Rye smiles disappear as Frangou rescues Lions

Rye boss Scott Smith will be the more satisfied as his team took the game to the Lions for nearly all the 120 minutes of play.

With Ross Woolf cup-tied, Greg Robinson came into the midfield for the Lions. There was a welcome return for Neil Murfin on the bench.

The home side could have gone ahead in the first minute, Frangou’s run and shot testing Josh Pelling in Rye’s goal. The ball pinged to the other end and Matt Mclean’s strike a minute later almost punished a mistake in the Pagham defence.

Rye were the better side, with McClean and Leach laying siege to Pagham’s area. Joe Booker was the pick of the bunch at the back for the Lions and made a superb clearance near the half-hour.

The deadlock was broken when Rye’s Dan Leach struck home a Liam Upton cross.

Wes Hallett was kept busy but the first half ended with a shot from Scott Murfin that went wide.

After the break, James Temple’s run at his opposite number almost resulted in a goal. There were ugly scenes when a clash between Greg Robinson and Matt McClean spawned a mass brawl that the referee took some minutes to sort out. Robinson and McClean were booked.

Robinson shot across Josh Pelling’s area and Upton repeated the feat at the other end.

Just as the game looked to have been won by Rye, a ball from the left was put away by Frangou. The Lions could have settled it as Robinson’s shot rebounded to safety off Temple.

Five minutes into extra-time, Rye keeper Pelling needed lengthy treatment. He continued and both Frangou and Scott Murfin tested his fitness with strikes on goal.

Scott Murfin’s shot was well saved by Pelling, while Dan Moseby nearly opened his account with a good strike. With less than two minutes of extra-time left, Scott Hinshelwood marked his home debut for Pagham with a superb goal-line clearance to ensure the teams would meet again.

PAGHAM: Hallett, Hinshelwood,

R Cox, Pearce, Jones, Booker, Robinson, Moseby, Temple, S Murfin, Frangou. Subs: Kew, Misslebrook, Bassill, N Murfin, Williamson.

n Andy McDowell’s four-goal blast ended the under-strength Lions’ RUR Cup hopes. Scott Murfin put Pagham ahead before Uckfield took charge in emphatic style.

JON ROSE