Steyning shoot for the stars

The town of Steyning may include a football club that bears its name, but in truth it’s barely a town at all. 

It has a fabulous High Street with some fine local independent shops, sits in the shadow of the beautiful South Downs, and is located only a fifteen minute drive from the coast, but it has little more than five thousand inhabitants which makes it smaller than other settlements across West Sussex which are still described as villages. It also has- as fans from sides across Pitching In Isthmian South East are about to find out (if they haven’t already)- public transport designed by the devil; a bus to Shoreham every hour and that’s your lot. Blame Doctor Beeching, who closed the local station a few months before England won the World Cup. 

So our first tip of the night; if you are heading to watch Steyning Town and you don’t live locally, take a car. We hate to be environmentally unfriendly, but getting home after a Saturday afternoon fixture when the nearest station is a forty minute bus ride away is difficult, doing the same after a midweek evening fixture might find you stuck in Sussex. There are many worse places to be stuck, admittedly, but it’s important that you do your journey planning in advance! 

That’s advice we expect had already been considered by the supporters of Faversham Town, who were the visitors to The Shooting Field this evening. Not that there were as many travelling Lilywhites as usual; perhaps the travel difficulties and the added attraction- if that really is the right word- of England on the TV had got in the way. That said, they made up around a quarter of the crowd, which was a fine effort.

This being the only South East fixture of the evening, Faversham were hoping to climb to third with victory; whilst their hosts knew that a win wouldn’t only lift them out of the bottom four, it would propel them seven places up the table into thirteenth.

It had been a mixed return to Step Four for the Barrowmen, and they were about to kick off without having yet recorded a home win; although they had won twice on the road, and clearly liked sea air, those victories coming at Peacehaven & Telscombe and Eastbourne Town. Their guests were still buzzing after knocking Premier side Stanway Rovers out of the FA Trophy in Essex at the weekend, and were rather good own the road, their only defeat on their travels so far this season a narrow cup loss at top flight side Welling United. All that said, both sides seemed rather full of beans as they warmed up on the hosts 3G pitch prior to the match- not that beans are a particularly sensible fuel if you’re about to engage in vigorous activity. 

The hosts made three changes to the side that lost against Sevenoaks Town at the weekend, Henry Yorke-Johnson, Alex Brewer and Adam Adam coming in. For the Lilywhites Kai Garande, recently signed from Margate, went straight into the starting line up, whilst Nathan Wood and Josh Strouts returned to the first eleven. 

Faversham, in white, got us underway. The hosts were in their usual red. The visitors went straight on the attack, and we were treated to the referee counting down a long throw from five as if he were about to launch Thunderbird One.

After soaking up some early pressure Steyning earned the first corner on six minutes, and it was their number six, Yorke-Johnson, who rose highest only to head narrowly wide. His reaction suggested that he thought he should have done better- and perhaps he should. 

A fine run down the right from Max Blencowe saw both Josh Ajayi and Garande bypassed and ended in a free kick for the hosts just in from the corner flag, but that, along with a cross from Charlie Pitcher a minute later, was easily held by Tom Hadler. At the other end Nathan Wood hit a half volley wide of the near post, and we’d had a thoroughly entertaining first twenty minutes, albeit without a goal.

And then, eight seconds later, the first goal arrived. Alex Brewer was played through, and he timed his effort brilliantly, across Hadler and into the corner. 

Goal: Steyning Town 1 Faversham Town 0, Alex Brewer, 21 minutes

The Lilywhites went straight up the other end, and Ibrahim Olutade should have scored, heading wide. Next Ajayi forced a flying save from Alfie Mansell, and the match flowed at pace with players occasionally taking a moment to shout at the referee, who apparently could do nothing right, which- of course- probably meant that he was getting most things correct. An effort from Jack Evans went just wide of the post, and then a break, a foul, penalty! Adam Adam went down, and Brewer made no mistake from the spot.

Goal: Steyning Town 2 Faversham Town 0, Alex Brewer, 28 minutes

Another Faversham cross, another Olutade header, but this one was far more difficult, the player contorting himself to reach the ball, and it dropped over the bar. Behind the goal an away fan whose voice had not been heard once encouraging his team screamed an insult at the referee for the sixth time. Well, we all need a hobby, although at this point it seemed more like an addiction. 

Sorry, make that seven times. Then eight. And then…we stopped counting.

A good move involving Adam and Ryan Worrall saw the latter fire over, just as the rain started and those lining the touchline made a move towards the shelter of the stand. We moved into the last five minutes of the half, with Faversham passing the ball around neatly without really threatening, and then the whistle ended that.

Half time- and the hosts were good value for their lead.

Half time: Steyning Town 2 Faversham Town 0

After fifteen minutes of Coldplay we were delighted when the music stopped and Steyning got us underway for the second half. Kane Haysman came on for the visitors, Olutade making way.

In the early stages it seemed that the half time break had done nothing for the quality of the match. The visitors couldn’t string many passes together, the hosts seemed determined to keep what they had and defended deep and doggedly, and all of the entertainment we’d seen earlier was missing, rather resembling the recent recording career of our half time musicians.

We reached the hour mark with the players making more noise than the supporters, with even the referees friend momentarily silent.

Only momentarily, mind you. The inhabitants of the main stand began discussing whether they could club together and buy him an anger management class. 

He’d need more than one.

For much of the match the visitors most dangerous player had been Wood, and on seventy four minutes it was his finish- after some good approach play and a fine dummy- which got them back into the match. His shot was hard, low, and unerringly accurate, whizzing into the far corner- and it surely heralded a frantic finish.

Goal: Steyning Town 2 Faversham Town 1, Nathan Wood, 74 minutes

Wood lined up another effort two minutes later, and a desperate block delivered a corner. Another three minutes and another corner, which resulted in a goalmouth scramble, two blocked efforts and an erroneous shout for hand ball. Could the hosts hold out? A nervousness crept in, and then Wood delivered a beautiful pass to Josh Hare inside the box, and he finished superbly.

Goal: Steyning Town 2 Faversham Town 2, Josh Hare, 83 minutes

If we were going to get a winner it seemed only one team was likely to score it- and yet when it arrived it went the other way. A fantastic run down the right, substitute Billie Clark bamboozling the defence, a pinpoint cross, and there was another substitute, Bright Kuntu- Blankson, arriving right on time to hammer the ball home.

Goal: Steyning Town 3 Faversham Town 2, Bright Kuntu-Blankson,  88 minutes

Into added time we went, and three minutes in a cross reached Haysman on the edge of the box. He steadied, fired…wide. A cross from Wood couldn’t find a team mate, and then it was over, the home fans able to celebrate a home win for the first time this season- and to celebrate a climb to thirteenth place. 

On the balance of play, the three points were deserved. 

Final Score: Steyning Town 3 Faversham Town 2

Steyning can hardly be expected to be a footballing hotbed. Not only is it rather a small place, but it has both Premier League Brighton and Hove Albion and National League side Worthing within relatively few miles competing for their locals. And yet…a town of little more than five thousand inhabitants has a football club with more than five hundred registered players, across senior men and women, youth, junior, girls and veterans sides. If you do the maths, that’s rather astonishing. 

It’s easy to see what attracts all of those locals to the club. The work that has been done here over the past few years stands out. A decent 3G surface, new changing facilities, new toilet facilities, additional seating, a new committee room, new electronic turnstiles, and all of this added to an already comfortable bar and a fabulous refreshment kiosk- the Barrowmen may not have a great deal of money but they’ve spent it wisely, and their volunteers have backed that up with unlimited elbow grease and commitment. Some clubs throw what money they have at their team, and Steyning have had their fair share of on-field success over the last few years, but there are no highly-paid superstars here. Success, instead, smacks of hard work and commitment- and it was certainly those qualities which won them this match. 

When we reach the end of the season there’s every likelihood that Faversham will be involved in the Play Offs, or perhaps will have done even better. You’d have to say that the odds of Steyning joining them in the promotion race must remain long, despite this result. But, on the balance of what we watched, the Barrowmen and their supporters have every reason to be optimistic. 

Their future appears to be as bright as their new paintwork.