Tuesday night was another stay local evening and a visit to my former club Wick FC in Sussex. The Dragons have already secured a play off place in the Southern Combination Division One for the second season running.
Their visitors were local rivals East Preston, one place off the bottom having been stuck in the final three places for a majority of the campaign and still in danger of relegation to Division Two.
With the weather having played a huge part in previous attempts to play, a Tuesday with sunshine in the county is a big rarity although by kick off time a cold wind replaced the glorious warm stuff.
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With Dave Crouch and Josh Irish the Dragons frontmen, there was plenty of danger heading towards the EP goal while at the other end the return of Ryan Barratt in the last few weeks has seen the Crabtree Park side tighten up at the back.
The first half contained a fair few chances for both sides, but neither managed to work the goalkeepers often enough, a few misplaced passes across the park despite the dry surface.
EP’s best outlet was in behind down the left wing, a few times escaping the attentions of the home defenders only to either shoot high and wide or not really testing Keelan Belcher.
The second half followed a similar pattern, both sides sharing the possession and plenty of counter attacking football but once again both keepers were underworked.
Dragons boss Lee Baldwin made a couple of good substitutions to try and inject some quality into the game and find a way to notch a winner. And that goal did come four minutes from time.
A Harry Williams free kick beautifully put into the area picking out an unmarked George Bingham who headed gracefully past the keeper with time running out.
With so few minutes left on the clock there wasn’t much time for the visitors to hit back, although Dragons keeper Belcher pulled off a superb save to ensure the clean sheet remained and the points in the bank for Wick.
A scrappy affair which most local derbies are, but this one certainly wasn’t without chances, just so few hit the target throughout the course of the game.
Despite already clinching their play off place, Dragons boss Lee Baldwin will be happy to have clinched the three points any way possible at this stage of the season.
With two games left it’s between Seaford Town and the Dragons for number one spot and home advantage all the way through the play offs, Worthing Utd are also confirmed inside the four and the final place between Selsey, Arundel, and Chessington & Hook.
For East Preston with one game remaining they could finish bottom still, four points in front of Oakwood but two games in hand, a disappointing season for the Lashmar outfit and they will hope to survive by the skin of their teeth.
