Crawley Down Gatwick lose out to 94th minute own goal

Newhaven 1

Crawley Down Gatwick 0

By Mike May

A 94th minute own goal from a corner settled this match in which both sides were so evenly matched it would have taken a bread knife to have separated the sides at the end of normal time.

Dockers took up the early running with Brad Murray having a couple of sighters, followed by a long range effort from Craig Bunch that was easily taken by Anvil keeper Seb Bos,

For the Dockers chances were at a premium, with Ebou Jallow firing wide from a corner, and a scramble on the Anvil goalline to resist the determined Bunch, while at the other end a long crossfield pass/shot by Blair Cooney landed on the top netting as the half ended.

The home side opened the half early with a Jallow free-kick taken by Bos, but on 50 minutes another chance for the Anvils came with a Mo Shuga’a corner finding Steve Major in space whose effort looked goalbound until striking a defender for a another corner, the Dockers then had a good spell with Scott Marshall firing wide and again the same player testing Bos.

Substitutions on the bench interrupted the flow with Cooney being replaced by Andy Goodwin, a long crossfield ball then found Steers who set up striker Grant Rigler but the big man was pushed wide, with the clock ticking and both sides now finding more gaps.

Keeper Bos found the dangerous Bunch in space but he could only balloon his shot into the nearby housing. Newhaven grabbed the winner off a Down player from a corner well into added-time.

Down: Bos, Gates, Shuga’a, Cooney (Goodwin), Johnston, Dodd, Steers, Cane, Major (Luke Strangwood), Grant Rigler, Haliday (Joe Ford).

Man of the Match:

Scott Johnston