West Sussex League
Division 1
Saturday 23rd March 2024
Kick Off 15.00 Actual 14.58
Flansham Park Rangers 2 Holbrook Olympic 2, attendance 8
22’ 0-1
30’ 1-1
62’ 2-1
74’ 2-2
@ Ormiston Six Villages Academy
Lime Avenue
Westergate
PO20 3UE
No Admission or Programme.
I never got to see Flansham Park Rangers play a game here at Ormiston Six Villages Academy before they upped sticks and moved to groundshare at Southern Combination League Premier Division club Pagham at the start of this season. Their reserve team still play here in Westergate, but a fixture clash with their landlords meant I had a chance to finally see the first team host a game in the village. A very quick response to a text message sent to the club contact number on the league website confirmed both that the game was going ahead okay and indeed that it was here at OSVA. It’s nothing more than a couple of pitches in an open field, with the pitch to the right of the artificial cricket wicket (when walking from the changing rooms) being used today.
The match was 6th versus 1st in the league table and was much more of an even contest than I’d anticipated it being and the good news was, that despite the forecast showing a high possibility of heavy rain at some point, there was little more than a brief shower at the start of each half and plenty of sunshine throughout. Holbrook went ahead midway through the first half, forcing in from close range, after a couple of point blank saves had been made by the home ‘keeper as the ball pin balled around the six yard box, before he was beaten at the third attempt. Flansham soon levelled, when a quickly taken goal kick bounced well inside the Holbrook half and the striker shot first time into the bottom corner. Flansham went 2-1 up just after the hour mark, finishing off a diagonal free kick from near the centre circle with a stooping header at the far post. Holbrook made it 2-2 with sixteen minutes left, when a free kick was hooked back across the six yard box and finished from close range.
Holbrook only have two games left now and have a healthy 13 point lead over second placed East Dean, who have 2 games in hand, but are still not guaranteed the title, or even promotion yet (top 2 go up) as third placed Goring by Sea are 14 points off the top, but have seven games left and Rudgwick Reserves are four points further back, but still have eight games to play.
