Peacehaven v East Grinstead

And so it proved to be - although Peacehaven were left pondering a curious penalty decision which ultimately cost them victory, and an injury to Craig Bunch which, sadly, will see him sidelined for a considerable time.

In glorious October sunshine, Wes Millis and Tom Levitt returned to the starting eleven, with Josh Heyburn replacing Jake Buss in goal, and both sides played first half football which showed why they're among the front runners. Fluent passing was the order of the day, but neither side seemed to be able to make inroads into the opposing defence.

Indeed, there was 30 minutes on the clock before the first serious attempt on either goal - Marcus Perona's pass picked out Tom Lyons in the home area, but his fierce shot didn't threaten Heyburn's goal.

Meanwhile Peacehaven where enjoying a greater share of possession but, as we approached the break, they still hadn't managed to test Shayne Goldsmith in the visiting goal. Then, a flighted through ball from Wes Millis caused panic in the away defence as it dropped invitingly for Ashley Rees just outside the Grinstead area. Defender Tony Reid managed to intercept but, facing his own goal, he looped the ball over his keeper to give The Tye a half time lead.
The soaring temperature certainly seemed to be dictating the pace of the game, and chances where few and far between for either side as the second half unfolded. Goldsmith produced a close range save from a Craig Bunch header whilst Reid had a chance to make amends at the other end, but his low shot was easily dealt with by Heyburn.

And then came the talking point of the game. With 15 minutes remaining Morrison's corner floated across the 'Haven area and George Benner went up for a header with Wes Millis beyond the back post. The danger seemed to have passed as the ball was now heading out of play, and the ensuing whistle was deemed by most to be a home free-kick. Peacehaven gathered the ball but where dismayed to see Mr Small pointing to the penalty spot. There was a delay while the referee fielded all the protests, but Tom Lyons held his nerve and fired low and left to level the scores.

Within two minutes the afternoon took another turn for Peacehaven when a teasing cross from Carl Dunk saw three players converge on the far post. The ball ended up crashing into the side netting, but Craig Bunch was left lying on the ground in agony with a broken ankle.

There was a considerable delay whilst an ambulance was called, but there was still time for Peacehaven to mount one last attack. Substitute Kane Louis found the head of Wes Millis, and his goal-bound header was acrobatically tipped over the bar by Goldsmith to bring the game to a close.

"That was a tough game", said Shaun Saunders as he left the field. "I wasn't happy with the penalty decision, but you have to live with these things. We're not firing on all cylinders yet, but when we are we'll take some stopping. Craig's injury brings everything into perspective though - we're gutted for him and hope he'll make a speedy recovery"

East Grinstead have a dreadful record at Piddinghoe Avenue. Before this game they'd lost 14 times in 16 visits, and only ever won once. It's fair to say they never really looked like improving on that record today, but the result was probably a fair reflection of the play.