2019/20

Sidley United 2 - 1 St Francis Rangers - SCFA Intermediate Cup First Round - Saturday 12th October 2019

Sidley United are through to the Second Round of the Sussex FA Intermediate Cup thanks to sub Ash Elphick's late goal. 

The Blues started well against their fellow former County League opponents and took an early lead as Charlie Cornford's strike from the edge of the area found the back of the net on 5 minutes. 

But that early goal didn't lead to a one sided half as St Francis dug in and began to make inroads themselves down their right hand side. Despite Sidley having more of the first half chances, the best one fell to the visitors as they struck the post before Sidley scrambled the ball clear. 

A slow start to the second half from the hosts allowed St Francis to take control of the opening minutes after the restart and they soon levelled the scores as a cross from the left was steered home at the back post by Svetozar Popov on 48 minutes. 

The game was very even and both sides played with a good energy. St Francis almost went in front when from close range the ball was poked away from Blues goalkeeper Joe Rogers but came back off the post. 

Sidley continued to look threatening up the other end themselves and they went back in front when a corner was palmed by the goalkeeper straight to Elphick who lashed gome on 88 minutes. 

St Francis pushed forward seeking the goal that would have forced the game into extra time but Sidley defended resolutely and saw out the game to set up a trip to West Sussex in Round Two to face East Dean. 

Sidley Team: Rogers, Scrace (Davies), Hempe, McEniry, Saunders, Elliott-Noye, Wells, Cornford (Elphick), Ellis, Carey, Baldwin. 

Nutley 0 - 6 Sidley United - MSFL Championship - Saturday 5th October 2019

Sidley United cruised to a comfortable win at basement side Nutley as they extended their lead at the top of the Mid Sussex Championship. 

They endured a frustrating opening half an hour though as despite controlling the game they saw chance after chance to open the scoring go begging. 

However they finally broke through on 35 minutes as Zac McEniry headed home a corner and the floodgates then opened. 

Danny Ellis got the final touch on another corner to double the Blues' lead on 42 minutes. Then a foul on Arron Scrace in the area saw Sidley awarded a penalty which was confidently tucked away by Lee Carey on 45 minutes. 

And in the third minute of stoppage time, some good work from Ellis saw him roll the ball across for McEniry to finish from close range. 

The second half followed a similar pattern to the first with Sidley on top but unable to find the net early on until Ellis got his second when he poked in McEniry's goalbound header on 78 minutes. 

And the best goal was saved for last as Ellis won the ball off a defender and thumped a shot into the top corner on 89 minutes to round off the scoring. 

A comfortable win for the Blues and pleasing to record a clean sheet as well. Next week Sidley are in cup action as they welcome St Francis Rangers to Hooe Rec in the Sussex FA Intermediate Cup First Round.

Sidley Team: Rogers, Davies (Elphick), Scrace (Westlake), McEniry, Saunders, Elliott-Noye, Bristow, Wells, Ellis, Carey, Baldwin (Taylor). 

Sidley United 3 - 2 West Hoathly - MSFL Championship - Saturday 28th September 2019

Sidley United remain top of the Mid Sussex Championship after surviving a late comeback attempt as they beat West Hoathly 3 - 2. 

The Blues dominated the first half and after missing a few chances which included hitting the bar they finally took the lead as Charlie Cornford found the bottom corner from inside the penalty area on 20 minutes. 

A curling strike from Rosh Wells from the edge of the penalty area on 30 minutes doubled the home side's lead and they really should have been 3 or 4 ahead by the end of the half. However as the clock ticked into added time the referee missed a clear push on Chris Copley which allowed Hoathly's Dave Juniper to run through and slot past Joe Rogers. 

Incredibly though Sidley still managed to go in at the break two goals ahead as within seconds of the restart Danny Ellis hooked the ball into the top corner with the final kick of the half. 

Kicking into the strong wind in the second half the Blues struggled to control the game as much as in the first although they still had chances to extend the lead which went begging. 

Substitutions from both sides failed to really spark the game into life and although the quality was not as good as the first half it seemed as though Sidley were more likely to score than the visitors. 

Knowing that the wind was against them as the game wore on, the Blues tried to play out from the back but this often put them in danger and from one such poor attempt Mark Buckland caught Rogers well off his line and lobbed him on 85 minutes to bring Hoathly back into the match from almost nowhere. 

And Sidley had to survive a final scare as a corner saw all Hoathly players including the goalkeeper come forward but as the ball sailed over the bar the referee blew the whistle and Sidley claimed all three points. 

Manager John Carey said after the match "we played some lovely stuff in the first half and West Hoathly only got into our half once and we were unfortunate it led to a goal. In the second half we came out well for the first 15 minutes but then we went to sleep."

"Over the course of the game though I thought we were by far the better team and deserved the points. We go onto next week now so hopefully we can get ourselves another 3 points and get a winning run going."

Next week the Blues are on the road as they travel to basement side Nutley looking for another 3 points. 

Sidley Team: Rogers, Walker, Hempe (Davies), McEniry, Copley, Bristow, Wells (Westlake), Ellis, Cornford (Scrace), Carey, Baldwin. 

Sidley United 2 - 2 Peacehaven & Telscombe II - MSFL Championship - Saturday 14th September 2019

A stirring second half comeback earned Sidley United a point as they drew with Peacehaven & Telscombe II. 

The Blues began well and in the early stages looked solid but they fell behind when a smart one-two got Tom Stevenson in on goal and he finished past Joe Rogers to put the visitors in front on 17 minutes. 

And despite playing much better than the previous week it looked as if the Blues might suffer successive defeats as Stevenson struck an excellent free kick to double Peacehaven's lead on 28 minutes.

Sidley had chances to reduce the arrears but Ash Elphick and Tom Saunders were off target as they went in behind at the break to the only two strikes the visitors had at goal. 

But the second half was a totally different affair as Sidley took the game to their opponents and deservedly got a goal back as Arron Scrace beat the onrushing goalkeeper to a ball forward and poked it into the net on 65 minutes. 

Sidley thought they had levelled shortly afterwards when, after some terrific work by Danny Ellis, a ball was half cleared to Dom Bristow whose excellent strike from outside the area found the back of the net but the linesman flagged for an offside in the middle which obstructed the goalkeeper's view much to the frustrations and doubts of the Sidley faithful. 

As Peacehaven sat in to defend, visiting goalkeeper Dane Tasker put in a man of the match performance as he made no less than three very good saves to deny Sidley as time started to run out. 

Undeterred a dominant Sidley kept coming and won a penalty on 85 minutes as Zac McEniry won a header before being clattered by the goalkeeper. The ever reliable from the spot Gary Hempe stepped up to send Tasker the wrong way and level the scores. 

However despite the visitors slowing things down as much as possible, there was little stoppage time added and Sidley ran out of time to find a winning goal that their performance probably deserved. 

Sidley Team: Rogers, Davies (Walker), Scrace, McEniry, Saunders, Elliott-Noye, Bristow, Wells, Elphick (Hempe), Ellis, Baldwin. 

Ashurst Wood 3 - 1 Sidley United - MSFL Championship - Saturday 7th September 2019

Sidley United slipped to a first defeat of the season on a frustrating afternoon in East Grinstead. 

On a less than ideal 3G pitch, the Blues showed promising early signs but soon started giving away cheap free kicks which put them under pressure. 

They fell behind when the referee spotted a push in the area by Josh Elliott-Noye and awarded a penalty which was tucked past Joe Rogers by Chris Clark on 25 minutes. Elliott-Noye was perhaps lucky to then only be shown a yellow card after the referee booked him for elbowing an opponent. 

However Sidley rallied and had chances to get level before they did just that on 36 minutes as Zac McEniry powered home a header from a free kick. The Blues were well on top for the rest of the half but were unable to take one of their chances to get in front. 

Early in the second half Sidley again made a number of chances but fell behind on 55 minutes as a good move down the left ended with a cross into the area where it was headed home by Matthew Scutter.

The third home goal followed on 66 minutes as a blocked clearance saw the ball fall to Eddie Tester and his shot eluded Rogers as it crept under the crossbar. 

Sidley kept pushing forward and changed shape, pushing McEniry up front, but they couldn't find the killer ball and ultimately came away empty handed. 

They will be back at home next week as they welcome Peacehaven & Telscombe II to Hooe Rec. 

Sidley Team: Rogers, Davies (Scrace), Hempe, McEniry, Saunders, Elliott-Noye (Elphick), Wells, Cornford (Dighton), Ellis, Carey, Baldwin. 

Sidley United 4 - 1 Hurstpierpoint - MSFL Championship - Saturday 24th August 2019

Sidley United continued their winning start to life in the Mid Sussex League as they came from behind to beat 10 man Hurstpierpoint.

The Blues started slowly though and fell behind on 6 minutes as a cross from the right was headed into the top corner by Kevin Budge. 

That stirred the Blues into life and they started to get on top with Stef Davies in particular enjoying plenty of space on the right. 

Sidley levelled on 28 minute with a terrific goal as a free flowing move was finished with a thumping volley by Sean Baldwin. And Blues quickly went in front on 32 minutes as Baldwin scored with a powerful near post finish from a tight angle. 

Well on top now the third goal came just 2 minutes later as Lee Carey turned the ball home from close range to put Sidley well in control at half time. 

The game could have taken a different course but Hurstpierpoint struck the post early in the second half instead of the back of the net after a break. But the visitors then went down to 10 men as Nick Chellel was shown a second yellow card for a cynical challenge on Charlie Cornford who was breaking through on goal. 

It didn't take long for Sidley to make the man advantage count as another neat move ended with Don Bristow scoring his first Sidley goal with a strike from just inside the penalty area on 65 minutes. 

Further chances came for the Blues as Hurstpierpoint tired with goalkeeper Gannon making three very good saves and Zac McEniry was perhaps unlucky to be awarded a free kick instead of a penalty after he was fouled but in the end the Blues had to settle for a 4 - 1 scoreline. 

Next up is a trip to Ashurst Wood as Sidley look to continue their winning run in the Championship. 

Sidley Team: Rogers, Davies (Scrace), Hempe, McEniry, Saunders, Elliott-Noye, Bristow, Cornford (Westlake), Ellis, Carey (Ham), Baldwin. 

Mile Oak II 0 - 9 Sidley United - MSFL Championship - Saturday 24th August 2019

A ruthless Sidley United hit the front of the Mid Sussex Football League Championship Division as they crushed Mile Oak Reserves.

After the frustration of the previous weekend when Polegate Town were unable to raise a side, Sidley wasted no time in getting to work here as Lee Carey opened the scoring after 3 minutes and Sidley dominated the play thereafter.

However the first half lent no clues as to the final score as Oak almost levelled, forcing Joe Rogers into a smart stop. After seeing a number of chances go begging, Sidley did double the lead in the 40th minute through Sean Baldwin to give the Blues a commanding half time lead.

And in the second half the floodgates soon opened as Baldwin grabbed the third on 49 minutes before Ash Elphick made it 4 - 0 on 60 minutes.

The home side looked beaten but Sidley were in no mood to take their foot off the pedal and Arron Scrace grabbed the fifth and six on 75 and 83 minutes.

In the final minute of the 90 Baldwin completed his hat-trick but there was still time for Casey Ham to rub salt into the wounds with two stoppage time goals.

"It was a great start to the season" manager John Carey said after the game. "The attitude of the lads was spot on, even at 5 - 0 they wanted more and kept pushing forward when it would have been easy to have sat back."

"I have always said that one day we would knock a side for double figures as we create so many chances in most games. Unfortunately for Mile Oak we took most of ours today. I thought the clean sheet was really well deserved too as the back four were solid all game."

A statement of intent from the Blues who begin the season with their largest win since reforming in 2014. Sidley will take on last season's Division One champions Hurstpierpoint at home next weekend.

Sidley Team: Rogers, Hempe, Walker, McEniry, Saunders, Bristow, Wells (Ham), Ellis (Westlake), Elphick (Scrace), Carey, Baldwin. 

Sidley United vs Polegate Town - MSFL Championship - Saturday 17th August 2019

Match not played as Polegate Town unable to raise a side. Walkover win for Sidley United.