Littlehampton cause cup upset
Wednesday night football this week for a change and an FA Cup replay, as Littlehampton and Sittingbourne met at The Sportsfield for a chance to host Whitehawk in the First Qualifying Round.
I must apologise for almost putting the kiss of death on the Golds after they went 2-0 up on Saturday, tweeting ‘FA Cup shock on the cards’ and Sittingbourne then promptly scoring two goals to force the replay despite being down to ten men.
With a slightly delayed kick off due to the visitors traffic issues on the journey over from Kent, the crowd of 220 didn’t have to wait long for the first goal, indeed not even a minute on the watch.
Less than 30 seconds from kick off, Golds striker Joe Benn timed his run perfectly behind the Bourne defence and with extreme precision lobbed the visiting keeper Magnus Lewis from outside the right hand side of the penalty area to give the home side a dream start.
The ball over the top was to be a thorn in the side of the visiting defence, both Benn and George Gaskin almost profiting, the latter almost surprised he wasn’t flagged offside and scuffed his shot wide.
The constant press that Littlehampton employed last week at Steyning was evident again, Bourne with no time on the ball to retain possession without a Littlehampton body in front of them and despite a flurry of corners, Town were equal to everything thrown at them.
Dion Jarvis was inches away from extending the lead midway through the half, his shot fizzing over Lewis’ bar while Gaskin stung the palms of the keeper as he tipped his shot round the post.
It took until seven minutes before half time for the home side to increase their lead, Dave Herbert whose set piece deliveries into the box were causing all sorts of problems, sent another corner into the six yard box which ended up with the ball in the net, both Herbert and Jarvis claimed the goal with defenders in close proximity, it could easily have been an own goal.
Town keeper James Binfield had relatively little to do throughout the first half and kept his goal intact with good save just before the interval to give the Golds a 2-0 half time lead.
With Sittingbourne needing to push forward in search of goals, Town were given more space but defensively repelling everything coming into their box and looking dangerous with every attack going forward.
The third goal arrived just after the hour mark from Tom Biggs, who excelled in the no 10 role behind Benn, 20 yards out and fired home to the right of Lewis and the tie effectively over for the visitors.
Despite a change in personnel Bourne still struggled to make an impact on the Littlehampton goal, a point blank save from Binfield with 13 minutes remaining showed it wasn’t going to be their evening.
Gaskin put the icing on the cake with five minutes to go, slipped in by the impressive Benn, the winger slotted past Lewis to ensure an emphatic look to the scoreline and a First Qualifying Round home tie against another Isthmian side, Whitehawk, in just over a week’s time.
Benn was the stand out performer, occupying the centre halves all the time and holding the ball up well to bring the team into play. His customary goal added as well, and if his red hot form continues Town might struggle to hold onto him for a full season.
Both Jarvis and Herbert were combative in the middle of the park, an unfamiliar role for the former more used to being on the left wing and with Biggs picking up pockets of space Bourne found it hard to penetrate through the Golds team.
Despite matching the home side for corners and a good delivery into the box on the whole the visitors couldn’t find the net nor cope with the counter attack from Littlehampton and after coming back from 2-0 down with ten men at the weekend I was expecting a tougher test, maybe the disruption before the game made a difference, you can never tell with that at times.
Town’s remarkable goal scoring spree continues and with the attacking prowess they possess it’s hard to find ways to stop them playing in the final third, and with the press from back to front, it’ll take a very patient combative outfit to take points off them this season.