Steyning hold off Crawley Down Gatwick in 3-2 success
Steyning Town came into the fixture looking to build on the momentum of their previous outing, where two late goals from Alex Brewer secured a dramatic three points against Forest Row. Sitting second in the table and just three points behind the leaders Haywards Heath, Steyning knew another victory would be crucial in maintaining pressure at the top of the league.
Crawley Down Gatwick, meanwhile, arrived in 14th place following a difficult result against Guernsey in the previous week, though they had recently managed to climb clear of the bottom of the table. The last meeting between the two sides had been a tight affair, with Steyning edging a narrow victory thanks to a single decisive goal, setting the stage for another closely contested encounter.
Steyning started brightly and almost took the lead inside the opening minutes when a corner created an early opportunity that was fired wide of the right post. The moment also resulted in a clash of heads that left Crawley Down goalkeeper Will Davis requiring treatment for a head injury, though he was able to continue after a brief stoppage.
The early exchanges were fairly even, but Steyning gradually began to assert themselves, showing greater attacking intent while finding it difficult to break through Crawley’s disciplined defensive line. In the 17th minute, Harry Heath came close to opening the scoring, narrowly placing his effort wide of the left post. Heath was soon involved again five minutes later when a well-delivered ball from captain Dion Jarvis found him in space, but his effort again drifted wide.
Steyning continued to build pressure and in the 24th minute Heath forced two saves in quick succession from Davis before the ball eventually ran out for a goal kick. The breakthrough finally arrived two minutes later when a Steyning corner caused problems in the Crawley box, allowing Marcus Allen to finish and give the hosts a deserved 1–0 lead.
The hosts pushed for a second before the interval. Heath saw another attempt sail over the bar in the 29th minute, while Jarvis thought he had doubled the advantage in the 34th minute only for the effort to be ruled out for offside. Despite Crawley’s defence holding firm, Steyning remained the more threatening side and continued to search for another goal.
Deep into stoppage time, Finn Daniel-Yeomans had one final opportunity for Steyning, but his effort went out for a goal kick. The half ended with Steyning holding a narrow 1–0 advantage after a period in which they had largely controlled proceedings but were unable to extend their lead.
Steyning began the second half with the same attacking intent that had defined much of the opening period. Within two minutes of the restart, both Harry Heath and Callum Dowdell tested the Crawley defence with efforts on goal. Moments later, Marcus Allen came close to doubling the lead when his shot struck the post and bounced away.
The hosts did not have to wait long for a second goal. In the 50th minute, Alex Brewer found the net to extend Steyning’s advantage to 2–0. Steyning continued to press forward, with Allen sending another effort wide from a corner in the 55th minute before Dion Jarvis played Brewer through three minutes later, only for Crawley goalkeeper Will Davis to make the save.
Brewer soon had his second of the afternoon, however, as he struck again in the 61st minute to put Steyning firmly in control at 3–0. Despite the scoreline, the match remained competitive, with both teams finding it difficult to consistently break through each other’s defensive lines.
Crawley Down Gatwick pulled a goal back in the 74th minute when Tariq Vincent was played through on goal and calmly slotted the ball past Mitch Bromage to the left. Steyning looked to restore their three-goal cushion soon after, with Evan Hoarty delivering a dangerous ball into the box that was cleared by the Crawley defence.
Further chances followed, with Jared Rance going close in the 83rd minute as Steyning searched for a fourth goal. However, the visitors set up a tense finish in the closing moments when a cross in the 89th minute was turned home to make it 3–2.
The drama continued deep into stoppage time when Steyning captain Dion Jarvis was shown a red card for something he said in the 90+3rd minute, leaving the hosts to see out the final moments with ten men. Despite the late pressure, Steyning held on to secure a hard-fought 3–2 victory.
PotM: Alex Brewer – with Kayleigh from our MatchDay team.
