In-form Bexhill hit rivals for six

Wayne Giles scored Bexhill United's first two goals in the 6-1 win away to Oakwood

Wayne Giles and Jack McLean scored twice each, and there was one apiece for Gordon Cuddington and Jamie Bunn as the Pirates won 6-1 away to Oakwood.

It was the fifth time Bexhill have scored six or more goals in a game already this season and the fourth time in Southern Combination League Division One.

Bexhill manager Ryan Light said: “We didn’t have it all our own way from the start. We had to dig in and roll our sleeves up before we could impose our style of play on them and I thought we did that in a really professional way.”

* Four-star win lifts Bexhill into top twoAlthough Bexhill were convincing winners in the end, Light admitted Oakwood were much the better side for the opening 10 minutes. Bexhill struggled to get possession and a foothold in the game early on as Oakwood stifled them somewhat.

But things changed after Bexhill opened the scoring. Giles nicked the ball off an Oakwood defender in his own penalty area and poked it under the goalkeeper as he came out.

Bexhill settled down and started to move the ball nicely only for Oakwood to equalise from their first corner. After a downward header bounced up against the crossbar, Harri Nourse stabbed the rebound through a crowd of Bexhill bodies and the ball squirmed in.

Within 20 seconds of the restart, however, Bexhill were back in front. They worked the ball out to McLean on the right and he beat his man before drilling it across for Giles to finish under the goalkeeper.

Bexhill were more like their usual selves kicking down the slope in the second half, fashioning chance after chance.

Their third goal was probably the pick of the bunch. At the end of a well-worked move, McLean had the option of finding Jack Shonk to his left but chose to go for goal and fired into the top corner from the edge of the box.

It then really became a case of how many Bexhill would score. They went 4-1 up with a trademark goal from McLean, who ghosted past a defender, cut in and finished into the far bottom corner.

Gordon Cuddington made it 5-1 with his first goal of the season. The substitute had options right and left, but opted to shoot from the edge of the box and beat the diving goalkeeper with an effort which had little power but plenty of accuracy.

Bexhill wrapped up the scoring when an inswinging corner was half cleared to around the penalty spot and Bunn smashed the ball through a crowd of bodies into the net.

There were a number of other chances besides the goals. Several of them fell to McLean, who couldn’t quite complete his hat-trick, and Sammy Bunn unsuccessfully tried to round the goalkeeper when through one-on-one.

Bexhill: Rose; Lopez, McGuigan, McFarlane, Ottley (Cuddington); Holden, J. Bunn, S. Bunn; Shonk, Giles (Greenall), McLean.

Southern Combination League Division One top half standings (played 11 matches unless stated): 1 AFC Varndeanians 31pts (+24 goal difference), 2 BEXHILL UNITED 25 (+32), 3 Steyning Town (10) 24 (+17), 4 Alfold 23 (+16), 5 Wick (10) 21 (+6), 6 Seaford Town 21 (+3), 7 Hailsham Town 20 (+15), 8 Selsey 18 (+5), 9 Littlehampton Town 16 (-4).