Sandhurst vs Westfield Reserves
2 - 3
27 November 2021 · East Sussex Football League<br>Division 2
Away league match played on 27 November 2021.
Kicked off at 2:00 PM
2-3
vs Sandhurst
Away league match
Westfield made it five games unbeaten with a hard fought 3-2 victory in freezing conditions against a hardworking Sandhurst side. The victory puts Westfield up to second place in the table, two points behind leaders Northiam and 1 point ahead of Little Common who have played a game less.
The blustery conditions weren’t conducive to attractive football but Westfield’s high press was causing Sandhurst to frequently turnover possession. With the enigmatic Bavon Abala occupying the left flank Jay ‘Goals’ Edwards and the outstanding Lee Paine were interchanging beautifully and created numerous chances for Westfield to take the lead. However it was Sandhurst who struck first after a Westfield corner was cleared back to the highly impressive Taylor Beale and he swung in a delightful cross which the Sandhurst keeper did excellently to punch clear and from the resulting long clearance the otherwise superb Billy Blackford got caught under the ball and the opposing forward cleverly lobbed stand in keeper Steve Payne from 25 yards.
Westfield didn’t allow the set back to disrupt their rhythm and struck back just 7 minutes later when a neat passing exchange involving Kyle Churchman, Joe Page and man of the match Paine sent Edwards away down the right and his shot across goal deflected in to level the scores.
Westfield took the lead immediately from the second half restart when Page played a long ball forward which Edwards and Kyle Young battled for resulting in Young finding space on the right hand side of the box to fire a pin point cross on to Paine’s head and he powered home to give Westfield the lead.
It was 3-1 mid way through the half when Churchman, who had bossed the midfield all game, found the equally impressive Beale on half way and Beale’s driving run took out a couple of Sandhurst defenders before he sublimely slipped in Edwards who fired home his 4th goal in just his third game since returning.
How Westfield didn’t further extend their lead was a mystery but they looked relatively comfortable in defence until the 75th minute when Sandhurst managed to claw a goal back with a tap in at the back post. But it was Westfield who saw out the tie with some neat and tidy football and game management techniques to secure an important victory.
Next week they travel to bottom placed Bexhill Rovers in a game that will surely be tougher than the recent form guide suggests. ????