Mid Sussex League
Premier Division
Monday 1st April 2024
Kick Off 11.00 Actual 11.06
Westfield 3 Sedlescombe Rangers 1, attendance 103
26’ 1-0
31’ 2-0
32’ 2-1
84’ 3-1
@ Knight & Davey Community Stadium
The Tawnies
Main Road
Westfield
TN35 4SL
No Admission or Programme.
I had seen Westfield play a home game back in December 2007, when they drew 3-3 with Rustington in a Sussex County League Division 2 match in front of 56 spectators. That game was played on their Parish Field ground, but they have now moved to the brand new Knight & Davey Community Stadium, which is 100 yards further out of town, on the opposite side of Main Road to the former (still there and hosting a youth game this morning). The changing room building is on the near side, where you enter from the car park, with this being the only side of the pitch currently railed off, with the dugouts opposite. Hard standing is available on the entrance side too, as well as behind the goal to the right. The pitch was in excellent condition (it was hosting a reserves game after this) and the club had tweeted early this morning that the game was definitely going ahead okay.
The match was 4th versus 12th (second bottom) in the league table. Westfield opened the scoring after twenty six minutes, when a cross from the right was finished with a header flicked into the far corner. They doubled their lead five minutes later, when another cross from the right was played back across the six yard box and hooked in from close range. From the re-start Sedlescombe made an instant reply, when the ball was tapped to the side and the striker hit a shot from a yard inside his own half that sailed over the ‘keeper, as he desperately back pedalled trying to tip the ball over the crossbar. The second half saw Westfield get on top, but they struggled to kill the game off. They did see a free kick come back off the post just before the hour mark, before finally making the game safe with six minutes left, converting a corner from the left with a downward header at the far post.
The result sees both teams end the day in the same league position that they started in, Westfield ten points adrift of league leaders Reigate Priory, although they do have two games in hand, whilst Seddlescombe trail third bottom Rotherfield by sixteen points and despite having six games in hand, look certain to go down.
