Lions bite back to get better of Blues

A hectic start that could have led to a couple of goals apiece but came to nothing.

The Lions should have taken the lead in the first minute when Scott Murfin was brought down in the box only to see his penalty saved by the Seals keeper low to his right.

Three minutes later, huge appeals for a Selsey penalty fell on deaf ears. A minute later Ryan Cox smacked the ball against his own post in a desperate attempt to clear a shot.

Then it was Pagham’s turn once again and James Thurgar thumped a shot against the bar at the right end.

Johan van Driel had two excellent shots from long distance saved by the keeper before play switched to the other end and Selsey took the lead. One of their forwards raced clear of the defence in the 35th minute and buried his shot under James Binfield.

Two minutes later, George Gaskin levelled it up at 1-1 with a tap-in from close range following excellent work by van Driel.

With Selsey pushing hard to re-take the lead, it came as a surprise when Pagham scored again right on half-time. A total mix-up in the Seals defence led to Thurgar nodding home unmarked at the far post.

The Lions made various changes at the interval which seemed to work wonders as they dominated the second half and with a little bit of luck could have at least doubled their score.

The best chance came in the 60th minute when a good through-ball by sub Howard Neighbour found Gaskin clear on the right. His excellent cross was just an inch or two too high for Scott Murfin who could only nod wide.

Binfield made a great save on 68 minutes as Selsey made a rare break but the game was finally made safe for Pagham when Linden Miller scored a lovely goal in the 80th minute against his former team. Set free by a nice ball from the returning Dan Simmonds, his shot across goal beat the goalie and nestled inside the far post.

Pagham: Binfield, Wiggans (Hendrick), Cox, Bingham, Barrett (Hand), Horncastle (Thurgar), van Driel, Jefkins (Chick), Gaskin (Miller), Murfin (Simmonds), Thurgar (Neighbour).

PAUL DAVIDSON

Boss sees old team beat new team

A hunt for players and a goodbye for stalwart