Saturday 28th October 2023 ko 17:45

Southern Combination Division One

SELSEY 2 (Henton 54 Morey 72)

ROFFEY 2 (Fernades 16 Joseph 20)

Fender sent off (violent conduct 50)

Att 327

Entry £6

Programme £2

The fact that it wasn’t raining between leaving Bosham and arrival at Selsey felt like a window of opportunity. We’d passed by the oddity that is Infinity at Sidlesham with many of the coach party craning to catch a glimpse of the Memorial Ground. It’s always the same whenever we pass by a ground….

You can often tell how a club is going to host by how they deal with our coach. Here it was expertly manoeuvred beside the adjacent Co-op and we were shuttled through the Pontins gate, avoiding the turnstile.

And never have I been happier to have seen a tent; this one had been erected right by the entrance, and inside veggie curry and chilli con carne were being served at a remarkable rate. I had enough time to buy two and deliver one back to the coach for Robyn, her ankle making it impossible for her to watch. Shirley the driver had some company for the evening.

I plonked myself in the clubhouse watching a cohort of groundhoppers watch the line-ups board being filled out. I could sense the lions poised to pounce as soon as it was ready. I inwardly smiled, then felt sentimental as I saw the corner devoted to Paul Hinshelwood, the former Oxford United, and Crystal Palace right-back died last year and despite Paul being born in Bristol I will always associate the family with Sussex, brother Martin played for Brighton after all! Martin’s son Danny has managed Selsey too!

There was a lot to make the evening memorable, not least as Roffey featured Ricardo Fernades, Bruno’s brother, and I can confirm that it was a lot warmer, and drier when Robyn and I watched the other sibling play! The rain hammered down as Storm Babet really hit the Sussex coast and all credit to Selsey’s ground staff as the pitch held up superbly. And boy we were glad of the cover!

The programme suggested that Roffey are the team to beat this season and so it proved, for the first half at least. The visitors raced into a two-goal lead, but what changed everything was the dismissal of Devin Fender for an elbow in the face of Thomas Blamire. Blamire couldn’t continue and Roffey spent the next ten minutes with 9 men as Fernandes was sin-binned in the resulting altercation. Selsey took full advantage and in the end were a little unfortunate not to have forced a victory.

We picked our way back to the hop base near Arundel. Robyn and I sat in the bar watching the rain hammer on the windows, and the lights flicker in the eye of the storm. I couldn’t have been the only one there to worry about what Sunday might bring.