Westies suffer first defeat in five weeks

Westfield Football Club suffered its first defeat in five weeks at the hands of the reigning league champions.
Westfield Football Club's first team squad line up for the camera prior to Saturday's game against Bosham.Westfield Football Club's first team squad line up for the camera prior to Saturday's game against Bosham.
Westfield Football Club's first team squad line up for the camera prior to Saturday's game against Bosham.

The Westies were beaten 5-2 at home to Bosham in Macron Store Southern Combination Football League Division Two on Saturday.

Westfield manager Jack Stapley, who played in goal with his brother Harry facing a long-term lay-off with a knee injury, said: “We were poor and we didn’t deserve anything out of the game. We didn’t do well enough all over the pitch.”

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The home side started slowly and fell behind when the ball dropped over the head of Joe Dicken, who then missed his challenge, and William Lewis smashed it past Stapley at the near post.

Westfield then found themselves 2-0 behind. The ball dropped out of the sky and after Westfield missed the header, Callum Coker finished clinically into the bottom corner from 12 yards.

At 2-0 down, Westfield started to play and got one back. Regan Smith whipped in a free kick from the left which took a slight deflection off a Bosham player at the far post on its way into the net.

Westfield were camped in Bosham’s half for a 10-minute spell only to concede a soft goal to trail 3-1 at the break. Stapley’s punch from a cross into the area went straight up in the air and Coker nodded home.

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The hosts enjoyed so much of the ball during the second half, and Allan McMinigal drilled a ball across goal which only needed a touch, and Bosham’s accomplished goalkeeper made a good save as Callum Smith tried to round him.

Bosham scored again, however, to lead 4-1. With Westfield caught square at the back, Coker went through and curled his finish round Stapley to complete his hat-trick.

Westfield didn’t give up and Callum Smith rose above his marker to head home a cross from the right by Regan Smith.

Westfield thought they had made it 4-3, but Martyn Durrant’s header from a Regan Smith corner was deemed not to have crossed the line even though the Bosham defender who cleared the ball got his foot stuck in the net.

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Westfield seemed to lose their momentum after that and their fate was sealed late on when a Bosham free kick was unwittingly headed past Stapley by Westfield defender Kingsley Parsons.

“It made the Rustington result (Westfield drew 3-3 at Rustington the previous weekend) invalid really,” added Stapley. “If we had won Saturday it would’ve made that result look good.”

Westfield: Stapley; Winter, Dicken (Parsons), Ramsay, Durrant; McGurk (Page), Adams, McMinigal; R. Smith, C. Smith, Stoyanov (Discala).

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