Isthmian League South East Division
Saturday 8 October 2022
East Grinstead (The Wasps) 2 Lancing 0
Attendance 237
Lancing Starting XI:
Alieu Secka, Jake LeGrange, Tom Butler, Reuben Livesey-Austin, Mohamed Joumaa Zabadne, Finn Daniels-Yeoman (Capt.), Tyrone Madhani, Reece Hallard, Ashley Mutongerwa, Billy Fuller, Sean Stephenson
Substitutes :
Josh Gould, Marcel Powell, Bradley Campbell-Francis, Kane Louis, Faris Khallouqi.
A gate of 237 did not exactly witness a game of high quality between these two sides who last met at Culver Road on 20th August, when The Wasps ended Lancing’s hopes of an F.A cup run with a 4-1 win. Both were guilty of some misplaced passes and poor control.
Lancing were missing the excellent centre back Marcus Allen, Reuben Livesey-Austin making his first start as replacement and Darius Goldsmith was also absent.
Lancing suffered an early set back when, with only 4 minutes on the clock, Alieu Secka took a tumble losing his balance when moving back towards his goal line, providing former Lancing leading scorer Matt Daniel with the simple task of guiding the ball over the prone keeper into the unguarded net.
This unsettled Lancing for a while, as The Wasps tried to press home their advantage winning several corner kicks but Lancing were able to successfully repel any threats on goal.
Lancing were able to make some promising forays into the opposition final third but final passes were going astray. Their first effort on target came from Reece Hallard on the 20-minute mark but, although well struck it was straight into the arms of keeper Matte Pierson. A promising move, leading to a goalward run by Sean Stephenson, was halted when he was brought down at the edge of the box. Tyrone Madhani’s free kick had plenty of power but it flew high. Finn Daniels-Yeoman did well to win the ball deep on the right but his floated cross was too wide for Ashley Mutongerwa to reach. Ashley then looked to be in a good position in the box, twisting and turning to find an opening but a defender stole the ball putting it behind for a corner.
Lancing’s centre back pairing of Tom Butler and Reuben Livesey-Austin were coping well. Reuben was displaying a good range of passes with a fine left foot and showing excellent positional sense and confidence on the ball.
The Wasps did not look like increasing their lead, their few efforts on goal and crosses being easily held by Alieu Secka.The closest they came was when Reece Price Placid completed a surging run down the left by setting up Andrew Briggs , who drove the ball with venom into the side netting. The half ended with Tyrone Madhani attempting a shot on goal but his half volley swerved wide.
An immediate substitution saw Faris Khallouqi coming on for the unwell Sean Stephenson for the second half. Lancing started promisingly with Tyrone Madhani and Billy Fuller combining well on the right supported by Faris Khallouqi but the move failed to produce any threat on goal as Faris’ cross finished in no man’s land.
The Wasps made their first substitution on 58 minutes with Dean Perana stepping down for Thibault Abbie. Lancing continued their good start to the half with Jake Legrange finding Tyrone Madhani in a position to cross to Faris Khallouqi whose header was tipped over the cross bar by Matte Pierson. Tyrone again made good progress down the right and his cross was met by Finn Daniels-Yeoman attempting to glance the ball with his head wide of the keeper but it also went wide of the upright.
Tahjae Anderson, who had replaced Miles Cornwall on 66 minutes, broke clear into the Lancing box but opted to shoot when a pass might have been the better option. It was aimed low to the near upright but Alieu Secka got down low to make a good save.
Lancing made their second substitution on 84 minutes with Marcel Powell coming on for Tyrone Madhani. A good run by Billy Fuller took him clear but his attempted pass to put Marcel Powell in on goal fell to keeper Pierson.
The first serious test for Pierson came from a fierce drive from a free kick by Reece Hallard, which he was able to parry behind for a corner. Following on from the corner, the ball was put back across goal and Billy Fuller was able to reach it with a diving header upwards with the ball landing on the top of the cross bar.
As the game entered added time Josh Gould came on for Mo Zabadne.Lancing pressed for an equaliser. Billy Fuller found Faris Khallouqi but only leading to a corner, a free kick for Lancing quickly followed and Reece Hallard drove the ball low and hard but Matte Pierson was able to get his body behind it.
The Wasps had the final word, four minutes beyond the ninety. Jake LeGrange committed one more foul, at the edge of the box earning himself a caution for his persistent fouls. The defensive wall lined up but left themselves exposed to a strike towards the bottom left of the Lancing goal. Andrew Briggs spotted the opening and drove the ball low and hard. It struck the inside of the upright and ricocheted into the net. This proved to be the penultimate kick of the game.
So, rather ironic that Lancing were undone by two former players. After falling
behind so early in the game, Lancing defended well. A tight grip contained Matt Daniel denying him any decent scoring opportunities and there was plenty of effort and determination throughout the team, but what was lacking was any real potent attacking threat in and around The Wasps goal. A number of promising moves ended in disappointment, either by losing control or misplaced passes. Once again, the defence was sound right across the back four. Tom Butler was again a rock and soon developed an understanding with Reuben Livesey-Austin. There were not many positives to take from the game but keeping the score at 1-0 for so long reflected well on Lancing’s defensive qualities.
I was particularly impressed with Reuben Livesey-Austin who showed great maturity for one so young. He showed good positional sense, composure on the ball and an ability to use his left foot to hit some accurate passes, in behind or to feet. My fellow committee members were happy to endorse my recommendation that we select him as our MOM.
Dave Wilmott.
