YMCA knocked off perch – Broadbridge Heath go top – Roffey look for first points

Horsham YMCA 2 Hassocks 4

SCFL premier

Horsham YMCA’s excellent start to the season, taking them to the top of the table, has suddenly stalled. After six straight clean sheet wins in league and cup, YM lost 3-0 at Little Common on Saturday and then went down 2-4 in the Southern Combination Premiership at their Gorings Mead Herbert Direct Stadium against mid table Hassocks on Tuesday night.

Unhappy manager Dean Carden told the County Times: “There’s no getting away from it, it was a fair result against Hassocks. We’ve had our best opening run in years, only to be guilty of complacency. There was a hangover from the Little Common result and we panicked. We’ve got a long trip down to Bexhill in the FA Vase on Saturday and need to re-group for that.”

In the Hassocks clash, YM took the lead in the 12th minute when Archie Goddard lobbed Hassocks keeper Alex Harris for an opportunist goal. But, it was a short-lived advantage, former YM forward Phil Johnson equalising, only to go on to twist the knife with a second from a flying header. Then, with YM looking horribly open at the back, they were spared by the woodwork, a temporary reprieve because Leon Turner put Hassocks 3-1 up just before half time.

YM restarted purposefully with Ben Bacon scoring a sizzler, but after the visitors had kept Aaron Jeal busy in the YM goal, with YM appealing for off side, Johnson was felled in the box, Jack Troak stepping up to put the result beyond doubt from the spot. YM made a flurry of late substitutions, but the game had long-since been won and lost, leaving Hassocks officials delighted, albeit slightly bemused, saying: “Goals had been previously been hard to come by until four came in an hour against feared opposition, third in the table Horsham YMCA.”

- MARTIN READ

AFC Uckfield Town 1 Broadbridge Heath 3

SCFL Premier

Broadbridge Heath returned to the summit after beating AFC Uckfield Town at The Oaks.

Heath, who welcomed back Ryan Brackpool to the heart of defence, started well, braking the deadlock after ten minutes.

A good possession saw Kyle Sim carry the ball out from the back before releasing out wide to Jack Frankland.

He hit the by line before pulling back to Mason Doughty who fired his shot early into the defender.

Doughty’s quick reactions saw him regain possession before firing back across goal into the path of Lewis Croal who flicked the ball in with the outside of his knee for 1-0.

Heath thought they had doubled their lead but had a ‘goal’ ruled out for a foul.

But soon Doughty gambled on a defender’s misjudgement before playing the ball across the six-yard box for Croal to tap in for his second.

Heath lost Doughty to injury and replaced him with Renato Carvalho. This was then followed by a late challenge on Croal and he was replaced by Louis Blake.

Uckfield’s Cameron Apted made it 2-1 in the second half but Heath continued to push for a third. Carvalho set up Frankland to charge into the box and draw a foul but Cooksley’s penalty was saved by James Broadbent.

In the 77th minute Carvalho was quick to react to an Uckfield error and volleyed past the keeper from the edge of the box.

Heath face Erith & Belvedere in the FA Vase on Saturday.

Roffey 2 Bexhill Utd 3

SCFL Premier

Roffey went in search of their first points and goals without keeper Alex Thynne, Omar Barry and Cameron Cooke through suspension – but just missed out.

Experienced Mark Wardell and Garry Ross were also unavailable through work and holiday.

Despite their inexperience, Roffey started on the front foot.

In the space of a minute Dan Hull’s free kick evaded Sam Chantrill in the home goal to open the scoring shortly, followed by a dangerous cross from Adam Al Meskin Hazouza which was turned into his own net by the same Bexhill player.

Chantrill saved well from close range and Morgan Prill’s low cross-shot just missed the far post with no Roffey player able to get a final touch.

From the restart Roffey showed they were not going to simply defend the point. Joe Futers, Morgan Prill and Al Meskin Hazouza got behind the Bexhill defence and were only a final touch away from giving their team the lead.

In the 56th minute Prill got past his man to pick out Futers on the penalty spot and he finished past Marshall Shaw to be the first Roffey player to score a Premier Division goal.

The hosts’ defence of the lead was made harder when Al Meskin Hazouza hooked a ball down the line but accidentally caught the challenging player. The referee decided that this warranted a second yellow card which meant Roffey were down to ten men.

Jamie Maunder and Joel Manncame on and Roffey continued to have their fair share of attacking play, Maunder jinking his way through to have his shot well saved by Shaw. At the other end Chantrill beat away a fierce shot from Evan Archibald.

Bexhill were awarded a free kick 25 yards out and Vickers’ shot was touched on to the bar by Chantrill only for Archibald to convert the rebound.

In the 90th minute Jack Shonk was released down Bexhill’s right and he placed the ball past Chantrill to give the visitors the points. As Bexhill’s Twitter account put it: Roffey were desperately unlucky not to get something from the game.

- SAM CHAPMAN