6TH March 2002

UPPER BEEDING 0-3 IFIELD

Upper Beeding Slumped to their worst home defeat for over two years on
Saturday , losing 3-0 to lowly Ifield.

Manager Mick Barry suffered a series of unavailability as Scott Redfern,
John Burgess, Paul Barker, Lee Strange and player / coach Vic Gretton were
skiing, Joe Swanson and Simon Friend-James unavailable and while Mat Doo is
still sidelined with an ongoing foot injury, Joe Bennett completed his move
to Steyning Town.

It left Barry with little room for manoeuvre and the side, or balance of it,
was not up to the task ahead of it.

The strong wind, at Ifields’ backs in the first half certainly made
defending difficult, and Ifields’ opening goal on twenty four minutes can be
put down solely to the freak conditions.

Tony Gibbler picked the ball up in the centre circle and punted it forward.
Matt Laker, in the Beeding goal, looked to have the ball covered until a
strong gust took the ball into the opposite corner.

The second, six minutes later, was down to basic defending errors. Robert
Mills tooke a thrown on the left which deceived both Glyn Edmonds and Darren
Jordan leaving Andy Dhiman to cut into Lakers’ box and finish with a low
drive across the ‘keeper.

Gary Salter was unfortunate not to pull a goal back two minutes later,
heading onto the top of the crossbar from Edmonds’ corner and both Stuart
Barry and Mark Friend-James had shots blocked on the line in quick
succession following a great run by Jordan.

After the break Beeding did make inroads with Jordan unlucky when his superb
volley beat the far post from Edmonds corner with Richard Short scrambling
to make the ground.

Barry had a couple of reasonable opportunities mid way but, on both
occasions, his finish lacked the power to beat Short.

David Smith tangled with Mills on sixty five minutes leaving referee Martin
Smith waving red cards at both players.

Ifields’ third just about summed up goalkeeper Matt Lakers’ first full Game
in County 3 as Jamie Mills’s shot looked to be covered when it to a
deflection into the opposite corner.

UPPER BEEDING:: M. Laker, D. Jordan, G. Woolgar, J. Ireson; G. Edmonds, T.
Gretton, M. Friend-James, D. Smith, M. Salter; G. Salter.

Substitutes: G. Dutton (n.u.)
S. Witherden (n.u.)