After another busy week of transfers for Bailey, a number of recent signings either returned, in the case of Jack Troak and Matt Simpson for Adam Sparks and Lee Thompson, or made their full debuts, with Chris Geer – a substitute in last week’s thrashing to the hands of Little Common -, Ben Palmer, Tom Shelley and Ebou Jallow replacing Ayodeji Abatan, Brian Garcia, Ayodeji Olasehinde and Leroy Adebayo-Esho.

With the two sides sitting lower than pre-season expectations at this stage of the season, and having new managers in place for just under a month and a week respectively, early play was understandably restrained, as both worked out each other’s intentions. As the mid-afternoon rain started to bear down in droves, the first few chances started coming in around the quarter of an hour mark, with Geer skewing wide from the edge of the box and away captain Steve Hickman glancing his header wide from a corner. Soon after this, the Blues took an unexpected lead in the 18th minute, as the ball fell to left-back Troak on the touchline, who smashed in a dipping volley from 30 yards to hand Bailey the first finish of his four-game stint so far as boss, away goalkeeper Leigh Sherwood falling flat on his back in his attempts to claw it out.

This lead did not last long for the Blues though, as just two minutes later, danger man Nathan Crabb turned Troak to whip in a brilliantly placed cross, teeing up strike partner Paul Rogers to head in past a stationary Ryan Reid in the Ringmer goal.

After another period of end-to-end action, Langney took a decisive hold of the game, with Paul Wetherby’s close-range effort deflecting off Ben Thomsett onto the frame of the goal followed up in the 29th minute by Rogers’ second of the game, turning in the box and trickling a shot under Reid from another Crabb cross. This goal did not come without its controversy though, as referee John Walker failed to penalise Josh Elliott-Noye’s hauling down of Chris Geer, which was the catalyst for the move.

With Ringmer attempting to shut up shop for the half and go again after the break, their defensive outlook was exposed by the surprisingly pacey Rogers, who bagged his hat-trick in the 43rd minute, when doing enough for linesman Jason Storrie to judge him onside, and blasting in a half-volley from 15 yards out.

Starting the half with the superior organisation and intent, the Blues created all of the early noise, with Shelley in particular dictating play, with the Wanderers left to target the home defence on the counter. Deciding to switch up the clearly ineffective first-half tactics, Bailey soon subbed off Geer, with Ben Kirk-Patrick coming on, allowing Jallow to use his pace and power up front. This change soon proved fruitful, as the new striker rounded Sherwood when set through on goal and squared the ball to the oncoming David Chan, who hesitated in front of an open goal, allowing the away defence to recover.

With the rain truly lashing down again at this point, Langney began to take a firm grip over the match again, with tackles flying in, play becoming more stretched and the stakes rising ever more. In the 71st minute, though, drama ensued as ref Walker overruled his linesman Storrie on two occasions, firstly allowing Kirk-Patrick to win the side a corner in a very similar case to Rogers in the first half, adjudged to have beaten the offside trap, before from the resulting set-piece, Chan back-heeled in from close range after Stracey’s shot fell short, despite the linesman again flagging.

Despite confidence now flowing for a Ringmer side just one goal adrift of their nervy opponents, it seemed all was lost in the 82nd minute, as Rogers emphatically headed in from a corner. However, Walker was again called into action, as he rightfully ordered Langney to retake the corner as soon as Ringmer’s substitution, Robbie Frost returning after over a month out, which Storrie had clearly signalled for during the break of play prior to the corner, had been made. Just to compound both sides’ confusion of the unbelievable action unfolding, with just five minutes in the match to go, and with the Blues rampant but wasteful against a ragged away defence, Walker blew his whistle for the final time, deeming the ball to not be rolling on a drenched pitch, leaving the powers that be to decide whether the result stands, or if a replay will have to be arranged at a later date.

Heading with a clean slate – for now – from this week’s round of matches, the now goal-friendly Blues head next week to sixth placed Bexhill United at the Polegrove, kick off 3PM.

Ringmer: Reid, Thomsett (C), Troak, Simpson, Palmer (Norton, 64 mins), Shelley, Jackson (Frost, 83 mins), Stracey, Chan, Geer (Kirk-Patrick, 56 mins), Jallow

Subs not used: Emery

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