Selsey go the extra Mile - Midhurst slip up - Sidlesham back to drawing board

It was a mixed week for our Southern Combination League division one sides - with Selsey winning but Midhurst and Sidlesham losing.
Selsey boss Daren Pearce / Picture by Kate ShemiltSelsey boss Daren Pearce / Picture by Kate Shemilt
Selsey boss Daren Pearce / Picture by Kate Shemilt

Here are the reports - and don't miss the Observer, every Thursday,

Mile Oak 0 Selsey 1

SCFL division one

Selsey made it two wins in a row as they won 1-0 away at Mile Oak.

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The only goal icame in the ninth minute from Selsey’s Ryan Morey, scoring his seventh of the season.

The visitors were reduced to ten men when Dan Bassil was shown a straight red card midway through the first half. Bassil will miss the next three games.

Selsey manager Daren Pearce said he was pleased with the overall performance his players produced, especially when his side went down to ten.

He said: “We did really well over there because we went down to 10 men quite early on. The lads were superb on Saturday.

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“They carried out everything after Dan went off, they worked hard for each other and we set the system up to limit Mile Oak, and we did that.

“I think Mile Oak only had one shot, if that, and then we were 1-0 up anyway, and then it was a case of hanging on and doing everything right and getting a result.”

The win puts Selsey in eighth place in division one, and they now look forward to hosting Midhurst and Easebourne on Saturday.

Pearce added: “We’ll keep moving on. We’ve just got to keep grinding on and pushing forward, so hopefully we can take that on in the coming weeks.

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“We want to make ourselves hard to beat, playing with a pattern, and move as high up the table as we can.”

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

- MICHAEL HELLYER

Same old story as Bognor bow outFormer Worthing midfielder completes City switchWho plays who in Sussex Senior Cup?* Midhurst slipped to a 2-1 home defeat to Littlehampton in SCFL division one. Liam Dreckmann scored on the stroke of half-time for the Stags, but they were already two down by then.

Sidlesham 2 Seaford 4

SCFL division one

This was a day to forget for the home side as their dismal run of form continues.

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Sids had the better of the early exchanges but Lady Luck deserted them when the ball appeared to be handled by a Seaford player. As Sids appealed Seaford hacked the ball upfield and the routine clearance struck the back of a chasing forward and rolled into the path of Connor Jones, who calmly finished past the onrushing Warren Boyt in the Sids goal.

Sids were limited to half chances as Seaford defended in numbers. The visitors found themselves 2-0 up, again hitting Sids on the break, this time with Jamie Strong converting from close range.

Sids kept battling and went close through Matt Boulton and Jordan Lillywhite. Eventually the home side were rewarded for their pressure where a corner was converted by Ryan Chittock on 45 minutes.

But poor game management by Sids allowed Seaford to effectively win the game in first-half stoppage time. Sids over-committed players as they pushed forward and another long clearance found a Seaford player in acres of space.

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The home defence backed off and he slid the ball through to Steven Stacey, who fired past the helpless Boyt. Worse was to follow as a careless pass from the re-start was intercepted Seaford broke at pace and some awful defending allowed Jones to grab his second of the game.

The second half started with the home side reducing the arrears within two minutes a good team move ending with Ben Mepham scoring with a shot from just outside the box.

Sids battled to get back into the game and Dan Martin, Cameron Corell and Mepham all went close but the two best chances fell to full-back Ben Dines – but on both occasions he failed to sort his feet out.

For Sids manager Steve Bailey it’s back to the drawing board to try to get the best out of a talented group of players who are misfiring as a team.

Sids: Boyt, Dines, Bunker, Madden (Lillywhite), Low, Boulton (Smith), Agostinelli (Forry), Martin, Mepham, Corell, Chittock.

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