Mid Sussex League
Division 5 North
Saturday 25th January 2025
Kick Off 14.00 On Time!
Royal Earlswood 0 Ifield Albion Reserves 4, attendance 13
21’ 0-1
65’ 0-2
84’ 0-3
88’ 0-4
@ Perrywood Sports & Social Club
Honeycrock Lane
Salfords
RH1 5JQ
No Admission or Programme.
Today I visited a ground just ten minutes drive from home, but one that has been on my to do list for a while, as it hosted Combined Counties League (Step 6 nowadays) football up until the end of the 2005/06 season. It’s just a pitch (probably had a rope round it in CCL days?), running widthways when looking from the clubhouse, parallel with the main London – Brighton railway line beyond the far touchline, with a small sized pitch nearer to the building. The changing rooms are solid brick, with no windows evident! I was surprised this was on, but apart from a very small area that cut up a bit, the pitch was fine. I did have a back up nearby, with Godstone (Premier Division) switching their home game to the Oakwood Sports Centre 3G, but thankfully, that can be saved for another day.
Royal Earlswood are still listed as the reserves in the fixtures/league tables, but with the first team having folded, they are now the only team they’re running, so therefore the new ‘first’ team. The game was 7th versus 2nd in the league table, with Ifield Albion Reserves being the only unbeaten team left in this division (W4 D4). The first half was very even, the only goal coming midway through the half, when a ball over the top was finished one on one to put the visitors in front. Royal Earlswood missed the chance to draw level four minutes into the second half, but missed a penalty, hitting the outside of a post, having sent the ‘keeper the wrong way. Ifield hit the bar with a 25 yarder, but soon made it 0-2 midway through the half, finishing from a tight angle, having taken the ball wide of the ‘keeper. They almost added another, when a defender hit his own post when trying to cut out a cross, but did add two more goals in the last six minutes, both close range efforts, giving them a well deserved 0-4 win. It saw them go top of the league too, leapfrogging this mornings leaders Horley A.F.C. who lost at home today.
