Sittingbourne kept the pressure up at the top of the South East division with a convincing single goal win at Lancing as the home side could avert their slide back towards the Sussex County League.
The biggest surprise was it was only Donvieve Jones’s seventh goal of the season that the Brickies had for almost total domination and indeed you easily count on one hand the number of touches that keeper Roco Rees had in the second half such was the Brickies total domination of the game. And indeed, but for the heroics of debutant home keeper Fraser Trigwell, a repeat of January’s 8-1 drubbing the Sussex side received at Woodstock was well and truly on the cards.
The tone for a frustrating afternoon for the Sittingbourne strikers was set in the first ten minutes as Ade Azeez just couldn’t get enough of a touch to force the ball past the keeper when played through and then Trigwell pulled off his first stunning save away to his left to keep out Ryan Kingsford’s bullet header from a fine Troy Howard centre. In between the Brickies had loud penalty appeals waved away as Henry Sinai’s scissor kick appeared to hit a defender’s hand.
What incredibly proved to be the game’s only goal arrived on twenty-seven minutes as Jones did well to get on the end of Richie Hamill’s free-kick and his header may have been helped over the line by a defender, but whatever was the case, the Brickies had a deserved lead.
Trigwell was the fortunate when he misjudged a Howard cross and could only get fingertips to the ball diverting it between Sinai and Azeez, before in the next attack, Howard was inches away from netting one of the goals of the season. Kingsford’s driven ball wide was centred into the middle by Jones for the arriving Howard, who’s first time drive beat a statuesque keeper and was only inches too high.
The second period followed the same pattern. Jones went close right at the start of the half before Trigwell made another great stop to deny Howard and as Sinai recycled the ball, a crazy scramble saw both Azeez and Kingsford denied.
Azeez hammered a drive on the turn just too high as the Brickies kept probing without being able to grab a second goal. Jones went close to a second after a rampaging run saw another Trigwell save – from the rebound Azeez rose well beating the keeper to the ball, and as it ran free Jones’ fierce drive flew across the face of goal.
The Brickies afternoon was summed up seven minutes from time as Hamill’s free kick was met by Liam Smith’s header and the keeper pulled off yet another magnificent save away to his left to keep the header out.
Yes, the Brickies would have liked more goals, but three points is three points is especially important at this stage of the season and keeps the Brickies hot on the heels of the League leaders.
LANCING – Trigwell, Unsworth (Lembikisa), Moir (Frimpong), Webster, Nkosi, Asike, Price-Placed (Belsham), Hasler (Quiassaca), Fhallougi (Warren), Scott, Erskine
SITTINGBOURNE – Rees, Jones, Graham, Hamill, Smith, Allan, Howard (May), El-Mogharbel (Woodward), Azeez, Kingsford (Fischer), Sinai (Morgan)
Sub – Arthur
REFEREE – Mr. McFarlane
Images courtesy of Paul Golding