Blues beat local rivals Golds

The game saw Littlehampton’s season draw to a close, although chances were certainly not at a premium, with the scoreline not representative of the chances available to both sides.

Golds took the lead after just 12 minutes when the in-form Dave Schneider smashed home a loose ball from close range. It was a goal with a combined age of 115 years as Richie Hellen’s (42) free-kick was flicked on by Barry Pidgeon (39) to Schnieder, the “young upstart” of the trio at just 34.

The lead lasted just three minutes, though, as Pidgeon and stand-in goalkeeper Dave Gaskin failed to communicate, allowing man-of-the-match Ross Adams to pass the ball into the net. Chances came and went for both sides as Littlehampton’s Jason Jarvis lobbed wide from 10 yards and Rustington skipper Brett Neal managed to head wide from a corner when three yards out.

The hosts went into the break with a goal advantage as Chris Darwin played Steve Kirkham in down the right-hand side of the Golds area and he finished coolly past the on-rushing Gaskin in the final minute of the half.

The second half was Rustington dominated and they should have made the game safe long before they actually got their third from a Darwin header in the 67th minute from James Butt’s cross.

Although Littlehampton’s season ended with a loss, perhaps this was a blessing in disguise as Dave Schneider damaged ankle ligaments and skipper Ross McKay broke his wrist in a fall during the game, although McKay soldiered on despite being in obvious pain. Both players would therefore have been unavailable for the remainder of the season.

A delighted Rustington boss Brett Torode, who saw his side end their seven-game winless run, said: “It was like a huge weight had been lifted off our shoulders when our first goal went in. I thought we played really well today, and the three upfront helped.

“We’ve got AFC Uckfield twice and Worthing United yet to play so there are big games for us to look forward to.”

Golds manager John Suter was his usual philosophical self and said: “The side that kept the ball better won the game. Every time we got it we gave it back to them, but with the chances we had we could have got something from it.

“It’s been a disappointing season where we’ve conceded too many goals to be truly competitive, and we’ve not been able to get a big enough squad together to do ourselves justice.”

RUSTINGTON: Bonetti; Bennett, Neal, Wimbleton, Green; Clayton, Jones, Butt; Adams, Kirkham, Darwin. Subs: Boxall, Hudson (Kirkham, Darwin 87), Matthews, Sayers, Huckett.

LITTLEHAMPTON: Gaskin; Tabor, Pidgeon, McKay, Wollers; Beadle, Hellen, Russell, Peacock; Schneider, Jarvis. Subs: Gritt (Schneider 33), White (Tabor 52), Harvey (Hellen 84).