Sidlesham win at Littlehampton - Selsey pick up four points from six

Sidlesham, in blue, do battle at Littlehampton / Picture by Stephen Goodger

Here are the latest reports from Selsey Road Rec and the High Street Ground...

SCFL division one

Sidlesham’s fine form continued when they travelled to take on a resurgent Littlehampton.

The home side started strongly forcing Sids keeper Warren Boyt into a fine save early on. The resulting corner was somehow smuggled away by the stretched defence.

After surviving the early onslaught Sids grew into the game once again, led superbly by captain Rob Madden. The game evened out with the home side dominating possession but the visitors looking dangerous on the break.

Debutant Dave Rough’s pace and power was a constant threat to the home side.

The deadlock was broken on 41 minutes by Cameron Corell, who picked up the ball outside his own penalty area and made a darting run forward. Sids exchanged a number of passes in midfield which led to Corell receiving the ball back in the box and calmly slotting past the keeper.

Littlehampton started the second half like a team possessed and should have been level early on. They broke through the Sids defence but the striker sent his effort wide after looking certain to equalise.

In the 65th minute the hosts were level when Jack Williamson’s swerving shot deceived Sids keeper Boyt.

Sids changed shape with Joe Gromett being introduced after three months out injured. Gromett immediately formed a partnership with Rough and looked likely to score every time they went forward.

Littlehampton continued to have good spells of possession but couldn’t take the lead and they were made to pay on 79 minutes.

Grommet chased down a long ball and rolled the ball back to Rough on the edge of the penalty area and he curled home. Soon after, the Sids extended their lead as Gromett burst past a defender to finish with style. Deep into stoppage time Littlehampton pulled another goal back when the defence stood still as they waited for an offside call which never came.

Sids: Boyt, Lynch, Low, Madden, Corell, Chittock, Agostinelli, Butress, Mepham, Boulton, Rough, Gromett, Watts, Mcgreal.

Sids win at Littlehampton - the match in pictures Pagham's county cup hopes are dashed* Selsey manager Daren Pearce is optimistic over a good second half of the season.

A goalless draw at home to top-of-the-table Steyning Town came off the back of a winning festive period and earce said: “I’m really pleased.

“We played really well, especially in the first half, and we’ve take four points off them. If you’d said at the start of the season we would take four points off the top-of-the-league side, we would have snapped your hand off.

“It shows how far the lads have come in a very short space of time. We are five months into the football season and they have come a very long way. I am really pleased for them.”

The Blues sit fifth in the SCFL division one after 18 games, but are seven points adrift of fourth-placed AFC Varndeanians. But their good Christmas and New Year form will give them belief they can close the gap on the teams above.

Selsey will play eighth-placed Littlehampton Town on Saturday.

Selsey: Kelly, Mockford-Allott, Atkinson, Hambleton, Higgins-Pearce, Phillips, Dowdell, Bennett, Bassil, Jefkins, Morey. Subs: Miller.

* Selsey continued their fine recent form with a 2-0 win at Southwick on Tuesday night – despite being reduced to ten men.

Tom Jefkins had already gone close to giving them the lead in the SCFL division one game when he was sent off for a second yellow card.

That didn’t put the Blues off course though and goals by Remi Coates and Lindon Miller earned them the points.