Sidley let points slip

East Grinstead left Gullivers with a distinctly fortuitous three points seven days previously and Southwick were also rather lucky to go home undefeated.

Having said that a draw would have been gratefully received when trailing with 11 minutes left, but once Adam Day slotted an 80th minute penalty the winner seemed certain to follow.

Joint manager Andy Laskey commented: "I'm disappointed to be honest. How Adam Day missed at the end I'm not quite sure. Lee Fletcher was clearly brought down but we should still have scored from it although it was a definite penalty. When we got the goal I thought there was only one side that was going to go on and win it. I thought we had three or four good chances and I felt we deserved something more than we got."

Sidley shaded proceedings overall during a match where fortunes frequently fluctuated. The heavy conditions were alien to anything either side would have played on this term but the hosts definitely adjusted the better. Despite playing against a strong breeze in the first half, the Blues looked the side more likely to score.

But the home side failed to maintain the impetus they had built-up and appeared rather lacklustre at the start of the second half. Instead of using the wind to pen their opponents in, it was Southwick who were asking more of the questions although United's Kevin Rose had the only effort of note in the third quarter, going fractionally wide with a header from a cross by the far more settled Lee Fletcher, who showed no ill-effects of playing 90 minutes for the reserves the previous evening.

But Southwick took the lead with a quarter of an hour to go when substitute Terry Streeter confidently slapped in Lawrence Edwards' cross.

It only took five minutes for United to level though when Day found the net after a clean through Rose was felled by the keeper. Dave Carey screwed wide and Day missed a great chance as the second proved elusive.

Sidley: Wiley, Maplesden, Fletcher, Ball, L. Wood (J. Wood 66), Copley, Day, Watson, Rose, Tate (Carey 70), Finch. Sub not used: Heritage.