The Devil is in the Detail as Dixie's Men Deliver

After a week of change at The Lair, the new trio of Dixie Dean, Adrian Heaton & Simon Horn were faced with an away fixture in their first game in charge.

As has become the norm this season, there was plenty of changes with the likes of David Heaton & Charlie Dodd returning but Sam Bell, Rory Woolston, TJ, Macca and others missing. The 'Gaffers' opted for a 3-5-2 formation which made sense with the defensive options we have at our disposal. Ben Connelly made his debut up front after an impressive season in the U18s league triumph as did Harry at left wing back.

The game itself was very scrappy with both teams struggling to create clear opportunities from open play. The best chances came from set pieces and individual mistakes. The Lingers had the lion's share of possession with their biggest threat coming down the left.

Right on the stroke of half time there were golden opportunities at either end. Ben Connelly went on a mazy run and squared for Brett Caiger who had the goal at his mercy but somehow managed to hit the bar from 6 yards out - a miss reminiscent of Sam Bell away at Loxwood. At the other end, the Storrington striker missed the target after being gifted the ball by an under hit pass from Olly in goal.

HT - Storrington 0-0 Lingfield

The second half started in similar fashion but it was Lingfield who broke the deadlock. Jamie Bakhit, who had come off the bench in the first half, picked up the ball from a throw in, he ghosted into the penalty area before sliding a pass to George Gomez who placed the ball calmly past the on-rushing goalkeeper. Great link up between two lads who were called up from the reserves & also the first sign of some managerial magic as it was the two substitutes who combined.

From then on in, the Lingers looked pretty comfortable, there was some good handling from Olly to relieve pressure and a couple of saves but we never really looked under threat. There were chances galore on the break and in all honesty Ben & George will both feel aggrieved to have not added to the scoreline with an abundance of opportunities.

MOM Charlie Dodd
By David Heaton

The game finished 1-0 and it was a deserved victory. All the lads worked hard for one another and ground out the win.

There is a gap in the fixture list this Saturday (18th) before we return to The Lair the following week (25th) for a fixture against Seaford.