Quickfire double lifts league blues for slick Selsey

The visitors were reeling from Max Thoms opening the scoring on 41 minutes when Stuart Souter returned to goalscoring form two minutes later.

And after the 2-2 midweek draw with St Francis Rangers, Selsey are now eight points clear of the relegation zone and can start looking up the table rather than over their shoulders.

Martin said: “The table looks a bit better – we’ve put a bit more space between us and the relegation zone.

“We drew against St Francis in a game we should have won – we dominated the first half and the score should have been double that – then never really got going in the second half so that was two points dropped.

“We’ve been playing well but have been a little inconsistent. Games where we’ve put in a good 90 minutes we’ve won as was the case against Arundel.

“It’s never over ’til it’s over – these sides could sign new players at any time, they could change manager, anything could happen, so next May is when you know you’re safe.”

There were seven yellow cards handed out, but Martin said the game was not scrappy and the referee was ‘a bit fussy’. The result could have been even better for Selsey had Thoms converted a second-half penalty.

Selsey’s goals saw them rise to 14th and one of those goalscorers – Thoms – had also struck at home against St Francis and Martin says the club’s goalscoring midfielders are a key element.

He said: “Stu Souter has been on the bench a few times but he came in and did well – he has a knack of arriving at the right time.

“It’s always a plus for a manager when you have a midfielder who has that knack of scoring goals, as Max Thoms has recently.

“He’s popped up with some goals. We’ve got good midfielders who can chip in with ten goals a season, and we’re creating good chances.

“We’ve been playing well since the Rye game.”

Selsey welcome Redhill to town on Saturday. They are four league places above the home side.

MARK ALLAWAY