Second half treble fires Bexhill into top six

Bexhill United Football Club produced an impressive performance to record a second successive convincing victory on Saturday.
Georges Gouet played a starring role in Bexhill United's 3-0 win away to Storrington on Saturday.Georges Gouet played a starring role in Bexhill United's 3-0 win away to Storrington on Saturday.
Georges Gouet played a starring role in Bexhill United's 3-0 win away to Storrington on Saturday.

Second half goals from Wayne Giles, Gordon Cuddington and Ryan Harffey meant Bexhill followed up their 8-0 demolition of Midhurst & Easebourne with a 3-0 win away to Storrington.

Bexhill manager Ryan Light said: “It was really good. We played some really good stuff right from the off and it was a good, professional performance. It was almost total dominance really.”

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Despite having some 14 players unavailable, Bexhill made the most of a lovely playing surface and passed the ball well throughout their latest Macron Store Southern Combination Football League Division One fixture.

Storrington got bodies behind the ball for long spells and for a while Light wondered how Bexhill were going to break them down. Bexhill were very disciplined in their play, though, and Georges Gouet and Corey Wheeler started to get quite a bit of joy out wide.

Bexhill carved out several chances during the second quarter of the match only to be let down by their decision-making at the final moment, often choosing to shoot when they could have passed and pass when they could have shot.

The only thing missing from Bexhill’s first half performance was a goal and Connor Robertson came closest with a terrific shot from 25 yards which rattled the crossbar.

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Bexhill started the second period quickly and with seemingly a bit more space for them to operate in, the chances began to come again.

They finally broke through when Wayne Giles chested a Cuddington throughball past the last defender before finishing clinically with his left foot as the goalkeeper came out. It was Giles’s fifth goal in two games.

Once Bexhill were in front, there was only going to be one outcome. They doubled their advantage when Cuddington poked home at the far post from a Harffey corner.

Bexhill came close to what would’ve been a special team goal as Robertson’s sweetly-timed shot from just inside the box at the end of a fantastic move down the right was kept out by an unbelievable save.

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Storrington’s goalkeeper pulled off another good stop to deny Giles his second of the afternoon, but Bexhill finally made it 3-0 late on. Harffey’s 25-yard free kick flicked off the head of someone in the defensive wall and looped over the goalkeeper.

The hard-working Gouet was Bexhill’s man of the match for an outstanding display up and down the right flank, but Light also praised the back three of Craig McFarlen, Lewis McGuigan and Ben Cornelius, saying ‘everything they did came off’.

Bexhill: Rose; Cornelius, McGuigan, McFarlane; Gouet, Robertson, Harffey, Cuddington, Wheeler; Barden, Giles (Stewart). Sub not used: Murphy.

Southern Combination League Division One top half (played-points): 1 LITTLE COMMON 13-34 (+42 goal difference), 2 Wick 13-34 (+33), 3 Langney Wanderers 12-28 (+25), 4 Lingfield 13-25 (+16), 5 Selsey 12-22 (+11), 6 BEXHILL UNITED 13-21 (+17), 7 Steyning Town 12-21 (+14), 8 Mile Oak 12-20 (0), 9 Hailsham Town 12-20 (-1).

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