Steyning Town edged out by AFC Croydon Athletic in thriller
Steyning Town failed to make it three wins in a row when they lost a five-goal thriller at home to AFC Croydon Athletic in an Isthmian SE division clash in midweek.
The sides were separated by just two points in the table and the Barrowmen headed into the fixture full of confidence following an impressive 2-0 victory over Sittingbourne in their previous outing.
The opening ten minutes proved to be a fairly even contest, with neither side able to establish control.
The first meaningful opportunity did not arrive until the 18th minute, when James Taylor tried his luck from outside the box. However, his effort was comfortably gathered by Steyning goalkeeper Alfie Mansell.
Steyning continued to struggle to create any real attacking threat. Croydon began to find more opportunities, with Jayden Raymond testing Mansell in the 24th minute. The Steyning keeper pushed the ball behind for a corner.
That brought further danger for the hosts, but Harvey Woolard produced an important goal-line clearance. Steyning looked to respond four minutes later from a corner, but Croydon keeper Amaadou Tangarn was on hand to punch the delivery clear.
Croydon continued to threaten, with Luke Dreher trying his luck in the 34th minute. Once again, Mansell was equal to the effort.
The hosts finally managed to register a shot on target in the 38th minute as Ryan Worrall struck a low effort towards goal, but his attempt drifted wide.
And Steyning’s resistance was broken just two minutes later. Raymond found himself unmarked and made no mistake, driving a low effort into the bottom corner to give Croydon the lead.
Things quickly went from bad to worse for Steyning as Raymond struck again in the 42nd minute. The forward was perfectly positioned to turn home a close-range tap-in, doubling Croydon’s advantage and leaving the hosts with an uphill battle.
Steyning attempted to find a response before the break, with Jesse Sentamu sending an effort over the crossbar in the 45th minute. Another opportunity followed from a corner but the resulting header also sailed over.
Steyning returned for the second half looking to turn the game around, but once again made a slow start, struggling to find a way through Croydon’s organised defensive line.
The hosts eventually found a breakthrough in the 61st minute. A deflected cross earned Steyning a corner, and following a scramble inside the area, substitute Max Blencowe managed to find the back of the net to make it 2-1.
Croydon continued to hold their defensive shape and limit Steyning’s opportunities. A free-kick for the hosts in the 66th minute was comfortably caught by goalkeeper Amaadou Tangarn, before James Taylor delivered a dangerous cross a minute later.
The Croydon defence could only spoon the ball behind for another corner, but Steyning were unable to make anything of the resulting set-piece.
However, the momentum was beginning to shift. Just two minutes later, substitute Alex Brewer produced a moment of real quality, striking a beautiful effort from outside the box to level the scores at 2-2 and complete an impressive comeback.
Mansell was called into action twice in quick succession, producing two important saves to keep Steyning level and prevent Croydon from immediately restoring their advantage.
But the visitors were not prepared to settle for a point. In the 77th minute, Josh Williams produced a brilliant finish to put Croydon back in front at 3-2.
Steyning pushed hard for another equaliser in the closing stages, but Croydon remained disciplined at the back, quickly closing down space and preventing the hosts from delivering the ball into dangerous areas.
A late opportunity arrived in the 88th minute, with Blencowe looking to grab his second, but his effort was comfortably dealt with by Tangarn. Brewer then came close to finding another late goal in the 90th minute, only to send his effort over the crossbar.
Croydon’s Noah Watson received a yellow card in the 94th minute for time-wasting as Steyning struggled to maintain possession during the closing moments. The hosts earned one final corner in the 95th minute after another effort went wide, but the set-piece came to nothing.
The final whistle confirmed a frustrating 3-2 defeat for Steyning, who had shown tremendous character to fight back from two goals down and restore parity, only for Williams’ late intervention to deny them a share of the points.
Steyning are 15th and host Horley Town on Saturday.