Giving a soft goal away five minutes into the game was not a good start. Minutes before the break from a corner Nahum Green challenged for the ball and it fell to Matt Cheeseman to put it over the line. Into added time though Steyning had a break and regained the lead. Early in the second half a long ball from the back saw Steyning add a third. The lads fought back well and were still in the game following a red card for Jeff Duah-Kessie. Into added time and Kai Neil-Gray was breaking into the box and taken down. In an amazing decision the referee just gave a corner but that was about par for his performance all game.

With Guyni Nganga out injured Bailey Neil-Gray was back in the starting eleven. A swap in midfield had Jason Stripp back in and after a good substitute appearance Deven Reid-Solanki earned a start as Jeff Duah-Kessie dropped to the bench. After the poor result against Lancing, a trip to Steyning Town where two seasons ago we lost 5-1 in both the league and the cup was not ideal. With changes as we look to find the right blend, the home side started more fluently. After three minutes they had a break into the box but Jack Webb-Olley was quick to come out and block while Bailey Neil-Gray cleared the ball. A minute later Webb-Olley was out to block a shot. From the resulting corner from the left the ball was going out past the far post but for some reason Jason Stripp hooked it back. The ball came down onto the crossbar and was headed home for Steyning to take the lead. The key then was to not concede another and be out of the game early on. To their credit the lads settled down and starting keeping them at bay.

A slip by Neil-Gray on the left let Steyning in for a shot but Webb-Olley saved well for a corner that was headed behind. Clearing downfield from a corner Nahum Green was onto the ball but blocked off by a dubious challenge. On 24mins Reece Jacobs had a break down the right wing and fired a shot over bar. Five minutes later a long throw into our box was easily taken by Webb-Olley. On the half hour there was a scramble for the ball in their box and it came loose to Jacobs for a shot just wide of the left post. Minutes later Matt Cheeseman won the ball and played it out to Stephen Hodge on the right. He played it down the line for Jacobs to drive down the wing but Steyning covered and blocked him off. On 35mins first Webb-Olley came out and made a great challenge and then it was Conor Wilford making a great tackle in the box. With a couple of minutes until half time, Noah Agbinone made a solid tackle to win the ball and move into space before finding Matt Feeney-Hill. He slid the ball down the right wing to Deven Reid-Solanki who rode a tackle to advance to the edge of the box and shoot. The ball was deflected behind for a corner that Stripp sent into the six yard box and a crowd of players. Green was able to get a touch and it fell to Cheeseman who was able to put it over the line for the equaliser. Into added time and following a nice passage of play Feeney-Hill put in a solid tackle to win the ball and then find Cheeseman who whistled a shot just over the bar. With time nearly up, Steyning were able to break down the right into the box and took the lead once again.

Into the second half and still in the game, on 51mins Cheeseman got a good challenge in to win the ball and pass to Jacobs to drive into the box on the left but he was not balanced enough for anything other than a soft shot to the keeper. With long throws now back in style, Green can launch a good ball and had a chance but we could not make anything of it in their box. On 56mins it was time for the first changes as Cheeseman and Green were replaced by Jeff Duah-Kessie and Reese Cartwright. On 61mins Steyning played a long ball that went through our lines too easily and a good finish made it 3-1 to the home side. Jacobs was replaced by Raphael Ntege. Just three minutes later Reid-Solanki was superb on the right and set the ball up for Feeney-Hill to have a shot. The defenders blocked the shot but the ball came to Duah-Kessie who fired home for 3-2. With The Lingers shading the game and looking to equalise, Hodge was sprinting out to intercept the ball on the right wing and then drive forward until tackled but winning a throw.

On 66mins Kai Neil-Gray came on for Feeney-Hill and he was soon closing down their keeper to stop them playing out. Five minutes later Stripp sent a free kick from the centre of their half into their box. In battling for the ball Duah-Kessie was being held by their No. 6 who had been doing it all game with no action from referee and in the fracas he kicked out and received an immediate red card just as we were battling to get an equaliser. With a man advantage, inside the last quarter of an hour Steyning had a shot over the bar from a throw on the right. From our free kick on the left their keeper gathered the ball and rapidly sent it downfield. As we tried to close them down Steyning had a clear shot but sent to ball across the face of the goal – chance to settle the game missed. Ten minutes to go and Stripp was replaced by Lewis Lembikisa. Having held our own a man down the game moved into added time with a free kick on the centre spot taken by Webb-Olley. Steyning cleared that but we recycled the ball and pushed forward in the third added minute. Kai Neil-Gray took the ball and drove into the box and was brought down for a clear penalty. I suppose it was consistent with what had gone on all game for the referee – without even talking to the linesman – to give a corner to deny us a chance to equalise. Cheeseman said something from the bench that the referee did not like in response to his failure to make the correct decision and he issued a second yellow card to dismiss him. The corner was delivered into the six yard box and their keeper was under pressure and struggling so the referee gave him a free kick. The final whistle came after six added minutes and despite a good effort it was 3-2 to the home side.

This was the only midweek game and made no difference to our position in the table. Out of interest this time last season we were also in nineteenth place with two more points but having played an extra game. The bottom side were Little Common and we both worked our way up the table while Loxwood in fourteenth and Saltdean United in seventeenth were relegated. Next up for us on Saturday is a trip to Shoreham who are on nine points and four places above us. In a fixture change we now travel to Eastbourne United on Tuesday evening who also have nine points and sit in thirteenth place. Compared to our previous games to lose 3-2 was an improvement. Also improved was our performance once we settled into the game and we had periods of control in the game that hopefully bodes well going forward. While we dominated the second half at Horsham we were not able to score this time we were able add some goals.