Bexhill Utd picked up their first three points of the season on Monday evening, following up their 0-0 draw at the weekend with victory over AFC Varndeanians.
Played at Newhaven FC’s Fort Road ground, the Pirates were pretty much at full strength as young Theo Coombs and Max Hollobone returned to the starting line up just 48 hours after the opening game of the campaign.
Coombs and Ryan Moir were soon at it using their pace to good effect down the flanks with Kyle Holden dictating play in the middle of the park.
The first 15 minutes were all Bexhill but Varndeanians are a well drilled outfit and snuffed out any early attacks and soon getting themselves into the game.
After a couple of warning shots with a brilliant one on one save from Stef Akras it was the Brighton-based outfit who took the lead on 25 minutes, bundling the ball home with the assistant referee ruling it had crossed the line. That is how the scoreline remained going into half time.
Ten minutes into the second half a taste of the drama that was about to unfold unleashed itself. After the ball had been cleared from the Pirates penalty area and everyone was watching play upfield, the referee surprised everyone by pulling it back and awarding Varndeanians a penalty from perceived infringement off the ball, Bexhill’s Tom O’Shaugnessy dispatched to the ten minute sin bin in the resulting confusion.
A second goal for Varndeanians at that point would have been decisive, leaving Bexhill with a mountain to climb to get back on terms. The penalty was fired hard to Akras’ left but somehow his dive across clawed the ball away.
There is no doubt the save inspired the Pirates. A foul on Charlie Curran ten yards outside the box set the scene, Jack Shonk stepping up and pinged the ball like a bullet into the corner of the net to level the scores, game on.
Ten minutes later and Shonk was at it again, curling in a half volley from even further out over the keeper’s head to put the Pirates in front.
Varndeanians had seen their lead slip away since the interval but started applying some renewed pressure of their own and ten minutes from time they found some space and duly equalised, 2-2 and back to end-to-end football.
A superb ball over the top from Richie Welch found Curran in the box, upended, and the referee pointing to the spot, leaving Shonk to smash home the penalty to complete his hat-trick and the lead in Bexhill’s hands once again,
With the clock running down, Varndeanians put one last ball into the box, a speculative shot was blocked, the referee once more pointing to the spot signalling handball as the culprit.
Once again a well struck penalty, but Akras equal to it to send Bexhill back up the coast with the three points after a night of high entertainment.
Courtesy of Geoff Martin