 1-0

Roffey continued to dominate possession and when Devon Fenders free kick came back of the bar Andrade’s header was cleared of the line. Next, Mahers’s corner was headed against the underside of the bar and Andrade forced home the dropping ball. 2-0. Copthorne came close with a rare break and a free kick that came back off the bar before being cleared and at the other end Jamie Wanstall headed just over before two goals in the last two minutes of the half put the game to bed. Fender and George Cousins combined, with Fender sliding the ball into the bottom corner. 3-0 and Fender returned the compliment by providing the pass from which Cousins made 4-0.

The second half was a bit of an anti-climax with Roffey continuing to have nearly all the possession as Copthorne continued to drop deep. The highlight being Charlie Leach marking his debut for the Boars by smashing the ball home after Fender’s free kick came back off the keeper within one minute of him coming on to the pitch. 5-0

Roffey: Corriea, Maher(Pearse), Fortune, Bevan(Leach), Findlay, Faber, Lucas(Hastings), Wanstall(Terrell), Cousins(Lyons), Andrade, Fender.

SAM CHAPMAN

Roffey 6-0 Chessington and Hook

SCFL Div 1

Roffey made it 11 goals fo and non against over the bank holiday with a comprehensive defeat of Chessington and Hook. Into the team came Jack Stafford, Dan Pearse and new signing Kieron Thorpe with James Pearse coming back in after being rested against Copthorne. Tiago Andrade and George Cousins took their turn on the bench.

For twenty minutes there was little between the teams with the visitors looking like they might provide the stiffest test yet for the Boars with Thorpe having to make an important block at his near post. But then on 26 minutes Jahobi Maher capitalised on a defensive mistake to head home 1-0. Having taken the lead Roffey slipped into their rhythm and began to dominate. Six minutes later Devon fender skipped past one defender only to brought down by the second and he got up to put the penalty in the top corner 2-0. The visitors’ task was made even harder in the last minute of the half when James Pearse ended a flowing move with a bullet shot inside the far post. Half Time 3-0

Jack Munday was anxious to avoid the lack lustre second half performance of the previous game and Roffey made it clear that despite the visitors coming out having been revved up at half time and pressing more closely, they were still going to control possession. Thorpe blocked shot with his legs but then Chessington’s Hearn gave the ball away in midfield and it was quickly transferred to Fender who’s cross was only cleared to Jamie Wanstall who made no mistake from 12 yards. Two minutes substitute Damien Fortune dived bravely connect with Fender’s Corner for a brilliant header 5-0. The scoring was completed when Fortune’s ball out of defence was collected by Fender who in turn slide a perfect pass through to Kelvin Lucas who lifted the ball over the diving keeper 6-0.

There were ten minutes of stoppage time due to a furore that followed a red card for a Chessington player but there was no further goal action and Roffey had completed a very successful weekend.

Roffey: Thorpe, J Pearse, Maher(Fortune), Bevan, Findlay, Stafford(Leach), Faber, Lucas(Lyons), D Pearse, Fender, Wanstall(Andrade).

SAM CHAPMAN

Worthing United 0 Mile Oak 0

SCFL Division 1

A fair scoreline that reflects the dominance of the two defences. Even with both sides being awarded a penalty late on it was the keepers who came out on top. It does however mean that the Mavericks remain the only unbeaten team in the league, sitting in forth place with a game in hand over those above.

Selsey 2 Tooting & Mitcham 1, FA Vase

E Preston 2 Selsey 3, SCFL Div 1

Selsey had a bank holiday weekend to savour, winning in the FA Vase and the league.

Manager Daren Pearce said: “It was tough and busy, but a very enjoyable weekend of football for the lads and the club.

"Saturday was a great game with both sides giving it their all to try to progress to the next round.

"It was us who came out on top and deserved to progress to the next round with a James Henton strike and with Corey Burns adding the second halfway through the first half.

"Although our visitors got one back before the break the lads played out our game plan together and got the result their efforts deserved.

"It could have been even more convincing with a Shane Brazil goal disallowed for offside and then he struck the bar late on as well.

"We will play Haywards Heath in the next round of the Vase at their place.

"We followed this with another victory on Monday, beating East Preston 3-2.

"Although missing a few regulars after Saturday’s game with injuries we shuffled the pack and with a couple of changes we were able to continue where we left.

"Scoring early and controlling the majority of the game, we were not caused too many problems by our hosts with only wayward finishing stopping us from adding to the three goals we did score.

"Aaron O'Brien grabbed two and Shane Brazil the other with Evan Harris assisting in all three.

"It was another good performance with the lads playing some good football and creating openings at will.

“This was of great importance to maintain our league form. We now need to rest and prepare right for the visit of Forest Row on Saturday at the Seal Bay Stadium (3pm)

"Come along and support the lads, everyone’s welcome.”

Hailsham 3 Bosham 5

Bosham 0 Rustington 0

SCFL Division 2

Bosham picked up four points from their weekend fixtures as attack and defence took turns to be on top.

First, the Robins made the long trip to Hailsham Town, where eight great goals thrilled the crowd.

Toby Hewett opened the scoring with a fine header, and minutes later a swift move saw Ollie Hawkins fire past Hailsham keeper Charlie Kneath.

Hailsham got back into it with a penalty from William Ridgway, but Bosham responded as Hawkins fired an unstoppable shot into the top corner.

Henry Thompson got the home fans excited with a rocket finish, while Bosham made it 4-2 before half-time as Hewett picked his spot.

The second half was more frustrating, but the standout moment arrived when Hewett sealed his hat-trick with a stunning run and shot to leave defenders in his wake and keeper Kneath dumbfounded.

The Stringers did not give up and William Gordon got them a sniff of a comeback minutes later, although Bosham saw out a 5-3 win.

On Monday, the Robins entertained a Rustington side who had numerous personnel changes from last season, and it was a game of two well-matched teams whose defences cancelled each other out.

One would struggle to find a more enjoyable 0-0 draw. Bosham welcome Worthing Town on Saturday.

- ALAN PRICE