In the opening minutes some scrappy possession in the Lancing box ended with a shot wide of the right post by Kristian Belousas on his return from being sent off at Hassocks. Belousas put a free kick into the box that the keeper briefly fumbled but hung onto. With possession lost on the left, Lancing were in down the wing but the cross was awful. With a turnover we were on the attack and Yusuf McGregor set up Kwesi Ntim for a shot that was deflected for a corner that was then cleared. Just shy of twenty minutes Lancing had two corners from the right – the first got a touch behind as it went through the box and the second went straight through. A fine passing move involving McGregor, Gabriel Odunaike and Ntim took the ball into their box ending with a blocked shot from Belousas on 22mins. Five minutes later McGregor won the ball and played it forward to Odunaike in the centre. He turned and laid it back to McGregor on the right wing only for Lancing to tackle and clear. It was McGregor attacking down the right wing a minute later, centring the ball for Odunaike to lay it to Belousas for a shot that was blocked and a follow up shot that was at the keeper. Keeping up the pressure Ntim took the ball into the box, twisted and turned to hold onto the ball and then passed to Odunaike to shoot over the bar.

On the half hour Alex Kpakpe won the ball well on the edge of our box, retained possession to then drive forward. The ball came over to the left wing where McGregor delivered a cross for Odunaike to score. Two minutes later it could – and probably should – have been all square as a soft back header by Guyni Nganga was latched onto by Lancing but Sang Baek rushed off his line to block. However, the rebound fell to Lancing and this time the shot hit the bar but was then cleared. After a quiet ten minutes Lancing had a break down the left but had Jack McDonnell chasing back to make the tackle for Nicolas Bostan to clear. With two minutes left a poor decision gave Lancing a free kick from the left and while everyone was looking for a cross, the taker's run up said shot and he fired it just wide of the left post – on target and he scored. Into added time and a tackle by Bostan on the right set Kpakpe free to slide the ball forward for McGregor to chase into the box that Lancing cleared. A final chance in added time came from Reon Donkor driving into their box on the left and seeing his shot deflected for a corner that had only just been taken when the whistle went for half time.

In the first minute of the half Ntim fired a shot over the bar. In the second minute the ball was played through for Donkor to run onto on the left, ride a tackle and hit a great shot to make it 2-0. A couple of minutes later Nganga won the ball and drove down the left touchline to link up with Donkor who cut inside to curl a shot just over the right side of the goal. A minute later Kpakpe did the hard to work in midfield to take the ball down the left and put in a cross that was deflected behind for a corner Lancing cleared. On 55min Jason Stripp replaced McGregor with an eye on an FA Youth Cup tie ahead. Pushing to add another goal, Stripp put the ball forward to Odunaike in the box where it was deflected behind for a corner that was cleared. Kpakpe soon followed up with a shot that was straight at the keeper. Just ahead of the hour mark Ntim was in possession down the left and crossed to Donkor. He worked space and had a shot that was saved with the rebound coming to Odunaike but Lancing cleared.

On the attack again on 61mins with an excellent piece of skill by Ntim to beat his man on the left touchline and then laid the ball to Nganga to recycle the ball to Kpakpe for a cross. His cross to the right of the box just eluded Donkor as he stretched to reach the ball. A minute later Kpakpe slipped free and delivered a cross from the left to Donkor but he could not get over the ball to keep his header down so it went over the bar. A change on 65mins as Belousas was replaced by Iker Noguera Leon. He was immediately into the action as Ntim played him in for a shot that was only just kept out by the keeper's leg. A couple of minutes later Noguera Leon had another shot that was saved and in following up Kpakpe looked to be pushed to the ground but nothing was given. Next it looked like Nganga had set Ntim free but the flag went up for offside.

Twenty minutes to go and the ever industrious Ntim had the ball on the left and centred it to Odunaike who neatly rolled his man but Lancing got the ball clear. A passing move across the back from Stephen Hodge, via Bostan to McDonnell allowed him to slide the ball down the right wing to Noguera Leon. He advanced down the line but his ball back inside was intercepted and the move broke down. On 73mins Nganga was quick to cover on the edge of the box as Lancing looked to have a shot and drew a foul to relieve the pressure. Two minutes later Nganga was away down the left wing to find Ntim in the box whose shot was saved at the foot of the post and then again as he followed up on the rebound. Attacks down the left wing were creating chances and inside the last fifteen minutes Noguera Leon was away down the touchline to play the ball inside to Ntim. He returned it for Noguera Leon to drag his shot wide of the left post.

Sitting on that awkward two goal lead, Lancing had a corner from the right that Sang got his hands to but could not hold. The visitors recycled the ball but Sang gathered it when the chance came. Inside the last ten minutes and another ball down the left wing enabled Ntim to play a one-two with Noguera Leon and have a shot that was straight at the keeper. Still pushing forward, Nganga passed to Ntim in their box but Lancing got a foot in. Hodge picked up the loose ball and sent it forward but it was cleared again. It was won back by Ntim for him to take it into the box on the left and then curl his shot into the right top corner to continue his goal scoring run and make it 3-0 on 82mins. A couple of changes followed as Donkor and Odunaike were replaced by Jimmy Williams and Ashley Mutongerwa for the last five minutes. Kpakpe won the ball in midfield and set up a break forward for Ntim but he did not spot Noguera Leon in space to his right and the chance went. Into the final minute and a drop in concentration allowed Lancing to push forward down the left and then deliver a fine finish across Baek inside the right post for 3-1. Into a second minute of added time and we really should have restored our three goal lead as with a player down, Mutongerwa was onside and, with just the keeper to beat and a defender trailing in his wake, he failed to take the chance. The injured Lancing player exchanged words with the referee about why he did not stop play but ended up being sent to the bench in the third added minute so a bit meaningless. The final whistle came and a good 3-1 win erased the memory of last season's dreadful 1-0 defeat.

Having slipped down the table following Tuesday evening's games, this win sent us back up to sixth place at the bottom of five teams on seven points behind the leaders Haywards Heath Town – our next league opponents. Had we not conceded late against Billingshurst and Lancing we could have been up in fourth place. We are joint top scorers in the league and have taken our goal difference back to zero. At the other end of the pitch we are not the worst for conceding goals and it has been a while since we have had such a potent attack. The FA cup competitions have meant there are teams like us on four games played and slightly more teams with a game in hand. As it is the FA Cup Preliminary Round this weekend that involves six of our sides some teams have scheduled matches that will see the table look different when we travel to Haywards Heath next Saturday. Before that though we host AFC Walcountians who were Division One leaders after two games in the Second Round of the Peter Bentley Cup on Wednesday evening.