With the last game of the season upon us, the Swans made the long trek to Dorking FC with a very depleted squad, fortunately a 4th position in the league had already been secured meaning the pressure was really on Dorking who needed a win to secure promotion.
Quigg (work), Simpson (Injured), Howard (Unavailable), Cobb (Holiday), Bridle (Injured), Long (Injured) were all missing from the Swans squad, Lloyd Dean earnt a call-up to the 1st team meaning the Swans had to re-shuffle their line-up. Frost came in at centre-back, Bishop at Left-back with Measom centre-midfield.
Dorking made a good start to the match moving the ball across the pitch well, however, although the Swans werent playing their best football they were able to press Dorking very well and ensure that Dorking made a lod of mistakes in the final 3rd of the pitch.
A lot of the 1st half play saw Dorking continue to move the ball well but in truth Keiron Gillard was rarely troubled in the Swans goal. Some good work from Frost and Vincent ensured that the Swans came in at half-time 0-0 with Dorking looking very frustrated.
The second half was action packed with the Swans taking a lead, a lobbed through ball saw Dan Meason race through on goal and dink the ball over the keeper with avery composed finish. 1-0 up and Dorking were clearly rattled.
Sadly the lead didnt last long though, Dorkings energetic number 9 latched onto a good through ball, beat the offside trap and slotted into the net to make it 1-1.
Dorking then took the lead shortly after to make it 2-1, the Swans looked a bit jaded and were short of options so could not change things easily. A flash-point occurred when the big Dorking number 5 kicked Measom off the ball which led to a number of players scuffling - with this happening all in front of the Referee! The number 5 threw 2 punches at Measom and didnt even get booked!
Despite feeling a bit hard-done-by the Swans pressed forward in search of an equaliser, with Jarvie hitting a few long-distance efforts, Olly Davies also bent in a couple of wicked free-kicks which went close, as the Swans pushed forward in search of their equaliser, Dorking got a 3rd which effectively killed the game.
Iain Jarvie got a consolation goal for the Swans with a cracking left-foot finish after a classy through-ball from Luke Bishop.
Dorking killed any hopes for the Swans with a 4th and final goal in the last few minutes of the game - this sealed their promotion into the Reserve Section Premier.
Neil Richardson got man-of-the-match with a very hard working performance. The Swans will look to bounce back again next season and improve on their 4th place final league position.
Team: Gillard, Dawson, Bishop, Frost, Vincent, Jarvie, Measom, Davies, Suter, Richardson, Meade-Palmer.
Subs Used: Jones
The Swans travelled a short trip to Rustington for their final midweek game of the season.
With a few changes from Saturdays match, it was a tough start to the game for the Swans. The quality of the football was a little hit and miss, both teams were defending superbly and the bobbly pitch caused problems for both sides.
Rustington had added a bit of quality to their side with Dan Swain and Lee Barnard (both dual signed from W.Sussex Prem Champions Angmering) operating in Midfield and threading good passes through to the youthful strikers - Olly Davies had made a good start at Left-Back putting in some good tackles on the pacey Rustington strikers, whilst Jamie Dawson at right-back also had to be on his toes.
Clear cut chances were really few and far between with Jake Meade-Palmer having the Swans best chance of the half and hitting the post. After a lot of good defensive work from both sides, the 1st half ended 0-0.
It was the 2nd half where the game came to life, the Swans drew first blood with a Joe Howard cross being spilled by the Rustington keeper, Richard Ayres was on hand for a tidy tap-in finish. The Swans then got a 2nd, Ayres again was the scorer getting a faint header from a long Joe Howard throw-in after some good work from Neil Richardson.
Not content with a 2-0 lead the Swans continued to get forward, Measom grabbed a 3rd goal for the team when he jinked around 3 players in the box and scored a top-corner effort with a crafty toe-punt finish! Measom made it 4-0 shortly after when a goalkeeping error left Measom with an easy tap-in.
4-0 up and the Swans went into cruise control - way too early in the game as the hard-working Rustington continued to graft, Dan Swain got a first Rustington goal with a curling shot after he was allowed too much time on the edge of the box. A second Rustington goal came late in the game when a decent through ball found the Rustington striker who finished neatly.
The game ended 4-2 with both teams playing some nice football at times on a very difficult playing service.
Measom picked up man-of-the-match pipping Olly Davies and Jamie Dawson to the award.
Team: Gillard, Dawson, Davies, Vincent, Jarvie, Meade-Palmer, Ayres, Bridle, Howard, Measom and Richardson.
Subs: Suter and Cockerton
The Swans hosted Chichester on a very warm afternoon, with Andy Long out injured, Joe Howard ill, Andy Vincent on a honeymoon and 4 other players unavailable due to stag do's/rubbish holidays, we had to really shuffle our pack in order to put out a strong 14.
Gary Frost returned to the line-up partnering Richard Maymon at centre-back. Jordan Suter slotted in at left back whilst Kris Harding went in attack with Measom.
Chichester City also had a number of players unavailable and injured which meant that they could only start the game with ten players!
The Swans got off to a disastrous start, Olly Davies and Jordan Suter failed to close the Chichester right-back down and he whipped in a decent cross, the cross was flicked on and the Chichester striker who was not marked tightly enough scored an easy goal - tragic defending to say the least.
With a poor start, the Swans had to work very hard to try and get a foot on the ball and make the extra player count, as the minutes went by the Swans began to find some good passing moves, however, frustration was creeping in early on as many players were trying to look for a 'killer pass' when an easier option would have been far better.
After a few half-chances, it was Kris Harding that got an equaliser. An excellent clipped pass over the top of the back four from Olly Davies found Kris Harding, Harding raced through and hit a powerful strike through the Chichester keeper.
Despite getting an equaliser the Chichester players certainly did not look like they had a player less and their endevour to win the ball was a real credit, Frost and Maymon certainly had to be on their toes to remove any attacking threat.
With about ten minutes of the 1st half remaining, Storrington took the lead. Andy Quigg, Measom and Bridle were involved in a slick passing move which saw Quigg burst into the box and as he was about to shoot, he was clattered leaving the Referee no choice but to award a penalty. Measom stepped up and placed a good penalty into the bottom right-corner. The 1st half ended 2-1.
The 2nd half was really a bit of an anti-climax, the Swans moved the ball very well but found theirselves really a bit wasteful in front of goal. Suter, Lloyd Dean, Kris Harding all guilty of missing chances, whilst the Chichester keeper was a real superstar in this game and should probably look to progress onto a higher level of football.
The match ended 2-1 to the Swans, Richard Maymon had a superb game slotting in at centre-back and was duly awarded man-of-the-match. Measom was in good form too chasing everything and working hard to bring other players into the game whilst Gary Frost had his best game of the season.
Team: Gillard, Dawson, Suter, Frost, Maymon, Davies, Ayres, Quigg, Bridle, Measom and Harding.
Subs Used: Meade-Palmer, Dean and Simpson.
An evening game under floodlights saw the Swans host Broadbridge Heath. Earlier in the season the Swans had demolished Broadbridge Heath 5-1, however, tonight the Heath turned up with a strengthened and unrecognisable line-up.
It was the class of the Heath midfield which pulled the strings in the early stages of the game, quick passes and good ball retention were order of the day, the Swans on the other hand were playing a bit within theirselves and the organisation of the team on the pitch was not good enough.
Heath took the driving seat, a pacey cross seemed to be well claimed by Keiron Gillard, however, the cross was spilt after what looked to be a foul and the loose ball was smashed into the net.....
1-0 down and the Swans just couldnt seem to keep the ball, as the half went on frustration grew and a lot of mis-placed passes were happening which did not help the situation. The half drew to a close with the Swans putting in a 45minutes to forget!
At half-time the management team encouraged the Swans to talk to each other more on the pitch and call each pass so that Kris Bridle and Joe Howard could dictate the pace of the game.
Clearly the Swans players had listened to the team-talk as every player started the 2nd half like they were playing with a point to prove....Lloyd Dean got an early equaliser after some neat passing in the box he found himself 6 yards out and chipped the ball past the keeper.
1-1 and the Swans were now going through the gears. Dan Measom was the architect next as he took on a couple of Defenders and threaded a delightful pass through to Richard Ayres who finished calmly to get himself a deserved goal.2-1 up and substitutes were introduced, all of which made a fantastic impact on the game - Jordan Suter's running down the right-hand side was leaving Heath players dawdling behind. It was Suter that got the 3rd goal when a Dan Cobb corner was flicked on by Jarvie - Suter lept like a salmon and headed into the goal.
With Heath players tiring, the Swans continued to push forward and this time Olly Davies got on the scoresheet after he finished neatly from a Suter cross - 4-1 was the final score.
Dan Measom was man-of-the-match although Kris Bridle, Joe Howard, Jamie Dawson and Jordan Suter all impressed in the 2nd half.
Team: Gillard, Dawson, Bishop, Jarvie, Cobb, Dean, Ayres, Bridle, Howard, Measom and Martin.
Subs Used: Suter, Meade-Palmer and Davies
As Lancing pushed for their title challenge, the Swans were looking to get more points on the board in order to climb into the top 4 of the league table.
Both teams had good defensive records in the league and this would suggest that chances may be few and far between.
Storrington had some good early moves with Richard Ayres hitting the crossbar from the edge of the box. Later on in the half Lancing also hit the crossbar.
Chris Watton and Iain Jarvie were able to deal with any Lancing threat well and despite getting the ball forward quick, the Swans were able to defend confidently. Going Forward the Swans were coming up against a very well organised back 4, despite this a couple of Jamie Dawson set pieces put the Lancing back 4 to the test, Measom also had a couple of pot-shots from disctance which were comfortably saved.
The 1st half saw two sides, both well organised pretty much cancel each other out. The Swans were defending competently and moving forward well with some neat passing but probably lacked a bit of creativity in the final 3rd whilst Lancing were more direct but also lacking invention in the final 3rd.
0-0 was the halftime score with the team scoring the 1st goal being the team most likely to win....
A faster pace was set for the 2nd half - again both defences were on top but now Quigg and Davies were seeing more of the ball for the Swans meaning that we could try to deliver more crosses into the Lancing penalty area.
Unfortunately in one of the few moments that the Swans switched-off defensively, Lancing managed to score. With poor communicaton at the back, Lancing were able to pick the ball up and play a nice chipped pass into the box, Keiran opted to stay on his line and the Lancing Striker easily finished the move.
At 1-0 down both sets of managers changed the formations, Lancing went to a 4-5-1 to protect their lead whilst Storrington pushed Iain Jarvie into the centre-midfield area and went into a 3-5-2. As Storrington pushed players forward in search of an equaliser, Lancing got a 2nd goal which proved to be the winner - a chipped through ball was set to be intercepted by Chris Watton before taking a deflection and going straight through to the Lancing left-midfielder. The player was one-on-one and finished the goal to decide the game that ended 2-0.
In fairness the Swans probably deserved a little more from the game but credit to Lancing who took their chances well and will surely now be looking to go on and win the league.
Iain Jarvie got man of the match.
Team: Gillard, Dawson, Bishop, Watton, Jarvie, Davies, Quigg, Bridle, Cobb, Measom and Ayres.
Subs Used: Frost, Dean and Meade-Palmer.
With a good number of league matches still to play, Storrington had to get organised and be at Midhurst early doors for a 6pm Kick-off. With some players arriving only ten minutes before kick-off, it was sure to be an interesting match.
Storrington had some absentees and had to re-shuffle. 16 year-old Jordan Suter came in at right-back, whilst Jamie Dawson moved into the centre-back position.
The start of the match saw Midhurst hit the ball long in an attempt to play in their pacey Striker, Dawson and Jarvie were winning everything with good aerial ability. With the ball being won frequently, Dawson and Crouch were able to get the ball down and play - Suter in particular was finding lots of space whilst linking up well with Cobb.
After a few good crosses into the box, the Swans took the lead. A ball into the box found Measom who hit the post from close range, as the ball hit the post it rebounded across goal towards Quigg who was unmarked and finished with an acrobatic volley!
1-0 up and this could have been the start of something good for the Swans...........however, Midhurst seemed to get a little luck defensively and despite heavy pressure kept the scoreline at 1-0.
Just before the break Measom got the 2nd goal - some good quick passing found Richardson on the halfway line, Rico held the ball up well, jinked past a couple of players and then slid Measom through on goal....Measom smashed the ball past the keeper into the net.
2-0 up and the words from the Storrington management were encouraging.
Midhurst started fairly brightly after the start of the 2nd half with some good moves down the flanks. Kris Bridle and Quigg were working hard in the Cenre of the pitch whilst Olly Davies and Jordan Suter saw plenty of the ball as they pressed forward well. A deep cross to the back-post found Richard Ayres who blazed high and wide with a volley.
The 2nd half didnt quite live upto expectation for the Swans, although the ball was often retained well we probably didnt take enough of our chances and Keiron made some neat saves with his legs when called upon. Although there were a couple of scares the Swans were in control of the match and substitutions were made early to give other members of the squad a rest. Luke Bishop put in some superb tackles at right-back when he came on whilst Jake Meade-Palmer and Lloyd Dean offered some excellent pace out wide.
Lloyd Dean put in some mazy runs when he got on the ball and almost scored but had an effort blocked off the line. Despite our best efforts we could not add to our 2 goal tally and the game fizzled out into a 2-0 victory.
Jamie Dawson got man-of-the-match, Measom played well in attack with Rico whilst Jordan Suter continued to impress.
Team: Gillard, Suter, Davies, Dawson, Jarvie, Cobb, Quigg, Bridle, Ayres, Richardson and Measo.
Subs Used: Meade-Palmer, Bishop and Dean.
Goals: Quigg and Measom.
Booked: Bridle.
After plenty of good weather recently, Storrington took on Bosham in a league fixture on a very hard and bobby pitch. Bosham's line up had a few familiar faces along with 4 or 5 players that hadn't featured in the previous matches between the 2 sides.
Andy Quigg and Andy Vincent returned to the line-up with Storrington featuring 3 players under 18 on the bench - Jake Meade-Palmer, George Younger and Jordan Suter.
It took a little while for the pattern of the game to settle, Bosham played a high tempo game and Storrington took a while to get into the flow of the game, with 20 minutes gone Storrington had defended well against some Bosham attacks but capitalised on a quick break - Measom took on 3 players before sliding a pass to Kris Bridle, Bridle backheeled the ball to Richardson and Richard scored a superb goal with a curling strike from the edge of the box.
The rest of the 1st half saw Storrington retain the ball well but not really make the most of their posession and the lack of cutting edge cost Storrington dear when Bosham scored a goal 2 minutes before the half-time break to equalise.
Half-time approached with the 1-1 scoreline and Bosham had been much improved in this match compared to previous fixtures this season.
The 2nd half started unfortunately Storrington didnt. Bosham did a good job of out-muscling and out-competing the Storrington lads and we went a goal down after a fierce strike from outside the box took a strange bobble and went straight through Keiran into the net!
Things got worse when Andy Vincent seemed to get fouled as he jumped for a header with the Bosham Striker - Vinnie's header fell short and Keiran was beaten to the ball and nutmegged by a Bosham player.
3-1 down and Storrington had a lot to do in order to salvage anything from this match. With 20 minutes to go, the Swans started to up their level of performance and bombarded the Bosham penalty area. Dan Measom got a goal when a good delivery into the box wasnt cleared - Measom smashed the ball home folowing the scramble. As the clock ran down the Swans almost snatched an equaliser, a superb piece of football found Jake Meade-Palmer down the right and Richardson headed a powerful header from Jakes cross onto the bar and over.
The game finished 3-2 with Storrington really putting in a below-par performance against a very committed Bosham side. Measom pipped Jamie Dawson to the man-of-the-match award.
Team: Gillard, Dawson, Davies, Jarvie, Vincent, Howard, Bridle, Cobb, Quigg, Richardson and Measom.
Subs Used: Meade-Palmer, Suter and Younger.
Goals: Richardson and Measom.
Storrington travelled east to face Little Common reserves in the Quarter-Final of the Reserve Section Challenge Cup.
Packed with a young-looking squad it was Common that dictated the early pace of the game, their quick passing and good movement off the ball meant they were able to attack well down the flanks.
The first flashpoint of the game saw Dan Meason clattered when one of the Common players went in very high and over the top of the ball - this led to a melee of players arguing, the Common player was only booked for the tackle which possibly could have been a red. Neil Richardson was also booked for his part in the melee of players.
After a couple of counter-attacks Storrington made a breakthrough in the game, a low cross was fizzed into the area and the Common defender made a desperate lunge on Joe Howard to give away the penalty. Joe stepped up and converted the penalty into the top corner of the net.
Literally 2 minutes later Common got an equaliser after some poor Defending from the swans - the game was now set at 1-1 and with only ten minutes gone was proving to be entertaining.
With Storrington pushing forward in attack looking for a 2nd goal, their game took a turn for the worse. A Storrington cross was challenged for between the Common defender and Richardson, the ball came off the shoulder of the Common defender but the Referee awarded a goal kick - out of frustration Richardson swore and the Referee gave him a 2nd booking of the game and therefore sent him off.
Down to ten-men and the Swans were rattled - Common quickly capitalised by taking the lead, poor marking whilst defending a corner meant that the Common striker was able to head in a goal unmarked.
2-1 down and the game was becoming a real challenge for the Swans, despite this we pushed forward looking to get an equaliser and managed to do so in the 40th minute. Olly Davies was out of position on the right hand corner of the pitch, the ball fell to him and he delivered a cross into the area with pace - Joe Howard flung himself at the ball and the ball came off the back of his head and into the corner of the net - good character shown by the team and a timely equaliser.
In the 2nd half we wanted to try and stamp our authority in the midfield battle so that we could supply lone-striker Dan Measom with the ball, our plans didn't really work out though as Little Common upped their game and started to make the most of their numerical advantage.
As we pushed forward Common launched a long ball towards our defensive line - Cobb stepped up thinking their attacker was offside but mis-timed his move and the Common player raced through on goal, Cobb chased back and clumsily clattered the Common player in the area to concede the penalty. Keiron guessed what way the penalty was going and got a hand on the penalty kick but couldnt quite prevent it from going in.
3-2 up and Common were enjoying some good spells of posession, they worked hard and tried to neutralise the creative play of Howard and Bridle. The game got a bit tense as the match went on and there was more drama when Iain Jarvie pulled off a superb last ditch tackle in the area, only for the referee to award a penalty - this was hugely frustrating as the tackle was superb and Jarvie had clearly played the ball. The Common striker despatched the ball into the net and sealed the match.
The last ten minutes saw the Swans throw players forward, Measom went close to scoring with a rocket of a shot from outside the box which hit the outside of the post and Cobb also should have scored when he went through on goal.
Credit goes to Little Common for taking their chances and we wish them luck for the Semi-Final - this was a game where we struggled and certainly missed some of the experienced players that could not feature in the match today.
Lloyd Dean had a positive match in his first start for the club whilst Jamie Dawson also played very well. Our attention now turns to the remainder of our league campaign where we will look to improve our current league position and move further up from 5th in the table.
Steyning hosted the Swans for a Friday night derby match at the Shooting Fields - earlier in the season Storrington had won 5-1 in the home fixture, however this match was certain to be a lot different with Steynings pitch notoriously difficult to play good football on.
The early exchanges saw both teams struggle for composure on the ball, the bobbly pitch caused the ball to bounce around a lot and quick passing was rare as people were trying to control the ball without making mistakes.
After a cagey 25 minutes Storrington had an excellent spell of posession, Dan Measom nearly scored when a Kris Harding through ball put him through one-on-one, the Steyning keeper made a superb save though. A volley from Kris Harding went just over, Meade-Palmer and Cobb also forced excellent saves from the keeper.
It was a long throw-in from Jarvie that helped break the deadlock, Jarvie's throw found Richardson, Richardson spun the defender and smashed the ball past the keeper with a superb finish. This gave the Swans a lead that in fairness had been deserved. The 1st half finished with the Swans leading 1-0, however, some inspired goalkeeping had kept Steyning in the match.
The Swans wanted to have more composure in the 2nd half and continue the dominance they had shown during the last 20 minutes of the 1st half, this wasnt to be though as Steyning through everything at us during the 2nd half. With long passes and many crosses being aimed into the Storrington penalty area we had to defend hard - this meant that when we did get the ball there was a long gap between our midfield and Strikers.
After a long period of defending Lloyd Dean was brought on at left-midfield with Jordan Suter coming in at left back, the 2 youngsters added pace to the side and Lloyd Dean helped us to get forward with some bursting runs down the Left.
With ten minutes to go Storrington looked shakey and were hanging on for the 3 points, it was a counter attack from the Swans that almost finished the game off, a run from Lloyd Dean released Jordan Suter and Suter's shot at the near post was saved well.
The game ended 1-0 to the swans making it 11 games unbeaten in the league, a much better performance is needed next week against Little Common though if we want to advance to the Semi-Final of the cup.
Andy Vincent pipped Dan Measom to the man-of-the-match award.
Team: Gillard, Dawson, Davies, Frost, Vincent, Cobb, Jarvie, Meade-Palmer, Harding, Measom and Richardson.
Subs: Dean, Suter and Howard (not used).
After a few weeks without a game, Storrington travelled to East Preston to face a side that had some very good players and plyed their trade in the Reserve Premier league.
Storrington had a strong squad, although Dan Measom passed a late fitness check, whilst Iain Jarvie was struggling with an ongoing hip injury.
East Preston started the game at pace with their back 4 content on hitting the ball long, both Centre-Midfield pairings had to work hard to get the ball on the floor and influence play. The first 20 minutes were a real physical battle with some competitive tackles flying in. Olly Davies stung the palms of the E.P. Goalie with some fierce long range shots and E.P. also fired a few long-range efforts in.
It was not until the 25th minute that Storrington really began to dictate play, Cobb and Joe Howard were putting in a fantastic work-rate which meant that Storrington could get the ball out wide quickly to Harding and Quigg. The breakthrough came on the 30th minute when Olly Davies' scissor-kick clearance found Neil Richardson - Rico turned the E.P. defender and made a neat through-ball to Measom - Measom was composed and finished the move with a nice strike under the E.P. keeper.
1-0 up and E.P.players were beginning to argue amongst theirselves and with the Referee which made it easier for the Swans to focus on the task in hand, a superb corner from Cobb led to a great chance, unfortunately Quigg headed just over.
Half-time came and the Swans were winning 1-0, in fairness it could have been 2 or 3 goals up - the instructions from Storrington's management team were to be more ruthless and decisive in front of goal.
Storrington wasted no time in continuing with their quick passing football from the 2nd half whistle, Harding was seeing more of the ball out wide, whilst Rico was completely bullying the E.P. centre-back pairing. A 2nd goal came when Neil Richardson had a shot parried, Measom followed up and slotted home despite a last-ditch effort from the E.P defenders.
A third and match winning goal came on the 60th minute, a goalmouth scramble led to Measom being clattered - the Referee awarded the penalty and Joe Howard smashed the ball in, then treated the crowd to a rubbish backflip followed up by the customary Swan celebration.
3-0 up and with plenty of time remaining, Measom was replaced by Lloyd Dean to help protect an ankle injury that Measom has been carrying. Shortly after this Frost replaced Jarvie and towards the end of the match Jearum replaced Joe Howard. Howard had put in a fine performance with some superb skills on show.
Despite some solid E.P. pressure, the Swans advanced to the quarter-final after putting in one of their best performances of the season against opposition that are a league-higher. Olly Davies pipped Joe Howard to the man-of-the-match award but this was a game where every member of the squad can be very proud of the performance that they put in - in particular Dawson and Davies both put in their best individual performances of the season.
Team: Gillard, Dawson, Davies, Vincent, Jarvie, Quigg, Harding, Cobb, Howard, Richardson and Measom.
Subs Used: Dean, Frost and Jearum.
Shoreham hosted Storrington for a league clash where anything could have happened.
After almost a week of rain, Shoreham had done a very good job of keeping their pitch playable and allowing the game to go ahead.
Storrington were strengthened with the return of Kris Bridle who was sporting a very lairy sun-tan after his recent holiday, Dan Cobb and Jake Meade-Palmer also returned after their recent call-up with the 1st team. The Shoreham side was much different from the side that we defeated heavily earlier in the season - Shoreham also had a 1st teamer or two in their side as the Ringmer vs Shoreham match had been postponed earlier in the day.
Shoreham set a good early tempo as Storrington were struggling to win the midfield battle, the tempo of Shorehams direct football was causing problems and Tom Chidgey led the Shoreham attack very well. The first 20 minutes saw Storrington needlessly give the ball away which meant that our back four had to play very deep. After the 20 minute mark we started to get a grip on the game, Alan had made some great saves and on the counter attack Neil Richardson hit the post after some good work from Dan Measom.
At the back Jarvie and Vincent were in sparkling form which gave the team a good foundation to build on. Storrington could also have scored nearer the end of the 1st half after some very good corners into the box.
The 1st half ended 0-0 with Storrington having not really got out of 1st gear, credit to Shoreham who looked vastly improved since earlier in the season, Shoreham should have been leading as they had a few more clear cut chances than us.
During the half-time team talk, some poor individual performances were being addressed by the management team and players were being told to retain the ball for longer and also to be more positive with their passes.
A more positive looking Storrington started the 2nd half, Dan Cobb was swapped into the centre-mid position with Quigg moving to the right, this had a good impact on the game as Quigg was finding good space down the right-hand side whilst Cobb's energy in the centre gave Kris Bridle the needed space to influence the game more.
After a series of attacks Storrington were causing the Shoreham back four problems but couldnt quite seem to make the breakthrough, at the back Gary Frost picked up a nasty cut on his shin and had to be replaced with Olly Davies. Olly had a good impact from left back and hit some excellent passes over the Shoreham back four. Lloyd Dean was introduced a Left-Midfield and replaced Jake Meade-Palmer - it was the introduction of Lloyd Dean that led to one of the game's biggest turning points.........as Lloyd was shielding the ball out of play the Shoreham right midfielder lashed out and kicked him blatantly off the ball - the Referee had little option but to show the red card and Shoreham were reduced to 10 men.
The red card was a blow to Shoreham who had probably had more posession throughout the match and were guilty of wasting chances. With 20 minutes to go Storrington were finding good space out wide, Quigg and Dean were putting some good deliveries in, the pace of Olly Davies and Lloyd Dean was too much for the Shoreham right hand-side. On the the 80th minute Dan Measom scored a goal of the highest quality, Olly Davies chipped a pass to him, Measom looked up and took the ball on the half-volley from 30 yards out straight into the top corner! A goal which we wont forget in a hurry!
Full credit to Shoreham who for the last 10 minutes kept attacking the Storrington back four with real intent. Stand-in keeper Alan Meldrum had to tip a shot onto the bar to help Storrington keep a clean sheet and get all 3 points.
The game finished 1-0 and Shoreham had made Storrington dig deep to get the win. Both keepers were immense and this game could easily been 5-5 on another day! This win made it 10 games unbeaten in the league for Storrington which is a fantastic achievement and a run that we would like to continue.
Iain Jarvie just pipped Andy Vincent to man-of-the-match whilst all of the team can be very pleased with their 2nd half performance which was miles better than the 1st half performance.
Team: Meldrum, Dawson, Davies, Vincent, Jarvie, Frost, Bridle, Quigg, Cobb, Meade-Palmer, Measom and Richardson.
Subs Used: Bishop, Dean and Davies.
Goal: Measom
With the Reserve Team squad still suffering from some long-term injuries and a few players called up to the front-side, changes were order of the day in order to keep a very good unbeaten run going.
16 Year-old Jordan Suter earnt a start at left-back after some great cameo appearances in recent weeks, whilst, Quigg made his 2nd start in a row within the Centre-Midfield position. Dan Measom moved back into attack with Iain Jarvie partnering Quigg in Centre-Midfield.
Despite being bottom of the table, the Midhurst centre-midfield showed plenty of willing and lots of energy to make sure that their team competed early on, coupled with some superb Goalkeeping Midhurst had some good players to showcase.
After some good build up play, it was Storrington that broke the deadlock 15 minutes in, under pressure Andy Quigg laid a neat pass back to Olly Davies, Davies took the ball on his weaker right-foot and smashed a 25 yard screamer into the top-corner! So much for weaker right foot! This was a great goal for any game and outlines the technical ability that Olly can offer.
The 2nd goal was also a good one to watch and followed shortly after, a raking diagonal pass from Jamie Dawson found Iain Jarvie unmarked, Jarvie snatched his shot wide but before the ball went out Measom flung himself at the ball and tapped in.
2-0 was the score but Midhurst upped their workrate and the rest of the half was disappointing for Storrington as we failed to close down our opponents quickly enough and gave the ball away in our own half far too many times.
The halftime teamtalk expressed that despite winning 2-0 so far, we certainly weren't playing with the right habits and working hard enough.
After the interval Storrington rolled up their sleeves and played some very quick, passing football. After a good flowing move, Dan Meason played a smart throughball to Neil Richardson, Rico slotted the ball under the keeper to make it 3-0.
The 4th goal came quickly, this time a curling Jamie Dawson cross found Richardson unmarked who volleyed home with venom.
Lloyd Dean was introduced and is another young player showing lots of potential, he made an instant impact with a great piece of skill that left the full-back for dead, Lloyd's cross found Richardson who headed home for his hat-trick.
A 6th goal came when Dan Cobb, introduced as a sub with 20 minutes remaining, picked out Iain Jarvie, Jarvie converted and deserved the goal after a great all-round display.
The final goal and Richardson's 4th came with a few minutes remaining, Lloyd Dean claimed his 2nd assist of the game.
All in all this was a fair result and to score 7 goals is always nice, we have to learn as a team that we need to set our own tempo from the 1st whistle though. Gary Frost and Andy Vincent were immense in the 1st half whilst Jamie Dawson had his best game for the club yet and played some wondeful passed. Richardson claimed man-of-the-match but the 2nd half team performance was very good throughout.
Team: Gillard, Dawson, Suter, Frost, Vincent, Jarvie, Quigg, Bishop, Davies, Measom and Richardson.
Subs Used: Dean, Cobb and Meade-Palmer.
Booked: Dawson
After a close pre-season match against Rustington, this was a fixture that the Storrington side had eagerly awaited.
Rustington have had some mixed results this season in the league and were going to be a tough side to take 3 points from.
Rustington set the early pace with some very direct passing and good quality delivery into the box, Kieron Gillard had to be at his best early on to deal with the pressure and Storrington were struggling hard to clear their lines and advance up the pitch.
Despite the early pressure, Storrington took the lead, a scramble in the box led to Neil Richardson scoring from close range. 1-0 up but Rustington still worked hard to force the issue, when Storrington did win the ball we were often guilty of not looking after it and lost posession far too quickly.
Just before the half time break, Rustington got a deserved equaliser - a wicked cross was powered across the goal-line, Jamie Dawson thought he had headed clear before it had crossed the line, however the Storrington designated linesman signalled to the Referee that it was a goal and the referee awarded it. Great Honesty from the linesman and proof that fair-play is still in the game.
1-1 was the half time score, both Midfields were cancelling each other out and both sets of forwards were short on real chances.
The second half saw real improvement from Storrington, Jake Cockerton got more involved in the game partnering Richardson in attack, whilst Measom and Quigg worked well in the centre midfield.
It was Cockerton that got Storrington's winner on the 65th minute, Richardson played a smart chipped pass to Cockerton who smased home a superb half-volley into the roof of the net.
The game ended 2-1 but Storrington had further chances to add to the scoreline. Subs Jordan Suter and Lloyd Dean making his debut had both impressed.
This was a good 3 points when perhaps we had not been at our best.
The good league run continues though as we look to break into the top 4 - todays man-of-the match was Iain Jarvie.
Team: Gillard, Dawson, Frost, Vincent, Jarvie, Measom, Quigg, Bishop, Davies, Richardson and Cockerton.
Subs Used: Suter, Dickson and Dean.
Loxwood, who have had a solid 1st half to the season hosted Storrington for a 4th place vs 5th place clash.
Storrington who had an earlier 6-1 defeat to Loxwood still fresh in their minds turned up looking to continue their excellent unbeaten run.
Loxwood had quality throughout their side and dictated the pace early on forcing Keiron Gillard to make 2 very good saves and also forcing Andy Vincent into a brave last-ditch block. After some 20 minutes of real pressure Storrington started to impose theirselves into the game - the good work started with Dan Measom nearly scoring, Richard Maymon also had a close range header tipped over.
Unfortunately just as Storrington were getting into their flow, right-back Jon Simpson suffered what looks to be a very nasty twisted ankle - Simmo was replaced at right-back by Jamie Dawson.
Storrington continued to get into the game, Olly Davies was having some very good runs down the left hand side taking on 2 or 3 players at a time whilst Neil Richardson was denied a penalty as he was bundled over in the box. The pressure on the Loxwood back 4 began to show as their tall Centre-half clattered Dan Measom on the edge of the box - to everybody's suprise he was not booked!
The first half ended 0-0 with both keepers in sparkling form.
Despite being 0-0 at halftime this was a game that both teams wanted all 3 points from, Loxwood wanted to continue their title challenge whilst Storrington are looking to close the gap and break into the top 4. The 2nd half performance from both teams was certainly great for the neutrals and there was plenty of quality football on display.
The 2nd half saw both Centre Midfields put in a terrific work rate. The pairing of Maymon and Cobb were warriors, putting in tackle after tackle, ironically Dan Cobb was booked for what was possibly the best tackle of the game! The Loxwood 4-3-3 formation certainly gave them good options playing forward and Gary Frost had to be at his very best to contains Loxwood's pacey right-midfielder.
Iain 'Crouch' Jarvey was immense alongside Vincent, whilst Richardson and Measom always looked a threat on the counter.
It was very late in the game when Loxwood drew 1st blood - a quick counter attack saw the Loxwood right-midfielder hammer a fierce pass across the Storrington goal, Jamie Dawson put the ball into his own net, however, if he hadn't - the Loxwood striker certainly would have!
1-0 to Loxwood, and with only 2 mins of injury time left, Mouse & Beanzy encouraged most of the team forward to fill the penalty box as Richard Maymon prepared to launch one of his dangerous long throw-ins into the area. Maymon kept his side of the bargain by throwing the ball into the centre of the area, the ball fell to Iain 'Crouch' Jarvie who controlled well and span to hit his shot, the shot got parried and Luke Bishop slid in heroically to grab a late and well deserved equaliser.
The game ended 1-1 and what a match it was. Both keepers performed with significant quality whilst the Storrington players can be very proud of the character shown to come back so late in the game.
Iain Jarvie just pipped Keiron and Gary Frost to man-of-the-match whilst Dan Measom deserves a mention for keeping his temper in check after being kicked in Karate-Kid fashion and suffering a very nasty cut on his chest!
To summarise this was a game in which players from both teams showed some excellent quality and attacking football, Storrington maintain an excellent run in the league and can still break into the top 4 whilst Loxwood won't lose too many games this season if they continue to play so well.
Team: Gillard, Simpson, Vincent, Jarvie, Frost, Cobb, Maymon, Harding, Davies, Richardson and Measom.
Subs Used: Dawson, Bishop and Cockerton. (Meade-Palmer not used).
After the Christmas break and then some recent postponements due to waterlogged pitches it had been a while since Storrington Reserves had played.
With some of the squad unavailble due to illness and injury, changes were made with Luke Bishop starting in right-midfield and Olly Davies on the left. Jon Simpson also got his 1st start in a while at right-back after returning from injury.
Storrington started quite brightly with Neil Richardson and Dan Measom stretching the Bosham back 4 - Rico was holding up the ball well and enabling Olly Davies to support down the left. Despite neither team really having a grip on the midfield battle, it was Storrington who got an early goal. A free kick whipped in by Dan Cobb found Iain 'Crouchie' Jarvie who headed home superbly to give the Swans the lead.
As the 1st half went on, it was clear to see that despite Storrington not being at their best, they still had plemty to offer going forward - Dan Measom had an opportunity saved at point blank range and Iain Jarvie also had another opportunity. It was not until the 30th minute when Storrington scored again - a fizzed cross from Rochardson found Luke Bishop who tapped-in to make it 2-0.
The 1st half finished 2-0, whilst the scoreline was decent, the side were told that there performance was not upto scratch and improvement was needed in the 2nd half. A change had to be made at half-time and 16-year old Jordan Suter was introduced to replace Jamie Dawson at left back who was suffering with a twisted ankle.
With a frantic start to the 2nd half, young Jordan Suter settled in well and almost scored with a rocket right-foot shot that went just wide. Olly Davies was vastly improved in the 2nd half and regularly took on the Bosham right back with some mazy runs.
The work rate and performance from Storrington was much better in the 2nd half, we had much more posession of the ball but at times just lacked a little bit of quality with our final passes and shooting.
After some lengthy spells of posession where Storrington possibly should have scored more goals the game fizzled out into a decent 2-0 win. Neil Richardson was awarded man-of-the-match for a very good performance, Andy Vincent was quality at the back whilst Olly Davies and Jordan Suter showed some very good potential.
Team: Gillard, Simpson, Frost, Vincent, Dawson, Jarvie, Cobb, Bishop, Davies, Richardson and Measom.
Subs Used: Suter and Meade-Palmer.
Storrington travelled to Reserve Premier League side Mile Oak in the Vernon Wentworth Cup.
Mile Oak had been flying in the league and are upto 2nd in the table whilst Storrington had also been stringing together a good run of results. A very boggy and Narrow pitch meant that it was not going to be easy for Storrington to get their normal wing-play going from the first whistle.
Mile Oak made a fierce start to the game scoring early on after some sloppy work in the Storrington midfield led to Andy Long being beaten for pace and the resulting cross into the Storrington penalty-area made it so easy for the Mile Oak striker to score.
1-0 down and things got worse for Storrington. Neil Richardson was clattered by the young Mile Oak centre-back and had to be helped off the pitch with suspected ankle-ligament damage - the icing on the cake was the news that the centre-half had not even been booked for a very late challenge.
With things looking a bit bleak, Storrington started to pull theirselves together and played some quicker passing moves especially out wide. A superb corner was played in and Andy Long powered home a superb header into the top corner.
1-1 and the rest of the 1st half consisted of some very competiitve challenges and both midfields cancelling each other out.
The 2nd half was actioned packed with fierce tackles flying in, Andy Long had to be substituted early in the half with a bad reaction to a nasty clash of heads that occured in the 1st half. Gary Frost replaced Andy Long.
Frosty had a mixed start to the game with some superb tackling and a very hard-thought battle with the pacey Mile Oak right-midfielder - unfortunately on the one occassion when Frost was beaten for pace it ended in him giving away a penalty. Mile Oak converted the penalty and led the game 2-1.
Storrington made their last substitution with young Jake Meade-Palmer replacing Liam Humphries. Jake was pushed up as a third striker and within only a few minutes from the end Storrington got a deserved equaliser......A well flighted Jamie Dawson free-kick was flicked on by Cobb, the ball looked quite routine for the keeper but the keeper slipped and the ball trickled into the net.
2-2 and the game went to extra-time, Storrington were showing great character and Dan Measom was really struggling with a bad ankle inury after being kicked in a off-the-ball incident - again this went unpunished.
The period of extra time saw both teams have a good go at scoring, Chris Mahoney was unlucky with a few clever runs that he had made in behind the Mile Oak back 4. Cobb and Howard were working relentlessly in the centre of the park whilst the Storrington back 4 led by Keiron in goal were immense.
The game went to penalties. Joe Howard and cobb took calm penalties into the top corner whilst Jamie Dawson and Olly Davies had penalties saved. Mile Oak won the shootout and advanced to the next round in a game which could have gone either way.
Speaking to the players after the game James Baker and Malcolm Metcalfe had nothing but praise for their team - today we had competed with a side that are 2nd in the league above us which really does offer a positive glimpse to the future.
Iain Jarvie was man of the match whilst the display of Vincent and Mahoney was also exceptional.
Team: Gillard, Long, Dawson, Vincent, Jarvie, Mahoney, Howard, Humphries, Cobb, Richardson and Measom.
Subs Used: Davies, Meade-Palmer and Frost.
Storrington were looking to maintain their current unbeaten streak against Shoreham.
Shoreham were sitting 5 points ahead in the league and wanted to increase the gap, Shoreham have had some good results recently and also beat Dorking earlier in the league campaign so Storrington were expecting a closely fought battle.
With Kristian Bridle hitting superb form of late, the inevitable call up to the 1st team happened, Joe Howard reserved to the reserve team and replaced Kristian in the centre-midfield role. Other than the 1 change, the rest of the line-up remained unchanged.
Shoreham started very well and their young wide players clearly have a lot of potential with clever movement and lots of pace in abundence, after a rocky 10 minute spell Storrington got to grips with the match and started playing some neat football. After a good passing move Dan Measom found himself running in on goal, his fierce strike was parried by the keeper into the path of Neil Richardson who smashed home the rebound.
1-0 up and the early lead boosted the Storrington players who were now able to start moving the ball out wide with confidence. It was Neil Richardson who got a 2nd goal around the 20 minute mark, a well delivered ball into the box was flicked on by Measom and Rico was able to finish from close range.
From corners and crosses into the area Storrington were looking dangerous, Iain 'Crouchy' Jarvie had been on the end of 2 good deliveries already and then made it 3-0 on the 30 minute mark - again Measom was the provider.
A fourth goal came a few minutes before half-time, Richardon got his hat-trick by latching onto a rebound after a surging run and shot from Chris Mahoney.
4-0 up at half-time and in fairness Shoreham had a mountain to climb to get back into the match. The message to the Storrington players at half-time was to try and keep the ball for longer and most importantly try to win the match without conceding.
Shoreham applied theirselves really well for the 1st 20 minutes of the 2nd half - at this point substitutions were made with Frost, Davies and Meade-Palmer all introduced.
Some superb tackling from Dan Cobb in the centre of the park led to Cobb slotting in Dan Measom for Storrington's 5th goal. Cobb got himself on the scoresheet with a delightful header after a well delivered cross from Gary Frost.
At 6-0 up Storrington had very little to do at the back, however, Keiron had 1 save of real classs to make from a long-range effort - after having very little to do for the majority of the match this was a vitally important save.
Meason wrapped up the game at 7-0 by scoring his 2nd goal after an assist from Joe Howard.
Malcom Metcalfe and James Baker were delighted with the teams win and some very good football was played on a tricky surface. Neil Richardson was man-of-the-match today but Measom, Cobb and Joe Howard all impressed whilst the back 4 did a solid job supported by Keiron and kept a confidence boosting clean sheet.
Team: Gillard, Dawson, Long, Jarvie, Vincent, Mahoney, Cockerton, Cobb, Howard, Richardson and Measom.
Subs used: Frost, Meade-Palmer and Davies.
With Storrington on a 4-game unbeaten run it was a good time to play old rivals Steyning in their local derby.
Tom Carter earnt a recall to the 1st team whilst Quigg and Simpson were out injured, Luke Bishop was also unavailable. Chris Mahoney returned to the right-midfield role.
Storrington made a bit of a stuttering start to the game with some mis-placed passes and were guilty of probably playing a slower tempo than desired.
Some early corners were awarded to Storrington and Jake Cockerton put in a few good ones to add pressure, eventually Steyning cracked when a Cockerton corner fell to Andy Long at the back post - Longy managed to lob the keeper with a volley off his knee! A bizarre goal!
1-0 up and Storrington were able to relax a bit and grow into the game - Jamie Dawson and Mahoney were causing havoc down the right, Dawsons overlapping runs allowed some good crosses to be put into the box.
Some great football between Cobb and Dawson allowed Cobb to slide Mahoney through on goal - Mahoney smashed a fierce strike into the bottom corner to mark his return to the team.
In attack Steyning had a pacey Striker who occassionaly caused problems, Jarvie and Vincent dealt well with his threat. The half ended 2-0 with Storrington holding the lead but perhaps not playing with the same conviction as they had done in recent weeks.
With the back 4 having very little to do, Storrington played further up the pitch in the 2nd half and started to go through their gears. Neil Richardson turned his marker with ease and was clattered in the area - the Referee had no chance but to award the penalty. Dan Meason struck a neat penalty to give the Swans a 3-0 lead.
Andy Long found himself unmarked at the back post to get the Swans 4th goal - at this point Meade-Palmer, Frost and Davies were all introduced into the game.
The changes were positive with Davies and Meade-Palmer giving Storrington fresh energy out wide, Frost slotted in at right-back.
Steyning pulled a goal back when their pacey striker robbed Jarvie of the ball and smashed home past Keiron.
At this point the Swans responded almost instantly with Meason going through one-on-one after a neat Cobb through-ball, Meason tucked home the ball and scored the winning goal to finoish the game with a 5-1 victory.
5-1 was the scoreline but with improved finishing it could have been 8 or 9 - Kris Bridle and Cobb ensured that former Swans player Chris Hawkins had an unhappy return to the club, whilst Richardson and Meason in attack were in fine form. Jamie Dawson had his best game of the season at full-back but it was Kris Bridle that stood out again and in this form may be soon looking to make the step up to the Swans 1st team.
TEAM: Gillard, Dawson, Long, Jarvie, Vincent, Bridle, Cobb, Mahoney, Meason,Richardson, Cockerton.
Subs Used: Frost, Davies, Meade-Palmer.
High-flying Littlehampton brought their unbeaten record to Storrington and were put to the test in a fast-tempo match.
Littlehampton drew 1st blood when a well delivered free-kick was headed in after 15 minutes, a very dangerous delivery although their were hints that Gillard in the Storrington goal may have been fouled during the move.
Storrington played poorly for the first 25 minutes and Littlehampton forced them back further than Storrington would have liked. After the 25th minute Storrington kicked into life and Dan Meason started to terrorise the opponents back four. A fierce but fair tackle from Jamie Dawson ended the game of the influential Littlehampton central-midfielder and it was at this point that Kris Bridle started to pull the strings for Storrington.
Moments before the end of the half, Richardson controlled a high pass and raced through clean on goal to score a superb one-on-one. 1-1 and Storrington didnt really want the half-time whistle as they were starting to get into their stride.
The 2nd half saw Storrington really get into the flow of their slick passing game and they were beginning to create chances, Littlehampton on the other hand seemed a little overwhelmed.
With 60 minutes gone the referee awarded Storrington a penalty after a handball in the area was spotted. Cobb stepped up and took a weak penalty which was saved, however, he did follow up superbly to smash home the rebound.
The remainder of the half saw Storrington spurn chances with Richardson hitting the crossbar, Meason and Cockerton should also have scored.
Littlehampton stood strong and got a very late equaliser to show good character as well as maintaining their impressive unbeaten record.
In a game that Storrington had dominated for a big part, to concede such a late goal felt like a defeat.
Kris Bridle was today's man-of-the match and dictated the pace of the game for Storrington superbly.
Team: Gillard,Dawson, Vincent, Carter, Long, Cobb, Jarvie, Bridle, Cockerton, Richardson and Meason.
Subs Used: Quigg.
Broadbridge Heath hosted Storrington in the league, Storrington had been ruthless in front of goal in recent weeks whilst Broadbridge Heath had really put together a mixed-bag of results to date. The game promised goals and it did not fail to deliver.
With Joe Howard stepping up to the 1st team and Kris Harding dropping down, Cobb was moved into centre-midfield with Harding occupying the right-wing slot. Jamie Dawson got his 1st start of the competitive season with Simpson out injured.
Broadbridge Heath were packed with older heads and seemed very panicky on the ball, early on Storrington pressed high up the pitch and some good work from Kris Harding led to a superb cross which Richardson skilfully flicked into the net to give Storrington an early lead.
1-0 soon became 2-0 when Harding raced through on goal and chipped the keeper.
After a period of pressure and several corners Cobb found himself on the end of a Jake Cockerton cross and headed home - a goal that combined some excellent passing and team play.
The 1st half ended 3-0 and Storrington could have had a few more in fairness but took a well deserved lead into the 2nd half.
Broadbridge Heath defended deeper in the 2nd half and whilst Storrington had plenty of posession it was harder to break down their opponents. Richardson got the 4th goal of the game after the 60th minute and it was at this point that Mahoney and Quigg were introduced to add fresh legs to the game.
With the Storrington players facing into a very low sun Broadbridge pumped the ball long and pushed their opponents back - Storrington let in a poor goal when they didnt clear the danger from a corner and allowed a header to squeeze in at the far post. 4-1 but Broadbridge Heath werent done here and got a 2nd very soon after.
4-2 up and Storrington were disappointed to concede 2 relatively soft goals, however, after an excellent corner from Cobb, Tom Carter found himself unmarked and hit a superb half-volley to wrap the game up at 5-2 to Storrington.
Cockerton got man-of-the-match as he lit up the game with a superb performance of direct wing-play.Kris Bridle and Meason also played well for the team.
Team: Gillard, Dawson, Carter, Vincent, Long, Harding, Cobb, Bridle, Cockerton, Meason and Richardson.
Subs Used: Mahoney, Quigg and Frost.
Storrington headed to Chichester for a must win league-match.
With Tom Carter addded to the Centre defensive role alongside Vincent and Joe Howard in centre-midfield, Storrington were boosted after a cracking performance in the previous week.
Chichester had plenty of pace up front and gave Storrington a lot of pressure for the 1st 20 minutes, Keiron Gillard in goal had plenty to do early on and was up to the challenge.
After a nervy 20 minutes Richardson broke the deadlock for Storrington and Storrington went up through the gears from here on in. Meason got Storrington's 2nd goal and Richardson added a 3rd goal for the team after a superb cross from Kris Bridle.
3-0 to Storrington was the half-time score and the team talk from the management team was positive but warned of complacency.
The 2nd half went well for Storrington although Vincent and Carter were in exceptional form at the back and had to be as the Chichester strikers were a constant threat. With 25 minutes remaining Dan Meason got his 2nd goal and the teams 4th with a superb chip after a Cobb through ball and Richardson got his hat-trick to seal a 5-0 win.
5-0 was a fair result and reflected how clinical Storrington were in front of goal. Whilst Neil Richardson was awarded man-of-the-match, the superb display of the back 4 was memorable and this was a superb team performance to put much-needed league points on the board.
Team: Gillard, Simpson, Carter, Vincent, Long, Cobb, Howard, Bridle, Cockerton, Richardson and Meason.
Subs used: Frost, Davies and Dawson.
Storrington hosted Bosham in the 2nd round of the reserve section challenge cup.
With a poor run of results to date Storrington had a few points to prove.
The game started well with Dan Cobb giving the Bosham left-back a torrid time, Neil Richardson broke the deadlock in the 18th minute.
With Jake Cockerton and Dan Cobb giving great width as well as pace on the flanks Storrington continued to create - Jon Simpson rattled the crossbar with a header from a corner and Neil Richardson soon got his 2nd of the game. 2-0 up and Storrington were flying - Dan Meason had a few chances to score but the 1st half ended 2-0 to Storrington.
It was the 2nd half where Storrington grew in confidence and started to create even more chances - after 10 minutes of the 2nd half Dan Meason got a deserved goal and within another 5 minutes Jake Cockerton scored Storringtons 4th.
With ten minutes remaining Storrington got a 5th goal when Neil Richardson completed his hat-trick whilst Dan Meason got the team's 6th goal and his 2nd of the game.
The game ended 6-0 with Storrington chalking up a much-needed win and also keeping the clean sheet.
Good performances were plentiful however Cobb seemed inspirational today in a less familiar right-midfield role and earnt the man-of-the-match for his performance.
Team: Elliott, Simpson, Vincent, Long, Cornish, Cobb, Jarvie, Bridle, Cockerton, Richardson and Meason.
Subs Used; Quigg, Bishop and Davies.
Littlehampton hosted Storrington reserves who were looking to get their 1st league win of the season. Storrington had some players returning to the squad from previously being unavailable the week before and looked confident in the early exchanges. Jake Cockerton and Matt Rance were very pacey out wide, Dan Meason supported by Chris Mahoney in attack were working hard to try and get in behind the Littlehampton back four.
Storrington had an early chance when Dan Meason intelligently beat the Littlehampton offside trap and went through one-on-one with the keeper, the keeper did well and made a good save though. At the back Andy Vincent was working hard to nullify the threat of a very good Littlehampton left-midfielder whilst Sam Cornish also had to work hard to contain a pacey right-midfielder.
In midfield Cobb and Jarvie had their work cut out in a very physical battle with an experienced Littlehampton midfield. After some excellent football from both sides, Littlehampton broke the deadlock, a dangerous free-kick from the touchline curled wickedly across the face of goal and was missed by everyone, straigh into the net! A soft goal to concede but nethertheless an excellent set-piece. 1-0 down at half-time and despite playing the better football, Storrington found theirselves behind with it all to do.
The 2nd half did not start too well for Storrington. Andy Vincent had to come off and a 2nd goal was conceded. With 35 minutes still to play Storrington had some catching up to do. Storrington began to pin their opponents back and substitutes were introduced to provide fresh legs. Andy Quigg and Neil Richardson made great impacts, Quigg's quick feet and slick pasing were helping to create chances whilst Richardson's power was too much for the Littlehampton defenders. Storrington got back in the game when Richardson raced through on goal and was clattered in the box.....Sam Cornish stepped up and smashed home the penalty.
2-1 to Littlehampton and Storrington were looking to snatch a 2nd goal. Dan Meason was continuing to cause problems and when he was clattered in the area everyone in the ground was expecting a penalty........well everyone other than the Referee who waved play-on! The game ended with a disappointing 2-1 defeat.
Storrington now need to combine their attractive football with further concentration throughout the team as they look to get their 1st league win of the season.
TEAM: Gillard, Cornish, Vincent, Blaydon, Long, Rance, Cobb, Jarvie, Cockerton, Meason and Mahoney.
Subs Used: Bishop, Quigg and Richardson.
This afternoon, Storrington hosted Phoenix Utd in the 2nd round of the Intermediate cup. Phoenix were a side that had a good balance of physical power as well as the ability to play some neat football, this combined with pedigree in the Intermediate Cup as they had reached the quarter-finals last season.
Storrington made a number of changes to the side and Matt Rance was given his first start of the season, Joe Howard also featured after returning from suspension. Due to unavailability of Blaydon and Vincent, Crouchy was moved into a centre-defence position. The 1st half was a real midfield battle, Cobb and Howard were playing some neat football whilst the tall Phoenix centre-midfielders were offering a fierce tackle or two. The 1st half saw Storrington pinned back more than we would have hoped for however Meason and Mahoney had both had a chance to score. As the 1st half drew to a close,Phoenix had looked very good from ddangerous corners and set-pieces.
0-0 was the 1st half score. The 2nd half proved to be more entertaining as Storrington were looking to get a grip on the game and pushed further forward to create. It was Storrington that broke the deadlock after the 65th minute when Gary Elliott's long kick ran through to Chris Mahoney, mo took the ball in his stride and finished well to give Storrington the lead.
With 20 minutes or so remaining, Storrington made changes with Jamie Dawson replacing Simmo, Dave George replacing Cobb and Olly Davies replacing Luke Bishop - the changes gave Storrington the fresh legs needed for the remainder of the game. In the last minutes of the game Phoenix got an equaliser, Sam Cornish unfortunately sliced a wild clearance straight to the Phoenix striker who smashed home an equaliser.
Extra-time saw both teams throw everything they had at the game, both teams scored and Meason scored a very good goal from a cracking Sam Cornish pass. Long and Jarvie were imposing at the back whilst Joe and Matt Rance always looked dangerous on the ball in the middle. Despite having further chances the game ended 2-2 with penalties the decider. Cornish, Cobb and Meason all scored their penalties but Crouchy and Long were denied by the keeper and Storrington crashed out of the cup.
Credit goes to Phoenix however Storrington should have wrapped this up with the chances we had.
TEAM: Elliott, Cornish, Simpson, Long, Jarvie, Rance, Bishop, Howard, Cobb, Mahoney and Meason.
Subs Used: Dawson, George and Davies.
Ampito of the Brighton Premier Division were Storrington's opponents in the Vernon Wentworth cup. Storrington welcomed James Blaydon, Steve Tasker, Jake Cockerton and Gary Elliott into the squad whilst Andy Quigg, Gary Frost and Iain Jarvie were all unavailable.
The game started fairly even with Ampito trying to play a lot of football through the middle whilst Storrington were trying to work the ball out wide but getting a little frustrated with sometimes picking the wrong passing option at times. Storrington got an early bonus when Dan Cobb burst forward and was adjuged to have been fouled in the box - the decision looked harsh, however, Cobb dusted himself off and tucked the penalty into the box to give the Swans an early lead. 1-0 up and Storrington were in control although still suffering from poor passing decisions which included some very dubious passbacks to keeper Gary Elliott - one of which resulted in the Ampito striker pressuring Gary into giving away a dangerous free-kick on the edge of the box! Luckily Ampito did nothing with the free-kick.
With Storrington beginning to get a foothold in the game, Cobb once again burst forward and hit a cracking cross into the area which Meason headed agonisingly wide. As the half went on Ampito grew frustrated and in the 30th minute had a player sent-off for foul & abusive language towards the Referee. The 1st half ended 1-0 to Storrington with Richardson suffering a nasty cut just above the eye which bled quite a lot!
As the 2nd half began Richardson was subbed off due to concerns over his cut and was replaced by Chris Mahoney, with a player extra Storrington were now able to stretch their opponents and create a number of chances. Dawson and Rance were also introduced and played their parts in some nice passing moves. Mahoney got on the score-sheet with a cracking goal after missing an earlier chance, Cobb supplied the pass. At the back things looked comfortable - Blades even had a noticable rampage forward on one occassion into nose-bleed territory!
Meason had a few chances and bagged the 3rd goal with a cracking turn and finish which was a suitable reward for a performance where he was a constant threat. All in all this was a solid performance and confidence booster for the Swans - Ampito may certainly feel a little hard by some of the decisions that went against them but the Swans were good value for the victory.
Many positives were taken from the game which included a solid 90 minutes from Tasker, a centre-mid perormance from Vincent and a decent return for Jon Simpson. Blades had a very solid performance at the back and also contributed in the lead-up to the penalty - he was awarded man-of-the-match for a solid and convincing display.
Team: Elliott, Simpson(Dawson), Cornish (Rance), Long, Blaydon, Cockerton, Tasker, Vincent, Cobb, Meason, Richardson (Mahoney).
Subs Not Used: Bishop and George.
Storrington hosted Loxwood in their 3rd league game of the campaign. Without Crouchie (1st Team), Jake Cocherton (1st team), James Baker was forced to change the midfield shape and selections. Dale Jones was also in Goal as Keiron had earnt a call-up to the 1st Team. Andy Quigg came into the centre of midfield for his 1st competitive game of the season whilst Storrington also welcomed back Matty Rance after a long-term injury.
Much of the opening part of the game saw both sides moving the ball comfortably from side to side without much in the way of creativity, Loxwood looked comfy in the midfield but were often rushed at the back. Storrington had a good shape but were possibly guilty of not being positive enough. In the 1st half there was not a great deal to report as chances were few and far between, Loxwood had a one-on-one near the end of the half which Jones dealt with superbly. The 1st half ended 0-0 but it was the 2nd half where the game came to life..... 5 minutes into the 2nd half Richardson found the ball outside the box, under pressure he swivled and drilled a shot into the top-corner. 1-0 up but the lead only lasted a few minutes as Loxwood equalised quickly when Storrington failed to clear the danger from a well delivered cross which resulted in a Loxwood striker heading in from close range.
1-1 and Storrington had been caught on the nap. At this point in the half there were 30 minutes remaining and Loxwood went up through the gears whilst Storrington looked tired and jaded. Loxwood were winning the midfield battle and soon took a lead after some poor defensive work which began in the Storrington midfield. 2-1 to Loxwood and this soon became 3-1 after a lapse from Jones in the Storrington goal.
At this point Storrington simply couldnt get to grips with the game, many of our flair players were frustrated and were trying to do everything out of frustration which didnt help whilst everything that Loxwood touched turned to Gold! After further lapses Loxwood ran out to win 6-1 in an emphatic victory that stunned the Storrington players and staff.
This defeat leaves Storrington without a win in the league to date, Malcolm Metcalfe and James Baker will be looking for a massive response in the following matches.
Storrington hosted Dorking reserves for their 2nd league game of the campaign. Storrington had some players missing but welcomed Darrel Hunter and Luke Jearum for their 1st appearances since last season. The game did not start as planned for Storrington with the well-drilled Dorking Centre-forwards causing problems and making great runs off the ball.
Dorking took an early lead after some weak defending from Storrington - it seemed like Storrington had not come out of the dressing room and the centre midfield pair of Crouchy & Cobb were often bypassed. Dorking then got a 2nd goal after Storrington lost posession up front and defended poorly once again. The 1st half finished 2-0 to Dorking and Storrington needed to up the gears if they wanted to get something from the game.
Credit where credit is due, Storrington came out for the 2nd half looking like they had a point to prove, Luke Jearum was starting to get into the game and Jake Meade-Palmer who had replaced Dave George was full of running. Up top Meason and Rico saw a lot more of the ball - this was shown by the Dorking defenders who were not scared to put their bodies on the line in order to keep a clean-sheet. Throughout the 2nd half Frost and Long were able to push up the back four which helped the team to condense the posession into the Dorking half. With 20 minutes left to go Dan Meason was kicked to the ground in the penalty-box which went unseen by the Referee, a concrete penalty not given! Meason then had a superb header saved whilst Cobb also came close to scoring. Despite numerous crosses and corners Storrington just could not score and the game finished in a 2-0 defeat.
Dan Cobb was man-of-the-match in a game that was very frustrating, Crouchy worked hard whilst Rico and Meason were unlucky not to score. Keiran's constant organisation at the back was a plus point. The Dorking front two were very good and their keeper made some crucial saves.
TEAM: Gillard, Dawson, Long, Frost, Hunter (Stacey), George (Meade-Palmer), Cobb, Jarvie, Jearum(Bishop), Richardson and Meason. Collins (not used).
Storrington travelled to local neighbours TD Shipley to take on their reserve side in a friendly match. Storrington lined up with a 4-4-2 whilst Shipley had a plan to defend and lined up with a 4-5-1 system. The game started with Shipley defending deep and playing direct passes upto their powerful striker - Storrington were trying to play the ball out wide and into the channel but Shipley made it difficult.
Storrington broke the deadlock ten minutes in when Iain Jarvie launched a throw into the area which found an unmarked Andy Long to head home. 1-0 up but Storrington were being frustrated by their opponents - many passes forced to go long or mis-hit. It needed a 2nd goal to settle us down and this came when Shipley failed to clear the danger from a corner - Steve Tasker rolled the ball into Jake Cockerton who hit a shot which was blocked - Cockerton then smashed the ball into the net on the rebound. 2-0 up and Shipley started to try and play a little more - they got a corner which Storrington failed to clear, this reslted in a Shipley forward smashing the ball against the bar and over the line. The 1st half ended 2-1 to Storringrton.
The 2nd half saw Storrington play a far more patient game which resulted in longer periods of posession along with better opportunities. Substitutes were introduced in order to shake things up, Chris Mahoney, Jake Meade-Palmer, Jamie Dawson and Dan Dearden were all introduced. It was Chris Mahoney that had a great impact as a substitute - playing on the right wing his footwork and dribbling ability were helping to create more chances. Dan Meason got the 3rd goal with a well taken goal after a clever pass from Neil Richardson and Chris Mahoney scored a superb 4th goal with his left foot after a pass from Jake Meade-Palmer.
All in all this was a decent workout with Shipley proving a tricky test. Neil Richardson was awarded man-of-the-match for a hardworking team performance, whilst Chris Mahoney, Jake Meade-Palmer and Dan Meason also impressed. Keiron Gillard in goal is also showing some great form at present.
TEAM: Gillard, Frost, Vincent, Collins, Long, Tasker, Cobb, Jarvie, Cockerton, Ricchardson, Meason, Mahoney, Dawson, Meade-Palmer and Dearden.
Storrington travelled to Lancing FC for their 1st league game of the season, to be played in font of a decent sized crowd and on a very slick new pitch. A 4-4-2 formation was preferred and both teams started at a frantic pace in order to get a stranglehold on the game. Lancing played some nice football across their back 4 whilst always looking to move the ball quickly forward for their pacey front-line. Storrington however were looking to move theball out wide to Jake and Sam. It was Lancing who drew 1st blood in the match, the Storrington players were caught napping when a short corner was taken, Jamie Dawson closed in to press the attack and was judged to have fouled the Lancing player in the area as he turned..... There were claims of minimal contact and the penalty decision looked a tad dubious, in fairness though the Storrington players were caught out. The Lancing player struck the penalty and Kieron made a fantastic save, however the follow up was smashed home.
1-0 down and after some fantastic mazy runs from Sam Cornish, Storrington were not making their mark on the game as much as they would have wanted to. Dan Meason and Neil Richardson had not seen enough of the ball by the end of the 1st half and this was mainly due to the Storrington midfielders panicking under pressure. Half-time came and Storrington players were encouraged to be more decisive in the 2nd half and play with more confidence.
Dan Cobb and Iain Jarvie started the 2nd half superbly for Storrington in the centre of midfield, winning takles and headers at every opportunity which allowed the Storrington back 4 to get higher up the pitch. It was Dan Cobb who got the equaliser with a superb moment of committment and desire - a dodgy pass back to the Lancing keeper was closed down and this resulted in the ball hitting cob then smashing into empty net. 1-1 and Lancing had taken their foot off the pedal whilst Storrington were now starting to get the ball out wide very quickly. Seven minutes later Dan Meason and Neil Richardson exchanged passes on the edge of the box which resulted in a foul. Storrington were awarded a free-kick in a position where 2 or 3 of their players were capable of scoring from, up stepped Sam Cornish who bent a fierce free kick into the top corner - a goal of significant quality!
2-1 up and Dan Meason and Neil Richardson were holding the ball well up front although credit to Lancing who also looked dangerous from set pieces and who had rattled the bar on a couple of occassions. Lancing were turning up the pressure and began to play very direct using their pace up front - this put Andy Long and Vinny to the test on numerous occassions. With only ten minutes left on the clock Lancing got an equaliser when Jake Cocherton unfortunately sliced his clearence into the path of a Lancing striker who finished well.
2-2 and the match could have gone either way, Meason had a fierce shot saved and then Storrington also had another free-kick which this time was off-target. With only 2 minutes left Storrington did not clear the danger convincingly and the Lancing striker raced through on goal and scored the winner despite strong pressure from Vinny.
Storrington were good value for the draw and after the game had plenty of reason to feel aggrieved although Lancing had worked hard to punish Storrington for the few mistakes they made. Dave George and 16 year old Jake Meade-Palmer made promising appearances from the bench.
With good performances from Keiron, Longy and Vinny at the back combined with a man-of-the-match effort from Sam Cornish there were plenty of positives to be taken from the game. With the team still taking shape we are looking forward to the next league match with confidence. A special thanks must go to Chris Hawkins, Olly, Jeeves,Luke Bishop and Simmo who all helped out on the night and unfortunately did not feature in the game.
TEAM: Gillard; Frost, Vincent, Long, Dawson (George); Cornish (Meade-Palmer), Cocherton, Gillard, Cobb; Meason, Richardson.
Ifield were next up for Storrington reserves in their 4th pre-season game. Ifield turned up with a very athletic and capable squad which was sure to be Storrington's toughest test yet of the pre-season campaign. Storrington made a couple of changes from the previous game with Will Brownlee and Macca introduced along with the return of Iain 'Crouchy' Jarvie.
It was Ifield that started the game brightly - their capable midfield had real pace and were not afraid to attack the Storrington backline. It took a good 15 minutes of pressure before Storrington were able to settle - the back line led by Andy Long and Andy Vincent were leading by example whilst Sam Cornish used the ball well from left-back and Macca was working hard at right-back. Iain was working hard in the centre-midfield role and was at the centre of Storrington's creativity. Despite some very good passes and runs from Iain, Storrington struggled to unlock the Ifield back line which meant Rico and Dan Meason had to work tirelessly in order to force errors. Out wide Jake Cocherton and Will saw very little action and often had to tuck in to stifle the Ifield midfield.
As the 1st half went on Storrington grew into the game, Rico had some good link-ups with the midfielders and Meason was causing problems which led to many occasions whereby the Ifield defenders were frequently pulling his shirt! Storrington continued to work hard for the 1st half but it was clear to see that both sets of centre midfielders were cancelling each other out and stifling the game.
The 2nd half went up a gear or two in terms of quality and pace. Dan Cobb was more involved and Storrington started to play higher up the pitch and this meant that our strike force were seeing more of the ball. Andy Long nearly scored against his former club when his volley went just wide, whilst Ifield also did well to defend against some very fast Storrington counter-attacks.
With the 2nd half in full swing Jake-Meade Palmer, Dave George, Luke Bishop, Chris Hawkins, Pete Ansley, Jamie Dawson and Stu McCaig were all introduced. It was Dave George and Jake that caught the eye with some real pacey breaks down the left-hand side whilst Jamie looked solid at left-back. With only minutes left Jake Meade-Palmer had a counter attack which broke down and then Ifield went up the other end and scored with a 30-yard screamer. The game ended 1-0 but Storrington can be extremely proud of the efforts and commitment which they gave to the game.
With our 1st game of the league campaign coming up all players gave a good account of theirselves, the back 4 seems to be very consistent and this is something that will provide our team with a very solid foundation, Keiran is talking well to the defenders and is showing more experience than expected. Iain Jarvie was man-of-the match for his all action display.
Storrington welcomed L&S Athletic to the Amberley pitch for their toughest test yet. After 2 decent friendly matches in recent weeks, Storrington had to step their game up against L&S Athletic of the Worthing Prem League - a team that can easily be considered one of the best teams outside of the county league on their day.
Storrington started quite slowly with the L&S talented midfield pulling the strings - it took a good 15 minutes for Storrington to get a foot hold in the game, after the initial slow start the centre-back pairing of Andy Vincent and Andy Long started to snuff out the clever through-balls being played by the opposing Midfielders and Keiran Gillard had made a couple of excellent one-on-one saves. Dan Cobb was working wonders in the centre of midfield, winning tackles at every opportunity and supplying the ball out wide to Sam Cornish and Jake Cocherton. By getting a grip on the midfield battle, Storrington were able to push higher up the pitch and this meant that the dangerous runs of Dan Meason were causing L&S problems, Rico started to influence the game and it was not long before he muscled out a defender and cut back the pass to Dan Cobb who finished from close range. 1-0 up and Chris Hawkins was introduced to replace Pete Ansley - Pete had been very good in posession up to this point. The half finished 1-0, Jake and Sam had got in good positions out wide, ably supported by Jamie Dawson and Stu McCaig. Storrington had seen a lot of posession but were guilty of being wasteful in the final 1/3 of the pitch.
Storrington started the 2nd half and allowed 15 mins to pass before making substitutions, Jake Meade-Palmer, Luke Bishop, Gary Frost, Dave George were all introduced to allow for a decent chance to impress. 16 year old Jake Meade-Palmer was terrorising the L&S right-back whilst Luke Bishop playing in the right midfield position saw a lot of posession. It was Luke Bishop that created the 2nd goal - his cross into the area was driven in with real pace and the L&S centre-back turned the ball into his own net.
With 15 mins remaining Stacey was introduced at Left-Back and showed good vision to create a couple of opportunities for the team. L&S did get a consolation goal towards the end but Storrington's committment and fitness were enough to see the game out for a 3rd win in a row.
Dan Cobb pipped Andy Vincent to the man-of-the-match award, whilst Rico and Dan Meason are now starting to look like a formidable partnership in attack. There were some excellent and very hard working displays on show from all of the Storrington squad and with some excellent players unavailable due to injury we are aiming to continue our good pre-season form.
Storrington hosted the Ferring Reserve team for the 2nd of their pre-season Friendly matches.
Ferring turned up with a young side combined with 3 or 4 very experienced players, on paper this looked like it should have been a tough test. The starting line up for Storrington saw Sam Cornish earn a start, making his debut for the club and it was Sam that broke the deadlock ten-minutes into the match with a beautifully placed direct free-kick that left the Ferring keeper with no-chance.
In the midfield Ian 'Crouchy' was making his first appearance of the campaign and added some steel and tenacity to the centre of midfield - the hard working combination of Crouchy and Cobb were causing Ferring problems. Dan Meason had a couple of early chances that he was unable to finish, whilst Neil Richardson's experience was helping us to create chances. Towards the end of the 2nd half Dan Meason got the goal that his hard-working performance had deserved - a well placed-lob from 30 yards out dipped into the net and no doubt this could be one of many goals for Dan this season. 2-0 up at halftime and the instruction to the team was to cut out the small mistakes and keep the ball for longer - something which we definately did throughout the 2nd half.
At the break further substitutions were made, Arron Coulson came on in attack whilst Chris Hawkins, Stu McCaig, Dave George and Joe Perry all got 2nd half action. Arron Coulson was in the right place at the right time to score the teams 3rd goal after following up a shot that had hit the crossbar. During the last 20 minutes, 16 year old Jake Meade-Palmer was introduced to the game in attack and his 1st touch of the game saw him unleash an unforgettable strike into the top-corner of the net - a goal that shows how much potential Jake has.
The game finished 4-0 and in fairness Storrington looked dangerous throughout. In a game where 4 excellent goals were scored it would be easy to forget what a great job Andy Long and Andrew Vincent had done leading the backline, combined with a solid performance from Keiran Gillard in goal.
Andy Vincent was awarded man-of-the-match although Dan Meason and Jake Cocherton also shone. With 2 clean sheets in a row, confidence is growing, but next week will see a tougher test when we face Worthing Prem side L & S - a team that contains some excellent players.
With many new faces on show combined with some of last years squad, Storrington hosted Rustington reserves at Amberley. Rustington started the game fielding 3 of their 1st team squad and certainly passed the ball well. Storrington defended well and looked dangerous on the break with Arron Coulson and Dan Meason chasing down the Rustington back four. As the first half went on, Pete Ansley looked very good in a holding-Midfield role, picking up a lot of the loose balls and picking out some very good passes. Such was his impact on the game that Rustington switched their formation to 4-5-1.
Storrington grew into the first half, Dale Jones in goal was untroubled and the centre-back pairing of Andy Vincent and Simmo were a solid foundation for the team. It was Storrington that scored the only goal of the game, a move that started from the back and led to four passes that found Andy Quigg on the edge of the box. Quigg drilled a low shot into the botttom corner that left the Rustington keeper with no chance. After scoring, Storrington were forced back for the last ten mins of the 1st half. Jeeves had been a calming influence at left-back whist the team defended well as a whole. Arron Coulson did have a one-on-one chance that he put just over the bar.
The second half saw Storrington make a number of changes to give everyone a bit of pre-season action. The number of changes made did, at times, make the game a bit disjointed but there were some very encouraging performances. Rustington had a larger part of posession in the second half but only really created two decent chances which goalkeeper Dale Jones saved superbly from. Storrington used the pace of Coulson and Meason up top to counter well and this always made Storrington dangerous - the introduction of Neil Richardson gave Storrington more physical presence in the midfield.
The game ended in a 1-0 win for Storrington. The team looked good in terms of fitness and showed a lot of potential on the ball. Competition for places is very good and there will be some tough decisions to make in the coming weeks. Dan Meason was man-of-the match after a hard-working performance in attack where he was unlucky not to score. There were other excellent performances from Andy Vincent, Simmo and Peter Ansley.
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