Match Reports

THERE was little in the way of seasonal goodwill as Westfield claimed the points from an ultra-competitive and, at times, very niggly derby at The Salts on Boxing Day.

Two Rye United players were given their marching orders during a hectic finale to this Sussex County League Division Two tussle played for the most part in driving rain.

Substitutes Jimmy Watson and Nathan Gooden both saw red but others could easily have joined them in taking an early bath for far more serious offences.

The feisty nature of the contest also showed itself at the final whistle as Rye boss Scott Price and opposite number Duncan Jones were spotted barging into one another as they trudged across the pitch towards the officials, although the pair later shook hands.

As for the football, Westfield deserved to come away with the points for a determined display which negated their higher-placed hosts for long spells.

Going with a 3-4-3 formation which saw midfielder Lawrence Brand control things at the back, the Parishioners stood up well against the considerable threat offered by the likes of former Westfield ace Dominic Clarke, strike partner Danny Leach and the mercurial Duncan McArthur.

The opening exchanges were typical of a local derby as both sides flew into the tackle - some legitimate, some quite clearly not. The game needed a goal and Danny Woodley, who had earlier escaped without a booking for an ugly-looking lunge on Shaun Loft, broke the deadlock just before the half hour.

Loft was harried into conceding possession some 25 yards out from goal, and Woodley, who started the season with Rye, wasted no time in unleashing a superbly-struck half volley which arrowed beyond the dive of Jon Gardner and nestled in the far corner of the net.

Rye almost hit back in their very next attack when a McArthur free kick was spilled by Dan Foster but fortunately for the fit-again goalkeeper, no-one was on hand to convert the loose ball.

The next time they really troubled the Westfield goal was some 12 minutes into the second half, Clarke heading over at the back post from McArthur’s cross. Soon after Leach had a shot blocked by a defender.

At the other end, Gardner pulled off an excellent fingertip save to deny Peter Baker only for Westfield to double their advantage from the resultant corner. Baker’s kick was swung over to the far post where Tom Archer, who had a solid game at the back, got up highest to power a downward header which was adjudged to have crossed the line before being cleared.

Rye tried to rally and Sam Cole came desperately close to pulling a goal back before Warren Parsons had a header blocked on the line after the home defence was again found wanting at a set-piece. Marc Gall and Ben Ridgway then tried their luck from distance while Loft just failed to get a touch on Ridgway’s deep cross.

The Quarterboys’ hopes of getting back into the game seemed lost when Watson was shown a straight red card for a foul on Andy Garman, a punishment that seemed harsh in comparison to some of the incidents that went unchecked in the match.

They were given a lifeline, however, with three minutes of normal time remaining, Leach tapping home after Foster failed to gather a McArthur shot which had taken a slight but significant deflection.

With Rye chasing the game there was always the danger that they would be left short at the back and this brought about Godden’s dismissal, the defender upending Garman as he raced clear on goal.

A bitterly-disappointed Price felt Westfield came with a gameplan and it paid dividends. “They tried to get us rattled and fair play to them it worked,” he said. “It was a very spiteful game and I felt 75 per cent of it was from Westfield.”

He had no complaints about the sending-off of Godden but thought Watson was unlucky to be dismissed. “If that was a red card then there should have been five players left on the pitch,” he went on. “But that’s not why we lost because we were 2-0 down when Jimmy was sent-off.”

Jones was delighted with how his players stood up to the threat posed by Rye. “You have to earn the right to play football and that’s what we haven’t done recently,” he said. “There was only one team in it. On the day we outbattled them and played the better football.”

Westfield: Foster, Hurley, Graham, Archer, Brand, Harris, Garman, Dadswell, W. Parsons, Baker, D. Woodley (Brain). Subs not used: Jones, Oliver, Morris, Podmore

IT WAS raining goals during the second half as Westfield lost out in a thriller at Culver Road on Saturday.

All seven goals came after the interval as The Parishioners failed to build on the previous weekend’s win at Southwick in Division Two of the Sussex County Football League.

Joint manager Duncan Jones said: “It was like two completely different games. At half time we were completely in control of the game, they hadn’t really troubled us.

“On another day we would have quite comfortably come away with the three points, but as a team we didn’t defend well enough. We’re conceding too many goals.”

Lancing opened the scoring with a shot from Darren Boswell which Jones felt Peter Newstead – Westfield’s sixth different goalkeeper in as many matches – would have saved had he been playing regularly (it was only his second senior appearance since April 2008).

Minutes later and suddenly out of nowhere Westfield, 1-0 winners in the reverse fixture on the opening day, were two-down as Boswell bagged his second with the aid of a deflection.

Warren Parsons then struck his 12th goal of the season to pull it back to 2-1 and Jones believed

at that stage there was only going to be one winner. “It was all us,” he continued.

But Lancing restored their two-goal cushion when Boswell completed his hat-trick after latching onto a long ball over the top and leaving Lee Wood for dead with his electric pace.

An Andy Garman screamer pulled it back to 3-2 and, as well as missing a sitter to equalise, Jones was convinced Westfield should have been given a penalty rather than a free kick.

Instead, Lancing made it 4-2 when Boswell left two defenders on the deck and squared for Shaun Skipper to apply the finish. Wood reduced the deficit to one again, but it wasn’t enough.

Lancing played the final few minutes with 10 men after Ryan Loversidge was sent-off. Jones wouldn’t go into details about the incident, merely saying “it was for something absolutely disgusting”.

“If we had shown the sort of commitment we showed in the last 20 minutes during the first half, they wouldn’t have been in the game at half time,” added a frustrated Jones.”

Westfield: Newstead, Hurley, Graham, Archer (K. Parsons), Wood, Brand, Woodley, G. Morris (Garman), W. Parsons, Dadswell, Brain. Sub not used: Harris.

THE miserable weather pretty much summed up this match as Westfield’s poor run continued in the wind and rain on Sunday.

Two first half goals at The Pilot Field - the home of Hastings United - condemned the Westies to a ninth defeat in 11 fixtures.

Although Westfield felt they were on the receiving end of one or two debatable refereeing decisions, they could have few complaints about the result as Wealden moved up to third in Division Two of the Sussex County Football League.

Wealden went ahead midway through the first half when a long ball from near the halfway line picked out Dan Turner, lurking on the right hand edge of the box, and his low centre across the six-yard-box was tucked home by Chris Hickman.

Moments later Andy McDowell should have doubled the lead after racing clear of the last man but his finish flashed the wrong side of the near post.

They didn’t have to wait long to claim a second, however, because on 28 minutes McDowell delivered a great cross from the left and the unmarked Turner directed a well-placed header beyond the grasp of Dan Foster.

Stafford Browne - who along with another former Hastings player in Wez Lopez was back on familiar territory - wasted a glorious opportunity to kill off the game early in the second half when he blazed over a penalty awarded for Foster’s trip on Turner.

Westfield had a strong claim for a penalty of their own when Warren Parsons appeared to be bundled over by Shaun Grice but referee Matthew Goldsmith waved away the appeals.

The decision left Westfield seething and for the remainder of the match they upped the tempo with Andy Garman finally bringing a point blank save out of Ashley Kirrage in the closing minutes.

Westfield joint manager Tony Harris said: “I felt we should have had a penalty but that wasn’t why we lost, we lost because we conceded two cheap goals. What frustrated me the most was they were two up without having to do anything special.”

Eight yellow cards were dished out including five for Westfield players.

Westfield: Foster (Drinkwater), Hurley (Morris), Graham (Miller), Wood, Archer, Brand, Parsons, Dadswell, Woodley, Baker, Garman. Subs not used: Harris, Smith.

The Parishioners suffered an eighth defeat in 10 matches against a side struggling towards the foot of Division Two in the Sussex County Football League.

Joint manager Tony Harris said: “It was a frustrating day at the office. They’re a better side than their league position, but we went there expecting to win.”

With Dan Foster not prepared to risk his back and no other goalkeeper available, midfielder Adam Hurley took over the gloves on a windy afternoon at the Shooting Field.

Steyning had the benefit of the conditions during the first half and scored two goals from Westfield’s mistakes, although there was nothing Hurley could have done about either of them.

The stand-in goalkeeper didn’t really have any other shots to save on a pitch which wasn’t too bad considering all the rain that had fallen in the run up to the match.

Warren Parsons, returning to the attacking role he has occupied for much of the season having played at the back against Rustington, pulled one back just before half time.

It was his 11th goal of the season, but first since the 2-1 defeat to Clymping in a Division Two Challenge Cup at Eastbourne Borough’s Priory Lane ground on October 10.

Westfield’s leading scorer also missed a great chance in the first half when he fired over after making space for himself and another in the second when he headed over from six yards following a good cross by Lawrence Brand.

Danny Woodley again worked hard up-front, but Westfield were too direct with the wind behind them in the second half, and besides the Parsons chance, a long range shot from Matt Dadswell was about their only other effort of note. Peter Baker played his first full game for some time.

Westfield: Hurley, K. Parsons (Miller), Graham, Archer, Wood, Brand, S. Smith, Dadswell, Woodley, W. Parsons, Baker. Subs not used: Harris, Parris.

JOINT Westfield manager Duncan Jones scored a hat-trick on Saturday despite suffering from a fractured foot.

Jones, who scored with the same injury for Hastings Town (now United) 10 years ago, had a bit of discomfort before the game but decided to play after consulting physio John Holland.

He woke up in pain on Sunday morning, however, and after struggling in to work on Monday, decided to go to casualty on Monday evening when the extent of the problem was established.

Jones now faces 6-8 weeks on the sidelines, adding to a Westfield injury list which he says is the longest he has seen in his time in football, both as a player and manager.

Westfield opened the scoring four minutes into this remarkable Sussex County Football League Division Two clash when Jones tapped home after good work from Danny Woodley.

James Bennett equalised for Rustington at the end of a good move down the left, but Jones restored Westfield’s lead with a contentious penalty awarded for a foul on Adam Hurley.

The impressive Woodley then scored his first goal for the club in only his second appearance and Jones made it 4-1 inside 35 minutes with a 35-yard screamer to complete his treble.

Westfield, who had lost seven of their previous eight games, then started to drop deep and Stephen Kirkham pulled one back, although Rustington had Brett Neal sent-off before half time.

Lee Wood made it 5-2 with a header for his first goal of the season. James Butt then got Rustington back within two only for Woodley to seal Westfield’s victory with his second.

Jones said: “Danny Woodley has come in and been fantastic. He works tirelessly, his movement was superb, he was running at defenders and taking shots on early. We looked like scoring every time we went forward and it could’ve been comfortably 10, we missed four easy chances.

“The greatest criticism, other than we need to tighten up, was that at times we were overplaying. We want to win games, but we want to win them in a certain way and we’re playing some great football.”

With no less than four goalkeepers injured or unavailable, Steve Drinkwater made his first appearance between the posts for Westfield in several seasons.

Westfield:Drinkwater, W. Parsons, Graham, Wood, Henham (K. Parsons), Brand, Hurley (Baker), Jones, Woodley, Dadswell, Garman.Sub not used:Podmore.