This was the first time I have visited Pagham in pleasant conditions as it was warm in the sun, the wind was far less than in other matches and the heavy showers on the drive down did not appear. Our squad is beginning to settle but as ever the starting eleven had changed as we look to try and find a consistent level. One of our good recruits Guyni Nganga was called into action early in the game and was there to block the progress of Pagham on the right. Matt Feeney-Hill did well to win the ball back on the byline on the left and put in a decent cross that ended with a throw for us nothing came from. Ten minutes in and a Pagham break down the left ended with Jack Webb-Olley claiming the ball. The best opening so far came on 17mins as Pagham attacked down the left, beat Jack McDonnell to get a cross into the centre only to fire the shot wide of the right post. A turnover a couple of minutes later saw Pagham break through midfield and play the ball out to the left where Webb-Olley came out the clear. Twenty minutes played and David Heaton played a nice ball out to Reece Jacobs on the right. Jacobs attacked the box and crossed but it was well taken by the keeper.

Their keeper then earnt himself a spell on the bench for some reason I did not see. With a man advantage it was poor to then fail to put in any strong challenges to allow Pagham to work in from the right, slide the ball back out from the centre to the right, and then shoot across the six yard box to score the opening goal on 23mins. It was Jacobs doing good work again on the right to cross into the box where the stand in goalkeeper fumbled but nobody was there to follow up. Nice interplay as Reese Cartwright played the ball out to Feeney-Hill for a shot that the keeper did well to tip onto the bar. Inside the last fifteen minutes and Feeney-Hill did well to win a throw on the left and with the ball laid back to Conor Wilford to send a cross into the box but the wind took it into the arms of the keeper. A Jason Stripp free kick into the box from the right was headed behind for a corner. Heaton delivered a lovely ball into the six yard box and under the bar that was tipped behind. He repeated it as we entered the last five minutes but the returned keeper took it with ease. From a debatable free kick from the right wing, the ball was not cleared and far too easily Pagham added a second goal just before half time.

Hoping for a better display in the second half there was a scare for Webb-Olley as the ball bobbled as he went to clear and the ball screwed off towards goal but he gathered it safely. He was in action again to get a hand on a corner from the left and then Pagham put it behind. Wilford was in place to head a ball into the box clear only to receive a boot in the face. To keep us in with a chance of getting something from this game, Noah Agbinone made a superb last tackle in the six yard box on 55mins. At this point the bench had seen enough as Kai Neil-Gray and Agbinone were replaced by Gus Ward and Jadon Chang. Jacobs did very well to battle down the right and keep the ball having even hit the ground and then got to his feet again. He centred the ball and when a shot would have been good we got a dummy over the ball and nothing. On 61mins Matt Cheeseman replaced Heaton. Minutes later Nganga battled well for the ball on the left and kept possession so he could tee up Ward for a shot that skimmed off the top of the bar.

With twenty minutes to go, McDonnell recovered well from a ball that went over his head to win it back, shield it so the Chang could support and clear. A minute later and Bailey Neil-Gray came on for Cartwright. A quarter hour left to rescue the game and Webb-Olley was strong to come for the ball under a challenge that earnt him free kick. From Cheeseman on the right the ball went out to the left wing for Neil-Gray to take down the line and cross into the six yard box where the keeper claimed it. With the ball worked forward by Ward and Cheeseman and out to the left, a cross was delivered out to the right but Jacobs could not control it and the opening was gone. On 79mins and with Pagham on the break Nganga provided good cover. Stripp got his head on the cross and then Feeney-Hill cleared it well while a Pagham player hit the deck looking for a penalty. Six minutes to play and Jacobs was felled by an elbow missed by the referee and linesman but eventually the Pagham No. 11 was sent to the bench for the rest of the game. Into added time and Jacobs attacked the box from the right and his ball to the left was taken on the chest by Neil-Gray but Pagham cleared. Stripp found Jacobs out wide on the right where he took it well but then in a challenge a goal kick was awarded. With the game nearly over McDonnell blocked a shot in the centre with his hands and a penalty was given. Not sure if he had his hands in front of his face but no mistake with the shot and we were beaten 3-0.

Given that we are not scoring many goals it is going to create problems if we concede soft goals at the back like today. With Seaford Town winning one of their two catch up games we have dropped to eighteenth place in the table. We are under pressure as Lancing picked up a second win of the season to close to just a point behind us along with AFC Varndeanians. Shoreham are a point ahead and Seaford Town a further point above them so it is all close at the bottom. We travel to Woking for a Surrey Cup game on Tuesday before hosting Bexhill United on Saturday.