Mid Sussex League

Division 1

Saturday 21st September 2019

Kick Off 13.30 Actual 13.33

Ardingly 0 Lindfield II 5, attendance 18

8’ 0-1

38’ 0-2

41’ 0-3

48’ 0-4

63’ 0-5

@ Ardingly Recreation Ground

High Street

Ardingly

RH17 6TB

No Admission or Programme.

There were double opportunities today in the Mid Sussex League as a number of 4 o’clock matches were scheduled. Rather than risk a cup match, with the possibility of games going to a penalty shoot out and possibly finishing too late to enable making it to a second match, I decided to play safe and do a league match for the first game.

Division 1 in this league is actually the third level (Premier Division, then Championship being the top two levels). These two had started the season losing their opening match, Ardingly going down 0-3 at home, whilst Lindfield II had been thrashed 10-0 at Holland Sports. Had I checked last weeks results beforehand, I probably wouldn’t have risked Lindfield II as the opposition today!

This was pretty much one way traffic from the off. Lindfield II were 0-3 up by halftime and also had 3 shots that hit the post with the ‘keeper nowhere near saving them. They added another couple in the first twenty minutes of the second half to make it 0-5. Ardingly played the last 21 minutes of the match with only 10 players, as they had already used all their substitutions when another player left the field with a head injury. Lindfield II seemed to take pity on them and the last quarter of an hour really dragged.

It seemed strange to be at a match this late in September where there were drinks breaks due to the warm weather. There was one midway through the first half, before two more followed in the second.