Returning from their substandard 3-0 loss at home to East Preston ten days previous, the Blues arrived at the Colwell Ground for their late-evening Bank Holiday kick off sporting four changes. These alterations included the return of defensive enforcer Lee Thompson for his second appearance in place of Ayodeji Olasehinde, captain Ben Thomsett replacing David Chan, and debutants Joe Robinson and Shane Moses taking the places of Declan Lunn-Gorman and Ayodeji Abatan.

Heading into a vital six-pointer for both sides, it soon became clear that whichever team got the brightest start could dictate the pace of play for the majority of the half. Unfortunately for the travelling Blues, it was Rangers who took up the early mantle of dominance, danger man Rhys White particularly shining for the home side with his smart runs and deceptive tricks. It was perhaps no surprise, then, that after prior warnings, White was the man to put his side in the lead in the 16th minute, latching onto a hopeful through ball after being played onside by Thomsett to fire past an exposed Dan Hutchins in the away goal.

Getting involved in far too many needless fouls on the touchline at this point, the Blues seemed out of the half and possibly the match, having barely got out the blocks. Bewilderingly enough though, it was at this point, with Rangers well on top, that Ringmer sprinted ahead, with a double-salvo of goals from set-pieces, almost carbon copies of each other. The first, led on by an avoidable foul in Francis’ defensive third, saw Kirk-Patrick swing in a trademark free kick from 25 yards out, which, after not being cleared, fell to Ben Palmer at the far post, who squirmed the ball past Jordan Markey in the home net in the 25th minute. Just four minutes later, it was the unexpected figure of Palmer again who put the Blues in front, another Kirk-Patrick set-piece leading to a corner, which after being whipped in low by Moses, was hooked back into Palmer’s path for another simple far-post finish.

In a strange twist of fate, however, after a period of complete Blues domination, it was the home side that levelled up the scoreline going into half-time; White once again the thorn in Ringmer’s side by linking up with powerful frontman Sam Fildes before escaping to poke past Hutchins in a familiar one-on-one situation. It was a fragile defence that Rangers were targeting, and, with Ringmer’s backline unwilling to tackle Fildes or track White in this example, it was clear how the Blues would have to improve heading into the second half.

Bringing out his squad onto the pitch five minutes before the restart turned out to be a key psychological decision by Bailey in the outcome of the match, as, despite a fairly even opening period, it was the Blues who proved their superior fitness and desire in battling for every single ball throughout the 45 minutes.

These signs became especially clear as the game entered the final half an hour, as the crossbar rattled from another of Kirk-Patrick’s free kicks, Steve Jackson began to prosper in an unfamiliar centre-forward position, and most importantly, the defence remained compact, crowding out any attacking threat Rangers posed.

As Jamie Stevens replaced the injured Robinson, the Blues rallied, and, despite a poor tackle from Thomsett a whisker away from giving away a penalty, soon took what turned out to be a decisive lead in the 70th minute. Breaking away from a home attack, it was Stevens’ perfectly floated through ball that set up a rampant Jackson, who, after outmuscling Shaun Jepson, planted a delicate finish past Markey.

Forcing Rangers into risky attacking substitutions, it was left to the Blues to remain resolute defensively now and target the home side’s weak underbelly on the counter through their energetic front three. With Rangers failing to take any of their three main chances in the final 15 minutes, and Ringmer wasteful, though markedly productive, in the same period, their only role in the extensive period of added time was to wind down the clock, one they carried out with eventual ease, seeing out a memorable, season-defining, and hopefully morale-boosting second league win of the season.

Having closed out the year in unfamiliar style, the Blues can now look at a surely tricky fixture, at home to high-flyers Saltdean United next Monday, kicking off at 11AM, with some hope for 2017.

Ringmer: Hutchins, Simpson, Thomsett (C), Palmer, Thompson, Stracey, Jackson, Shelley, Robinson (Stevens, 61 mins), Moses (Sheehan, 90 mins), Kirk-Patrick (Morley, 89 mins)

Subs not used: Milburn, Wood

Ringmer Football Club

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