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visiting goal. Then, a flighted
through ball from Wes Millis caused panic in the
away defence as it dropped invitingly for Ashley
Rees just outside the Grinstead area. Defender
Tony Reid managed to intercept but, facing his
own goal, he looped the ball over his keeper to
give The Tye a half time lead.
The soaring temperature certainly
seemed to be dictating the pace of the game, and
chances where few and far between for either
side as the second half unfolded. Goldsmith
produced a close range save from a Craig Bunch
header whilst Reid had a chance to make amends
at the other end, but his low shot was easily
dealt with by Heyburn.
And then came the talking
point of the game. With 15 minutes remaining
Morrison's corner floated across the 'Haven area
and George Benner went up for a header with Wes
Millis beyond the back post. The danger seemed
to have passed as the ball was now heading out
of play, and the ensuing whistle was deemed by
most to be a home free-kick. Peacehaven gathered
the ball but where dismayed to see Mr Small
pointing to the penalty spot. There was a delay
while the referee fielded all the protests, but
Tom Lyons held his nerve and fired low and left
to level the scores.
Within two minutes the
afternoon took another turn for Peacehaven when
a teasing cross from Carl Dunk saw three players
converge on the far post. The ball ended up
crashing into the side netting, but Craig Bunch
was left lying on the ground in agony with a
broken ankle.
There was a considerable delay
whilst an ambulance was called, but there was
still time for Peacehaven to mount one last
attack. Substitute Kane Louis found the head of
Wes Millis, and his goal-bound header was
acrobatically tipped over the bar by Goldsmith
to bring the game to a close.
"That was a tough game", said
Shaun Saunders as he left the field. "I wasn't
happy with the penalty decision, but you have to
live with these things. We're not firing on all
cylinders yet, but when we are we'll take some
stopping. Craig's injury brings everything into
perspective though - we're gutted for him and
hope he'll make a speedy recovery"
East Grinstead have a dreadful
record at Piddinghoe Avenue. Before this game
they'd lost 14 times in 16 visits, and only ever
won once. It's fair to say they never really
looked like improving on that record today, but
the result was probably a fair reflection of the
play. |