Defeat Harsh On Hosts - Ferring vs. Westfield

Tree lined pitch at Ferring

This weekend I had intended to travel to Lowestoft to watch Kirkley and Pakefield in The Eastern Counties League but the weather forecast looked horrific and so I ditched that idea. The forecast suggested that the weather in the Brighton area looked half decent and so I headed to the coast with three or four possible games in mind. The first game I heard was definitely on was Ferring against Westfield in the third division of The Sussex County League. I visited Westfield's Parish Field for the final of The Hastings FA Cup against Sidley United a couple of seasons ago. Both teams were currently in mid table and Ferring were unbeaten in the last three league games and were looking to extend that run.  

Kick off at The Glebelands

The rain over the last couple of days has made the pitch (and the area surrounding the pitch) very heavy and it takes a short while for both sets of players to adapt. Ferring's first chance to get the ball into the area comes from a free kick but no one is able to get on to the end of the eventual pull back. Westfield then have a free kick in a decent position just outside of the area which is well saved by the Ferring keeper. Westfield come even closer when a header from another free kick is blocked on the line by a Westfield defender. They have another chance as the forward is found in space in the area but he blasts the ball over under pressure from a Ferring defender. Ferring's next chance comes as a result of a ball in to the area which is headed over the bar. The last significant chance of the half comes at the end of a great Westfield move and the eventual header is deflected just wide.

Wing action in front of the stand

There is a controversial moment in the early stages of the second half when the Ferring forward is played in on goal and the keeper rushes out of his goal and takes down the attacker. The keeper is clearly the last man but the referee only gives him a yellow card much to the dismay of the home bench. Westfield seem to be boosted by their let off and as so happens so often in these situations, they soon take the lead. The Westfield forward gets the ball in the area and he shows great control to skip round a couple of defenders before lashing a low shot past the keeper. The visitors come close to adding a second when a cross from the byline is put just wide of the near post. They do double their lead when the winger is allowed to cut inside and his low shot beats the despairing dive of the Ferring keeper. Ferring rally late on and a slip by the full back allows the forward to get in on goal and the Westfield keeper makes a decent save. They make the last few minutes nervous for Westfield when they break after winning the ball in midfield and the attacker makes no mistake when played in. The visitors however see out the nervy last few minutes to claim the three points.

Westfield corner in the first half

The closest station to Ferring is Goring-By-Sea which is served by trains from London Victoria with the journey taking about an hour and a half. The village is then a steady twenty walk away. The village is an interesting mix of buildings and if there isn't a near hurricane strength gale blowing, then it is worth walking along the beach front. In the village centre is the excellent The Tudor Close which continues the theme of interesting buildings in the village. Here there were four hand pulled ales as well as an excellent selection of lagers. The clubhouse has the usual selection of drinks and a lot of interesting historical items on the walls. While I was waiting for my train I popped into The Bulls Head which did the job.

A Ferring cross manages to elude everyone