Some absolutely brilliant performances at the Polegate Grasshoppers tournament and we were very unlucky not to finish as runner-up in our group.
We started with an excellent performance against the group winners Polegate, who later reached the final. It was a very even game, and in our usual unlucky fashion we conceded the decisive goal in the last minute, when Jamie Hards was too slow coming off his line to deal with a breakaway.
We then got our first points with a 0-0 draw against Lewes Bridgeview, and we were unlucky not to win as some of the football we played in the second half was breathtaking.
We then collapsed with a bad performance against Mile Oak before our victory against another Polegate team left us with the possibility of finishing second in our group.
But we needed to beat Langney Point, who had looked a good team. We took the lead midway through the first half when Jamie Wickham converted a Tom Ryan free kick. What followed was a superb backs-to-the-wall performance, everyone working so hard to defend our lead.
We thought we had done enough as we had already played half a minute of injury time and there had been no delays, when the referee reacted to an obvious dive by a Langney Point forward by giving a penalty, which they converted. We deserved better, but we can take comfort in some great performances in attack and defence.
Jamie Hards recovered from his mistake in the first match to win Man of the Day for some superb saves. |