Sidley punished in cup thriller

The Blues should have killed off this John O'Hara League Challenge Cup third round tie inside the opening 25 minutes but their profligacy in front of goal came back to haunt them in a dramatic finale which saw the West Sussex side equalise with virtually the last kick of normal time and score twice more in extra time.

Sidley joint manager Andy Laskey said: "First half I thought we played very well but second half we took our foot off the pedal. It was a weird game but even in extra time we had enough chances to win it."

This third round tie got off to a flyer with Sidley scoring inside four minutes. A corner from the left was only partially cleared to the prowling Jimmy Watson who from the edge of the box volleyed low into the corner of the net.

Watson went close to adding a second soon after before Kevin Rose flicked a header against the foot of the post and headed over from another chance. Wes Tate also forced a good save out of keeper Chris Smith as Sidley threatened to run riot.

Sidlesham sensed they had got out of jail and began to offer more of a threat with Tim Lester forcing James Duffell to block with his legs on the stroke of half time. Soon after the restart Scott Tipper thought he had scored but his flying header thudded against the goalline wall of Duffell and captain Chris Copley.

The visitors' hopes of getting something out of the tie suffered a setback when Smith injured his left knee and right hand during an accidental clash with Rose and spent the remainder of the match hobbling around his goalmouth like Quasimodo.

Sidley should then have been awarded a penalty when Tate was brought down by a trailing defender but the referee ignored the very vocal appeals of the home players and fans.

The let off seemed to inspire Sidlesham and three minutes into added time Joe Leggett's free kick from all of 40 yards deceived Duffell and went straight into the roof of the net. Sidley hit back almost immediately when a Mark Freeman corner was flicked on by Dave Ward for Tate to drive a low shot beyond Smith for what seemed the winner.

Sidlesham refused to give in and taking advantage of Sidley's reluctance to face up to the man in possession, the ball ran free for Tom Chapman who volleyed beyond Duffell.

Ashley Martin fired Sidlesham into the lead for the first time a minute from the end of the first period of extra time after the Sidley defence had made a hash of clearing a corner and soon after the turnaround Matt Forrest shot in off the post.

Late on Sidley were awarded a penalty for an apparent tug on Watson but the same player blazed over from 12 yards. The miss was made to look even more costly when Tate did reduce arrears with a fine finish into the top corner of the net.