|
Arguably the greatest Langney Sports match ever. Langney and reigning champions Burgess Hill had already met four times during the 1999/00 season, with the Hillians having won twice, and two games ending in draws. Burgess Hill had been champions for the previous three seasons and if Sports wanted to claim the title they would have to go to Leyland’s Park and take it ...
Tuesday 11 April 2000. Sussex County League Division One
Burgess Hill Town 2
Holden, Stevens
Langney Sports 3
Ducille, Burt, Snelgrove
The stage was well and truly set for a fifth, and final epic encounter between the two sides. A Langney victory at Burgess Hill would confirm their place as County League champions. However, having witnessed so many defeats at the hands of the reigning champions over the past few seasons, even the most ardent Langney supporters were pessimistic about the forthcoming match, and accepted that they might have to be content to wait until the visit of Horsham YMCA, or even the re-arranged visit of Sidley a week later before they could celebrate.
Non-stop heavy rain throughout the day of the match, and memories of the Leyland’s Park penalty areas did little to inspire confidence and, on arrival at the ground an hour before kick-off, it was surprising that the pitch had been declared fit by the referee. One couldn’t help but think it might have been different had it been earlier in the season when Burgess Hill didn’t have a backlog of fixtures to get through.
After the game at Saltdean [which Sports had won 2-1 on 11 March], travelling Langney supporters might have been forgiven for thinking they had seen Sports’ white shirts for the first and only time. Yet, as the side emerged wearing their ‘lucky’ colours, one sensed that an historic occasion was about to unfold. Eight minutes into the game however, such thoughts appeared no more than a romantic dream as Tony Holden put the home side ahead. Within a minute though Langney were very nearly level. Hillians’ keeper Richard Waters fluffed a clearance straight to John Snelgrove, but managed to redeem himself by just managing to tip over the striker’s lob.
The travelling supporters may have considered that Burgess Hill would again show superiority with yet another success over Langney, but on this occasion Garry Wilson’s were unwilling to play second string, and with so much at stake, this proved to be a great game and a wonderful advertisement for the Sussex County League.
On a slippery but playable surface the game was progressing in a fast and furious manner. Liam Barham had been booked for a tackle on Paul Thomsett in the opening minute and emotions were simmering. With half an hour gone they boiled over.
Snelgrove looked to have scored a perfectly good goal, when referee Martin Hollands pulled play back to deal with an off the ball skirmish between Steve Willard and Thomsett. Both players were cautioned but failure to allow the goal to stand appeared a major blunder on the referee’s part.
In spite of punitive action by Mr Hollands, the tackles were continuing to fly in and it wasn’t long before Hillians’ Daren Newman found himself in trouble for an x-rated high tackle on Craig Willard that left the Langney captain in some discomfort. There was general astonishment, at least from the Langney contingent, when Newman received only a yellow card.
As well as the tussle on the pitch, a similar battle was emerging on the terraces – although not a violent one – with the two sets of supporters doing their best to out-sing one another. Thus far Burgess Hill’s vociferous fans had had the most to sing about, as the Langney support were becoming increasingly agitated. The visitors were continuing to press forward however, and despite being a goal down, were getting the better of their opponents.
It’s often said that although it’s good to score at any time during a match, just before half-time is as good as any. In the final minute of the first half, Langney did just that. Daren Pearce appeared to have repeated his trick of scoring direct from a corner, but during the interval supporters stationed behind the goal confirmed that Andy Ducille had got a touch at the near post to deflect the ball past Waters.
If the first half had been good, the second proved to be even better. Langney were again enjoying the better of the action when they went behind once again on 62 minutes.
Uncharacteristically, Dean Lightwood was caught in no-man’s land as Burgess Hill broke away, and Dave Stevens’ audacious 30 yard chip into the unguarded net restored the home side’s advantage. Garry Wilson responded by introducing the pace of Matt Allen in place of Simon Colbran, and almost immediately he began to cause the tiring Hillians’ defence problems.
The final twenty minutes will remain in the memories of Langney supporters for a long time. They fought back and the final score proved to be an historical result for the club. Honours were heading back to Priory Lane after a decade with an empty trophy cabinet.
The presence of Tony Burt coming forward for corners and free-kicks had become a familiar sight for regular Sports supporters throughout the season. Notwithstanding his first for the club against Horsham YMCA the previous month, attempts on goal had invariably ended up in the crowd. Fifteen minutes from the end of this match however, Burt timed his run to perfection as Pearce floated in a free-kick. The resulting bullet header gave Waters no chance and the travelling Langney support erupted.
As the travelling support found new heart and voice, many would no doubt have settled for the point. Yet the drama was far from over, and the championship was effectively on its way to Priory Lane at around five past nine. Burgess Hill paid the price for not playing to the whistle and allowed Matt Allen to get behind them. Allen’s pull-back was met by the advancing Snelgrove, who despite not connecting cleanly with the ball, managed to tuck it away to give Langney a winning 3-2 lead.
As the final whistle blew, the elation was indescribable. The “Possee” sang their hearts out and Garry and Nick joined the players in a collective Klinsmannesque dive into the Leyland’s Park mud. It was difficult not to recall that Burgess Hill had clinched the title a year earlier by beating Langney on this very ground.
A short while earlier, Hillians’ manager Gary Croydon had challenged Langney to come to Leyland’s Park and claim the championship. As it turned out, they did exactly that and were champions with three games to spare.
After the game, John Snelgrove re-lived his winning goal: “I’m chuffed. I didn’t expect Matty Allen to cross for me but when he did I just swung my foot and the ball crept in the corner. Burgess Hill are a really good side and it’s tremendous to win the title here. What a game!”
It was a fabulous achievement and a script that no-one could have imagined, let alone written: Langney had twice come from behind to claim the trophy in the champions’ own back-yard. Garry Wilson confirmed that it was his greatest moment in management: “It’s a dream to win the title at the home of the champions and I think we showed a lot of character. Not many teams come from behind to win here but we did it twice”. “I am especially pleased for Len Smith and his Committee. They have been at Langney for years and deserve it. It’s great for them and our supporters who have followed us around the county. I have also had superb support from Nick Greenwood, who has made my job far less difficult than it might have been, as well as physio Ray Tuppen”.
Team
Dean Lightwood; Darren Baker; Steve Willard; Liam Barham; Tony Burt; Craig Willard (capt); Simon Colbran (Matt Allen 71’); Daren Pearce; Jason Reed (Andy Agutter 87’); John Snelgrove (Paul Stevens 81’); Andy Ducille.
Attendance: 381.
|
|
|
Champions.
Back Row (from left): Nick Greenwood, Ray Tuppen, Andy Agutter, Liam Barham, Darren Baker, Andy Ducille, Dean Lightwood, Simon Colbran, Garry Wilson.
Front Row: John Snelgrove, Matt Allen, Steve Willard, Tony Burt, Paul Stevens, Craig Willard, Daren Pearce.
Pic courtesy of the Eastbourne Herald.
|
