Hastings Hit the Summit as Crows Soar in the Cup
By Dougie
Dugout AI round-up reporter · Isthmian League South East round-up · Saturday 22 August 2026
Sussex football had plenty to shout about in the Isthmian South East on Saturday as Hastings United powered to the top of the table, Broadbridge Heath smashed four at home and Crowborough Athletic continued an increasingly interesting FA Cup adventure.
It wasn’t quite such a happy afternoon everywhere.
Peacehaven & Telscombe were dumped out of the FA Cup by divisional rivals Margate, Eastbourne Town suffered a heavy Cup defeat at Erith Town and newly-promoted Steyning Town remain without a point after losing at Merstham.
Unlike a normal league Saturday, the programme was split because the FA Cup Preliminary Round was scheduled for 22 August. That left only three South East league fixtures taking place, while many of the division’s clubs attempted to progress towards First Round Qualifying.
For Dugout News, though, the headline is difficult to miss.
Hastings United are top of the Isthmian South East.
Three games. Three wins. Nine points.
Not a bad way to announce your intentions.
HASTINGS MAKE IT THREE FROM THREE
ASHFORD UNITED 1 HASTINGS UNITED 3
Hastings United’s relegation from the Isthmian Premier last season could have gone one of two ways.
There could have been a hangover, a loss of confidence and a period of adjustment to life back at Step Four.
Instead, Hastings have started like a club that intends its stay in the South East Division to be a short one.
Saturday’s 3-1 victory at Ashford United made it three consecutive league wins and took Hastings clear at the summit with nine points from nine.
They had already defeated AFC Croydon Athletic 2-1 on the opening weekend before travelling along the Sussex coast and beating Eastbourne Town 2-0 on Tuesday evening.
At Ashford they were at it again.
1 Hastings established a 2-0 half-time lead before eventually completing a commanding 3-1 victory.
With three games played, they have scored seven goals and conceded only twice.
That is the sort of start every manager wants.
There was certainly pressure on new boss Ronnie Dolan when he took charge during the summer.
Hastings are a club with a large support base for this level and expectations will understandably be high after dropping down from the Premier Division.
So far, the response has been emphatic.
Hastings opened with goals from Knory Scott Erskine and Jack Walsh in the 2-1 win against AFC Croydon. Then came Tuesday’s Sussex derby at Eastbourne Town, where Kesna Clarke struck in the 39th minute before Dolan added the second in the 79th.
Saturday made it seven league goals already and, perhaps more importantly, another three points away from home.
It should also be remembered that Hastings suffered an early FA Cup disappointment when Kingstonian knocked them out 4-1 in the Extra Preliminary Round.
That could have disrupted their opening month.
Instead, league football has provided the perfect response.
Right now the table reads beautifully for the U’s: P3 W3 D0 L0 GF7 GA2 GD+5 PTS9.
Sittingbourne and Margate sit immediately behind them on seven points, but Hastings are the only South East side still boasting a 100 per cent league record after Saturday’s matches.
Nobody wins a league in August.
But you can certainly tell the rest of the division that you mean business.
Hastings have done exactly that.
BEARS BITE BACK WITH FOUR
BROADBRIDGE HEATH 4 HORLEY TOWN 1
Another Sussex club with every reason to enjoy Saturday evening was Broadbridge Heath.
2 The Bears produced their best result of the young campaign by beating Horley Town 4-1 at the Air Engineering Stadium.
It was their first league victory of the season and extended their unbeaten start in South East league competition.
Broadbridge had opened their league programme on Tuesday with a lively 2-2 draw against South Park, with Mason Doughty and Ben Royall putting the Bears 2-0 ahead before the visitors fought back through Bradley Wilson and Jerry O’Sullivan.
This time there was no comeback.
Four goals, three points and an emphatic first win.
It takes Broadbridge Heath onto four points from their opening two league matches, with six scored and three conceded. That puts them right among the early group behind the leading sides.
There is an interesting story developing at Broadbridge.
Their FA Cup campaign was ended before the league season really got going, with AFC Greenwich Borough winning 1-0 at Broadbridge in the Extra Preliminary Round, and South Park then knocked them out of the FA Trophy.
Cup competitions have therefore been unkind.
The league has been different.
A draw followed by a four-goal victory is a very respectable beginning, particularly in a division containing several clubs with serious promotion ambitions.
Horley, meanwhile, are finding Step Four extremely difficult.
Saturday was their third successive league defeat and leaves them at the bottom end of the table. For Broadbridge Heath, it was exactly the sort of fixture you need to win if you want to establish yourself in the top half.
They didn’t scrape it.
They won 4-1.
That will give Chris Simmons and his players real confidence.
3 CROWS KEEP FLYING IN THE FA CUP
EPSOM & EWELL 0 CROWBOROUGH ATHLETIC 3
If there was a Sussex performance to rival Hastings for result of the day, it came from Crowborough Athletic.
The Crows travelled to face Epsom & Ewell and returned with an excellent 3-0 victory, booking their place in the FA Cup First Qualifying Round.
It continues a superb start to their Cup campaign.
Crowborough had already travelled all the way to Guernsey in the Extra Preliminary Round and returned with a remarkable 5-0 victory. The Isthmian League highlighted that result as one of the standout wins from the opening round.
Now they have followed five away goals with another three away goals.
Eight scored.
None conceded.
Two FA Cup ties won on the road.
That is impressive.
The league campaign has been a little more mixed.
Crowborough lost 2-1 at Margate on the opening weekend despite a goal from Samuel-Smikle, but they responded on Tuesday by beating fellow Sussex club Steyning 1-0 through a 21st-minute Duncan strike.
Saturday therefore makes it two competitive wins in succession.
For a club adjusting to Isthmian football, a Cup run can be incredibly valuable. It generates belief, interest and, importantly at this level, additional prize money and another potentially attractive fixture.
Crowborough are beginning to look very comfortable with the step up.
And anyone drawing the Crows in the next round might want to avoid assuming that newly-promoted means inexperienced.
They are proving otherwise.
4 PEACEHAVEN’S FAST START HITS A CUP WALL
PEACEHAVEN & TELSCOMBE 1 MARGATE 4
Peacehaven have been one of the most entertaining teams in the South East during the opening fortnight.
Saturday, however, belonged to Margate.
The Tye was hoping for another memorable Cup afternoon after Peacehaven had beaten Horsham YMCA 2-1 in the Extra Preliminary Round. Instead, divisional rivals Margate ran out 4-1 winners and ended the Sussex side’s FA Cup campaign.
Peacehaven’s progression from the previous round had followed that 2-1 success at Horsham YMCA.
It is a disappointing result, but it should not overshadow how impressive Peacehaven’s league return has been.
Their opening South East match was spectacular.
PEACEHAVEN 4 WHITSTABLE TOWN 0
Connor Tighe scored twice inside the opening 12 minutes, including one from the penalty spot, before Parker made it three on the half-hour and Edwards completed the scoring late on.
Then came one of the craziest matches of the season so far.
Peacehaven travelled to Merstham on Wednesday and raced into a 3-0 lead through Cal Edwards and another Tighe double.
Game over?
Not remotely.
Merstham scored in the 67th, 69th and 90th minutes to somehow rescue a 3-3 draw.
That means Peacehaven have four points from two league matches, scoring seven goals in the process.
Saturday’s Cup defeat hurts, particularly at home, but there remains plenty to be optimistic about.
And Tuesday brings a very interesting fixture: Eastbourne Town v Peacehaven & Telscombe.
Two Sussex clubs coming off disappointing FA Cup defeats.
That should have a bit of edge to it.
5 EASTBOURNE TOWN BOW OUT
ERITH TOWN 3 EASTBOURNE TOWN 0
Eastbourne Town also saw their FA Cup campaign ended on Saturday as fellow South East side Erith Town won 3-0.
It was Town’s second successive defeat without scoring following Tuesday’s 2-0 home loss against Hastings.
Their season had started more positively.
Eastbourne progressed through the Extra Preliminary Round by beating AFC Varndeanians 3-1, before earning a 1-1 league draw at Punjab United. Rogers put Eastbourne ahead in that match before Punjab equalised through Brian Edwards with ten minutes remaining.
Since then it has been tougher.
Hastings won at the Saffrons and now Erith have ended the Cup run.
One point from the opening two league fixtures leaves Eastbourne towards the lower end of an admittedly very early table.
That makes Tuesday’s Sussex meeting with Peacehaven even more intriguing.
A win changes the entire mood.
August football can be like that.
STEYNING STILL SEARCHING FOR FIRST POINTS
MERSTHAM 3 STEYNING TOWN 1
The difficult start continues for newly-promoted Steyning Town.
Saturday’s 3-1 defeat at Merstham makes it three league losses from three.
There was at least one positive: Steyning finally got themselves on the scoresheet in league competition.
Their opening match ended in a 2-0 home defeat against Ashford United, with Isiaka scoring both goals for the visitors.
Then came Tuesday’s Sussex derby at Crowborough, where Duncan’s 21st-minute strike was enough to condemn Steyning to a 1-0 defeat.
Saturday brought another loss.
6 Three matches, no points, one goal scored and six conceded leaves Steyning at the foot of the early table alongside another newly-promoted side in Horley.
But context matters.
Steyning earned their place at Step Four and are now adapting to a level where mistakes are punished much more ruthlessly.
There is a long way to go.
The priority is getting that first point — or preferably that first win — and allowing the confidence from last season to reappear.
ELSEWHERE — MARGATE, SITTINGBOURNE AND SHEPPEY ADVANCE
Several of Hastings’ potential promotion rivals enjoyed productive FA Cup afternoons.
Margate’s 4-1 win at Peacehaven keeps their excellent start rolling. They already have seven league points from three matches and sit immediately behind Hastings among the early leaders.
Sittingbourne, who also have seven points, progressed with a 2-1 victory at Erith & Belvedere.
Sheppey United made light work of their trip to Rusthall, winning 3-0.
Whitstable Town also enjoyed a much-needed afternoon to celebrate by hammering Sussex side Newhaven 5-0.
Not everyone progressed.
Cray Valley Paper Mills were stunned 4-2 at home by FA Cup debutants AFC Greenwich Borough. Stefan Payne scored twice for Greenwich, who continued a remarkable maiden run in the competition. Cray Valley’s Chris Dickson scored twice, including a penalty, but the visitors deservedly advanced.
Deal Town were beaten 2-1 by Southall, while Faversham Town’s trip to Bedfont finished goalless and therefore required another meeting.
Punjab United and SE Dons also could not be separated, drawing 1-1.
AFC Croydon Athletic’s Cup tie at Sussex club Midhurst & Easebourne was moved to Sunday, meaning they were not part of Saturday’s programme.
SATURDAY’S SOUTH EAST DIVISION SCOREBOARD
LEAGUE: Ashford United 1-3 Hastings United | Broadbridge Heath 4-1 Horley Town | Merstham 3-1 Steyning Town.
7 FA CUP: Bedfont 0-0 Faversham Town | Cray Valley PM 2-4 AFC Greenwich Borough | Deal Town 1-2 Southall | Epsom & Ewell 0-3 Crowborough Athletic | Erith & Belvedere 1-2 Sittingbourne | Erith Town 3-0 Eastbourne Town | Peacehaven & Telscombe 1-4 Margate | Punjab United 1-1 SE Dons | Rusthall 0-3 Sheppey United | Whitstable Town 5-0 Newhaven.
The Preliminary Round was the scheduled FA Cup stage for Saturday 22 August, with league fixtures continuing for clubs already eliminated from the competition.
THE SUSSEX VERDICT
When you look across Sussex, one club unquestionably owns the league headline.
Hastings United.
Three matches. Three victories. Top of the table.
After relegation, that is precisely the response their supporters wanted to see.
Not far behind in terms of encouragement are Broadbridge Heath, unbeaten in their opening two league fixtures and now sitting on four points after putting four past Horley.
Crowborough Athletic might have the best Cup story of the lot. They have travelled to Guernsey and Epsom & Ewell, won both matches, scored eight goals and conceded none.
Peacehaven will be disappointed by Saturday but their league return remains hugely encouraging: four points and seven goals from two games.
For Eastbourne Town, Tuesday’s meeting with Peacehaven offers a perfect opportunity to turn the momentum back in their favour.
And for Steyning, nobody needs to tell them the start has been difficult. Three defeats is three defeats. But this is a newly-promoted club adapting to Step Four, not a season being decided in August.
So after another fascinating weekend, Sussex has the team sitting top of the Isthmian South East, another unbeaten in the league, another still flying the county flag in the FA Cup — and two Sussex derbies already waiting just around the corner.
If the first couple of weeks are anything to go by, the Isthmian South East is going to give us plenty to write about this season.
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First published in Dugout News, Issue 3, 23 August 2026. Republished here in full.
