With the Isthmian League kicking off after everyone else I had the opportunity to be able to watch Littlehampton Town write more pages to their recent history. After winning a treble last year and with it promotion to Step 4 for the first time in their history Tuesday night was a chance to add some more to the annuals.
After Saturday’s opening day win over Faversham there was belief they could follow it up with victory over Sussex rivals Whitehawk at The Sportsfield. The visitors are well versed in Step 4 football and having signed a few over the summer from higher level Horsham and with Shaun Saunders at the helm there is hope they will be competing at the top end of the table.
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I was joined by Steve Watson and Lee Robson, the latter chairman of Wroxham FC who also were promoted to Step 4 over the summer into the North Division of the same league, who whilst working down here during the week took the opportunity to take in some Sussex football.
On an evening where the temperature was a lot milder than previously had been it was Whitehawk who applied the early pressure and with a few niggly fouls conceded by Littlehampton it was from there at Charlie Harris gave the visitors the lead, a superbly struck free kick that James Binfield couldn’t keep out.
Just prior to the goal the referee dished out a couple of yellow cards, two of about seven during the game, skirmishes and what I would call experience Whitehawk were leaning on to gain an advantage.
New signing Scott Faber thought he had brought the Golds level just two minutes after Harris’ strike, but a wonderful top corner save from Luke Glover kept the Hawks in front. Town seemed a little blunted up front without last season’s leading scorer Joe Benn and pace ace Lucas Pattenden, but with George Gaskin leading the line there is every chance of a goal.
His best chance came just after the half hour mark but his effort tamely ended up in the hands of Glover. Five minutes later Hawks nearly stole a second goal but Scott Packer was in the right place to clear off the line, the visitors however with the half time lead.
The second half was far more of a pedestrian pace with the home side prodding and probing while the visitors just took the sting out of everything and despite a fair amount of set pieces Littlehampton really struggled to create chances to worry Glover. Mitch Hand sacrificed both full backs during the course of the half to try and find a way back into the match but to no avail and the historic evening ended in defeat in front a superb attendance of 539.
Certainly, a frustrating night if you were a home supporter and for Mitch and George too, but each game is a lesson in how to play this level, teams will be a lot cuter in how they do things and it’s something Town will need to get on board with quickly.
Winning free kicks, taking the sting and the heat out of certain moments is all part and parcel the higher you go up the pyramid, things are more savvy and the more games they play the easier it will become.
There are a few key players missing who played in the successful team of last year and they were noticeable during the game, new signings still to get a measure of how they fit in but it’s very much early days with only two games played, a long way to go yet this season.
A couple of unsavoury incidents were reported afterwards across social media, not for me to comment upon until the alleged allegations have been investigated and a result either way is arrived at, both clubs appear to be doing their bit to get to the bottom of the matter, however.
