Friendly

Tuesday 6th July 2021

Kick Off 19.15 Actual 19.26

Oakwood 0 Saltdean United 5, attendance 19

3’ 0-1

17’ 0-2

61’ 0-3

71’ 0-4

84’ 0-5

@ Oakwood Sports & Social Club, Pitch 2

Tinsley Lane

Three Bridges

RH10 8AT

No Admission or Programme.

On Saturday I noticed that Forest Row, who groundshare at Oakwood, had played their friendly match on the second pitch, so thought there was a chance that tonight’s match may also be played here. Indeed it was, but with neither team mentioning the match on Twitter, it meant the information was drip fed slowly. Saltdean confirmed the game was actually taking place, then Oakwood supplied the vital information, well to me at least, that it was on Pitch 2 (in the field behind the social club/changing rooms side of the main ground, running at right angles to the main pitch) and it was kicking off at 19.15 ish! In the end it kicked off eleven minutes later, due to a combination of Oakwood looking unprepared and the Referee requesting that an area of the pitch was forked and swept clear of water, following heavy rain during the afternoon that hadn’t soaked in.

This was between two teams from the Southern Combination League, as Division 1 (Step 6) hosted Premier Division. The gulf in class looked more than one division and Saltdean bossed the game throughout. Oakwood changed their entire team at halftime, but it made little difference. The winning margin would have been greater, but for some cracking saves from the Oakwood ‘keeper in the second half.

My visit to the main ground had been back on 2nd November 2007, when I saw Oakwood lose 1-2 to East Preston in a Sussex County League Division 1 match in front of 33 spectators. I can’t say that I remembered much of what the ground looked like, but the photo below shows what it is like now.