Herstmonceux FC loses in tense encounter

Herstmonceux FC took on Willingdon in the Eastbourne FA Cup final at Hailsham Town last Friday, and were narrowly edged out 2-0 in a tense encounter.

A furious opening 15 minutes saw Liam Nulty hit the post for the ‘Ceux after lobbing the goalkeeper, and Henry Richards saw a speculative attempt just miss the target shortly after.

Willingdon had no answer to the power of the ‘Ceux midfield, and with Lewis Colgate marshalling the back four superbly it was an unfortunate defensive error, which saw Willingdon take the lead to go in 1-0 up at half time.

The second half was a more subdued contest, as Willingdon sat back and absorbed the Herstmonceux midfield. Arthur Mendes came in to the game more, but was not able to make any real incisive incursions into the opposition penalty box and, despite Manager Donegan using all his subs, a late breakaway goal saw Willingdon seal the match with a fine dipping shot from outside the area.

Manager Den Donegan was proud of his team, and it was nice to see Dave Lee collect a medal on his retirement year.

By Malcolm York