After last Saturdays victory against Pagham we welcomed the visit of Southwick with confidence that we could pick up 3 valuable points to push ourselves further up the table and with the current leaders (Midhurst) game being postponed it meant that this would be our game in hand on them.

We started the game well and had created numerous chances before DannyPepper put away AJ's inviting cross in a first half that I felt we dominated with out playing at our best, by all accounts we should have gone in at half time in a comfortable position but we only managed to score the 1 goal and went in at half time 1-0 up.

The second half started in a similar fashion to the first half and we scored a deserved second through again through Danny, this should have been the signal for us to push on and kill the game off but we sat back and became over confident allowing Southwick to come back into the game and when the referee awarded a dubious penalty which was duly converted it left those watching feeling slightly nervous about points being dropped.

However, we were soon awarded a penalty of our own when man of the match Pepps was brought down when through on goal and this allowed Duncan Jones the opportunity to seal the 3 points from the spot.

I felt that we were the better team and that we deserved the win but I've seen us play better, however, all that matters is that we picked up 3 points which meant we moved into 2nd place just a point behind Midhurst.

The first half was fairly even with both sides giving as good as they got and genuine chances being few and far between, however, a bit of magic from Duncan Jones on the half hour mark created an opening for Dommie to put us one up and nine minutes later Dunc' was at it again beating his man and delivering a great cross to the near post where Danny Pepper made a great run from right midfield to send a thumping header into the roof of the net to put us 2-0 up going into the break.

There was a very strong wind blowing down the pitch and coupled with a low and bright sun meant an uncomfortable first half for whoever lost the toss which unfortunately turned out to be us. We knew that Saltdean would try and take advantage of the conditions and although they pressed and harried us we managed to go in front early through Danny Pepper, unfortunately that was about the only real positive in a disjointed and uninspiring first half from both teams.

The second half saw us start a lot more positive and we managed to kill the game off with a further 2 quick goals from Danny Pepper, giving him a well deserved first hat trick in senior football. The rest of the half I felt we were comfortable and although there was a couple of threatening crosses and a half hearted penalty appeal from Saltdean I felt that defensively we always looked in control and our lead wasn't under much threat, if anything I felt that we were more likely to add to our tally.

The first half didn't start as planned as we fell behind to a lucky miss hit cross but managed to respond well after a shaky first 15 minutes and come in 2-1 up at half time with goals from Dom & Pepps.

We started the second half brightly and scored via a penalty from Boz and an own goal after Dunc's crossed was put in by the unfortunate defender, however, if anyone thought that the game was over then they hadn't told Three Bridges this as they managed to claw their way back into the game in the final 25 minutes. Credit to them they went 4 up front and gave it a real go but we were disappointed in the manner that we stopped playing the way we had done and dropped deeper and deeper inviting more pressure because of our failure to keep the ball. The job became more difficult when AJ was sent off for dissent.

In the break before extra time we managed to sort ourselves out and I felt the character of the team shone through as we certainly gave as good as we got in the additional 30 minutes and so with no extra goals the game went to penalties and fortunately for us we came out on top with Gav making 2 saves and Daryl dispatching the winning penalty.

Boxing Day saw us visit Seaford for our first game since we beat Mile Oak on the 9th December, the break in games came at a bad time for us as we've been on a very good run and would've liked the games to have kept coming on a regular basis. We went into this game determined to not only keep our unbeaten run going but to also avenge the 4-1 hammering we took earlier on in the season at Seaford.

I felt that we created the clearer chances in the first half and on another day could've gone in 3-0 up at half time, although credit to Seaford they gave as good as they got in terms of putting pressure on us when we had the ball and looked to get in behind our back line when they could, their main threat came from set pieces but we defended resolutely with Gavin Bourne again excelling between the sticks. The main talking point of the first half came when Danny Pepper rounded the goal keeper to be denied a goal by a last ditch tackle from a covering defender which we felt was a foul but the referee agreed with the home side and said the defender played the ball.

We took control of the game early on in the second half and really put Seaford on the back foot which at times saw them camped in their half for long periods, however, as the game wore on and opportunities came and went Seaford began to grow in confidence and gradually worked their way back into the game, again they proved a threat from set pieces but we were resolute in our defending and prevented them from any clear cut chances.

Another game at the Parish Field and another 3 points to Westfield, I wish it was as easy as it sounds.

Mile Oak came into this game sitting just below mid table and having not been on the best run of late, however, if anyone thought that we were going to stroll to 3 points they were mistaken as Mile Oak went in 1-0 up at half time. We created a few decent chances in what was an even first half but fell behind to what Mile Oak will certainly feel was a very good team goal although we're disappointed to have gone to sleep after dealing with a corner. We all knew that Mile Oak would be a physical game and that we would have to stand up and be counted, the bottom end of the pitch was extremely heavy and boggy with all the rain that we've had recently and we found it difficult to clear our lines which, although it's testament to all the hard work that Mat and Nick have done on the pitch this season that the game went ahead and played as well as it did.

Half time saw us regroup and we came out firing in the second half scoring early on with Boz on the score sheet yet again, from then on I felt that we were the better team and would go on to win, although credit to Mile Oak they made us work for the 3 points. The game turned following the inspired substitutions that saw the introductions of super subs Duncan Jones & Mark Drinkwater (both scoring) mid way through the second half, as a side we're delighted to keep the unbeaten run going and are obviously full of confidence at the moment.

We'd been looking forward to Saturday's game with Wealden ever since they beat us so convincingly at their place earlier this season, this result really has put us back amongst the mix at the top of the league and we're all looking forward to pushing on and continually improving.

We were surprised that Wealden changed their normal passing game and adopted a more direct approach, we did well in preventing them from any real clear cut chances in the first half and I felt we deservedly went in 1-0 up at half time through Danny Pepper's second goal in as many games. At half time we were well aware that they would come out fired up for the second half and we held out for the normally all important first 15 minutes of the second half, we then proceeded to get on top of the game and created a number of chances to have killed the game off.

Then well into the latter stages of the game we surrendered possession in our own half and allowed Wealden to break and when we failed to deal with the resulting cross Gav' saved the first attempt but was powerless to prevent the rebound from being bundled home, this was a goal that could so easily have been prevented. As we approached the end of the game we still felt confident of securing the 3 points as we'd created numerous chances through out the course of the game, it was Boz who stepped up to seal the 3 points from a free kick after Danny Pepper was cynically brought down by one of the Wealden defenders. This goal meant 5 in 5 for Boz who's been in excellent goal scoring form lately.

We turn our attentions to an away trip to Saltdean this weekend who are certainly going to be fighting for the points as they're at the wrong end of the table, we'll approach the game in the way we normally do and treat them the same as any other team as we look to continue our unbeaten run and take maximum points.

We expected a tough game against a Saltdean side that had a great result last week and for an hour it proved to be a real battle, we may have dominated most of the possession but we just couldn't seem to finish the game off until we managed to pinch a second midway through the second half. After that we ran away with the game and it was good that both Duncan and Dom were amongst the goals.

We created numerous chances and in all honesty could've scored more than five with yours truly missing a couple of sitters, it's always pleasing to win by a substantial margin and to keep a clean sheet as well made the result even more pleasing.

This week coming we entertain Lingfield in the Div 2 cup, this is a competition that all teams fancy their chances in and I'm sure that Lingfield will be as much up for this as we'll be. Lingfield have enjoyed a good start to life in Division 2 since their promotion last season and it'll be interesting to play against them and see for ourselves how good they are.