All good things must come to an end, so they say. Hastings supporters might have hoped that their good thing would have lasted a few weeks longer, but there you go. I suppose that, technically speaking, our three match unbeaten run actually ended on Tuesday night, although I choose not to count that one, on account of the number of 'fringe' players that Steve Lovell decided to give games to. It was not surprising to read in the Observer that the decision did not meet with universal approval amongst the paying spectators at the game. The letter from Mr D Thomas, a chap I know as it happens, made a good point. Perhaps it would have been a good idea to publicise the probable line-up in advance, but to be fair to the club, the idea was mentioned on the Newsline by Tony Cosens after the Ashford game and I did mention it at the end of my report last weekend. Short of contacting every single supporter individually, what could they have done? At least Steve Lovell had the good grace and sense to acknowledge that the situation could have been handled differently.

One thing could scarcely be doubted though, and that was that we were likely to see ten more changes from the midweek line-up for the game with Newport Isle of Wight. In the end, there were just the nine though, as Tony Burt was absent once again, apparently suffering from a viral infection cause by an adverse reaction to an insect bite. I guess we can add that one to the more bizarre reasons for absenteeism amongst footballers. Burtie's misfortune meant that Graham Morris retained his place in the starting line-up, but otherwise, it was the side that had started to gel so nicely in the previous three league games, as Mitchell Sherwood made a mercifully quick recovery, having been stretchered off with an ankle injury against Ashford. Danny Ellis and Steve Graham were rewarded for their midweek efforts with places on the bench, with David Henham providing defensive cover. No place at all for the out of favour Ricky Spiller and, no less surprisingly, for Ryan Peters, who was given another reserve outing as he returns from injury. Newport have had similar problems to ourselves in the last eighteen months, having had to rebuild a more island based squad after their relegation from the Premier Division. There wasn't a massive amount of experience on show in their line-up, apart from the ageing and balding Steve Richardson, their assistant manager, who I remember playing against us for Wimborne Town in that infamous FA Vase tie back in 1992. Why do I remember him? Well, he was carried off in the second half to a chorus of "You're going home in a Sussex ambulance", which I found intensely amusing at the time. Strange, the things you remember. On the bench was Jamie O'Rourke who was in the Havant & Waterlooville side we met in our season in the Premier Division and Newport are currently managed by Steve Tate, who was in the Havant Town side that pushed us and Weymouth in our first championship year.

The match was to be the archetypal game of two halves. Hastings had much the better of the first half, before Newport dominated the second and, on balance, I would reckon that Newport deserved their win. That said, Hastings created some pretty decent early chances and might have been out of sight within the opening quarter of the game. Just two minutes in, and before I had even reached the ground, a fine move led, so I gather, to Mitchell's effort from distance being pushed over for an early corner. Mitchell saw another long range shot sail over the bar, before Carl Rook forced visiting keeper, Simon Arthur, into his best save of the match in the fourteenth minute. Carl turned well in the area and fired in a left footed shot, which Arthur just managed to block, the ball spinning just wide of the post. Carl, and Chris Honey, were proving a real handful and after Carl won a free kick by the corner of the area, Monster headed Mylie's pinpoint cross just wide. At the other end, Will Toal saved Jonathan Holmes low shot and Daniel Hatcher and Adam Barsdell both missed the target from good positions. Just before half time, Monster's accurate cross was headed wide by Carl and Mylie went down on the edge of the box, only for the referee to decide that he had not been fouled, although he obviously didn't dive either, as he wasn't booked. There were yellow cards for Kieren Startup and Newport's Barsdell and Adam Lang.

Half time arrived with no goals then, but plenty of optimism, yet all that was shattered just two minutes after the break. Glen Howes knocked the ball through the defensive line for the unmarked Ashley Wright to run on and beat Will with a left footed shot. Two minutes later, a Barsdell corner found it's way to Richardson, whose shot was smartly tipped over. Alex Perry's right wing cross was headed wide at the near post by Wright, before Hastings finally created a couple of half chances, Carl heading over after another Mylie free kick was headed across goal by Kieren and Steve Ringwood firing over from long range. The final quarter of the match was pretty much one way traffic though, with Newport extending their lead in the sixty-seventh minute when O'Rourke's cross from the right was deflected into the path of Hatcher, who shot right footed across Will and into the corner. It effectively killed the game as a contest and Newport will wonder how they failed to add to their tally before the end. Howes saw a long range effort saved. Wright ran on to Hatcher's flick and shot early and just wide. The same player probably ought to have won a penalty, when he appeared to be shoved from behind as he attempted to connect with Hatcher's low cross. Howes became the fourth player to be yellow carded for a poor tackle on Steve Graham, but nearly created a third goal, when his long range shot was only parried by Will into the path of Wright, but somehow Will recovered to block Wright's effort at point blank range, possibly with his head. After Tuesday's problems, it was good to see Will making some decent saves and he certainly couldn't be faulted for either Newport goal.

Shortly after that great save, it was all over. It was hard to understand why things had gone so horribly wrong after a good first half display. At the back, Burtie's absence was sorely felt, as it was down at Eastleigh a few weeks ago. Kieren had an excellent game, making several important tackles, in the second half especially, despite being on a yellow card, but the cohesion of the last three games was lacking and with Mark Green's loan spell nearly up, it is going to be important for Graham Morris, or someone else, to step quickly and seamlessly into the line-up. Perhaps a good run in the team will do him good. It can't be easy just knowing that you're a back-up, after all. Going forward, we just seemed to run out of steam in the second half and there were occasions when we tried to over-complicate things a bit, rather than just having a shot. It was noticeable also, that Mylie was pulling all the strings, but in the end, everything was being channelled through him and he looked to be absolutely knackered. He will undoubtedly benefit from Ryan Peters' return and that will give us two naturally gifted playmakers in the centre of midfield. It may have been a real coincidence, but I thought that things took a tangible downturn when Mitchell was replaced midway through the second half, presumably so as not to over-exert his suspect ankle. He was having one of his better games I thought and his replacement, Steve Hafner, is surely wasted out on the left wing. Not sure where his best position would be to be honest, but he is another very gifted young player, just not wide on the left. There could be some rather interesting selection dilemmas ahead for Steve Lovell, with Peter Taylor nearing fitness as well, giving us a better left sided option, but I am sure that all managers would prefer to have too many players to choose from, rather than not enough.

I have been to many away games in my time. I have probably not attended as many as some, and I have never yet counted the number of different grounds that I have visited, but it must be around fifty or so. Usually, if I am forced to miss an away game, especially one that is not too far away, I am like that proverbial bear with the sore head until I have learnt the score and I am liable to sulking dreadfully if the result is favourable. My disappointment is often tempered somewhat, if I discover that we have lost, but I would always rather be there, than not. On Tuesday evening, when Tony Cosens telephoned me with the score from Fleet, I was a little concerned that my first thought was that I was bloody glad that I hadn't gone all that way for nothing. Maybe it was the fact that I simply had no chance of being at the game and, therefore, didn't feel any sense of loss. But maybe not eh?

Tony's comments to me, and those on the Newsline, very much painted a picture of our worst display of the season. To lose 3-0 is scarcely a positive thing. To do so against a poor side, who started the game below us in the table and without a home win, is rather worse. Perhaps though, it would help to put things into perspective a little. Hastings were once again without skipper Tony Burt, who had failed to recover from his viral infection. Chris Honey and Graham Morris were both absent, as they had attended funerals and were unable to get to the game on time. Mark Green's loan spell from Gillingham had come to an end and attempts to keep hold of him for at least one more game had failed. That would have left Kieren Startup as our only regular first choice defender and, although I have no idea how we actually lined up as I write this, I would imagine that David Henham would have started the game, along with one other, Simon Stickney maybe. Monster's absence would not exactly have left us short of attacking options (Hafner, Graham, Hayhoe, etc), but it would have left us almost devoid of experience, with only Mylie having played more than two dozen games for the club. Hardly ideal preparation for a big relegation battle then.

By all accounts, the opening fifteen minutes passed without much incident and Hastings in reasonable control of things. On eighteen minutes, a free kick from the right, by Craig Anstey reached the far post and the unmarked Ian Saunders headed past Will from close range. Nine minutes later, Shea Saunders ran onto Jamie Proctor's pass and chipped Will for an excellent second and the writing was already on the wall. Things did improve after the break and Hastings enjoyed considerably more possession, with ever threatening to get back into the game. Twenty minutes from the end, Craig Leworthy beat a couple of defenders, before rounding Will, who brought him down, but Leworthy had the presence of mind to stab the ball over the line, to prevent the referee from having to give a penalty and maybe send Will off. Late on, Mylie's free kick brought a first save of note from the home keeper, but 3-0 was a perfectly fair reflection on the game as a whole, Fleet hitting the post and missing several other presentable chances.

The win took Fleet above us in the table and dropped us down to eighteenth. Whereas a couple of weeks ago, we had games in hand on everyone around us, we have now played a game more than three of the four sides below us. Still early days though, and a nice easy one at King's Lynn on Saturday! Just the one other league game this midweek and it gave Histon an opportunity to catch up with one of their games in hand on the other leading sides. They used it well, winning 3-1 at Sittingbourne, moving back up into second, just the fourteen points behind Tonbridge now. Newport IoW followed up their win at the Pilot Field with a 3-2 league cup win over Hillsborough bound Salisbury City to set up a second round trip to Eastleigh. Folkestone's reward for squeezing past us last week is a home tie with Fisher Athletic, by the way.

Just the fifty-one weeks ago, it was FA Cup first round day and 700 or so Hastings 'fans' made that trip to Broadhall Way in Stevenage. The day was truly memorable and was only really spoilt by the result, the two red cards and the miserable run that followed, ending up with relegation, of course. I mention it only because Saturday was FA Cup first round day and to emphasise how far we have fallen, off we went to King's Lynn for an Eastern Division game, which we started in eighteenth place. When I say, 'we', I mean it in the royal sense, as I was not tempted to defy the wife's orders by making the journey myself and went to watch the reserves instead, more of which later. For the third game running, Steve Lovell was denied the services of Tony Burt, still suffering with that mysterious virus, although he did go to the game apparently. Jimmy Elford was at the Pilot Field, watching the reserves, having failed to recover from an injury he picked up at Fleet. Steve Hafner and Ryan Peters were both playing for the reserves, as was Joe Heasmer, dropped after the Fleet game. Danny Ellis, suffering from flu, and Steve Graham were missing altogether, but Chris Honey was back to partner Carl Rook up front. David Henham got the nod over Graham Morris at the back with Steve Sands in to replace Jimmy down the right. Ricky Spiller was back on the bench again and Dominic Crittenden must have won the midweek reserve lottery to win the other place amongst the subs.

If Roger Sinden's Arrow FM report was anything to go by, the lads gave a considerably better account of themselves than up at Fleet on Tuesday and Tony Cosens on the old Newsline described the performance as maybe the best of the season so far, praise indeed after some of his recent comments. King's Lynn are going to be there or thereabouts when promotion time comes around in May and I was not expecting us to be able to compete with them at their place. In the early stages, perhaps, we didn't. Malcolm Ndekwe had already been denied by one excellent save by Will when he put the home side 1-0 up after eighteen minutes, clipping in a shot off a post. We rode our luck after that for a bit, might have conceded a penalty, but drew level seven minutes before half time, when Russell Eldridge scored his first senior goal for the club, direct from a twenty yard free kick.

Three minutes after the break, King's Lynn were given a dubious penalty when Ndekwe was adjudged to have been fouled, but Will produced a splendid save to keep out Carl Holmes' spot kick. An inspired double substitution on the hour mark proved to be decisive moment in the game, as both players introduced went on to score to put the game just about out of our reach. Richard Woodrow restoring the home side's lead after sixty-nine minutes and Chris Bacon scoring from a tight angle four minutes later. Almost immediately, Mitchell Sherwood robbed Mark Camm of possession and advanced to score his second goal of the season and King's Lynn had to endure a nervy final quarter of an hour, before Holmes atoned for his penalty miss when he scored on the break four minutes into stoppage time. A decent effort from the lads then, although a not unexpected defeat. A word on the attendance, which, at 680, was more than twice the Pilot Field average thus far, but the third lowest at The Walks Stadium this season. How nice it must have been for our lads to see a crowd.

Anyone getting the impression that we aren't particularly interested in Cup success this season? Having exited the two F.A. competitions at the first hurdle and then sending the reserves out as lambs to the slaughter in the League Cup, I really was expecting Steve Lovell to take the Sussex Senior Cup seriously, to play his strongest available side, as he had informed club officials he would, if only to ensure that our season does not become a long battle to attain mid-table mediocrity. But no, as I entered the ground on Tuesday, I was greeted by one disgruntled steward, bemoaning the decision to field a second string eleven once again and I must confess that as I left, two and a half hours later, even I was wishing that I had stayed at home instead. To be fair, the starting line-up contained only two players making their senior debuts, but there were no fewer than nine changes from Saturday's visit to King's Lynn and it showed in a desperately poor performance, given the strength of the opposition. At least it only cost £5 to get in, although that probably wasn't consolation enough to most of the 128 in attendance.

Russell Eldridge and Steve Sands were the two players retained from the weekend. There was a first start for young reserve goalkeeper, Sam Harris-Green and striker, Ian Young, fresh from his two goal reserve debut on Saturday, after which I succeeded in christening him John, by mistake. Tony Burt made a welcome return from illness and he, Russell and Simon Stickney formed the three man defence. Steve Sands started on the right with sixteen year old Dominic Cruttenden on the left. The midfield trio of Steve Hafner, Ricky Spiller and Joe Cornwall should have had more than enough quality to unlock the door for Ian, who was paired with Ryan Peters up front. Sadly, Ian limped off after half an hour, to be replaced by Aaron Lidster, which caused a reshuffle, with Dominic going up front to accommodate Aaron on the left. Midway through the second half, David Henham replaced the less than pleased, Joe Cornwall, and the formation proceeded to change at regular intervals thereafter, with Dominic, Ryan, Aaron and Steve Hafner continually swapping places. Needless to say, no amount of reorganising was to ultimately prove successful.

Having said all that, there can surely be little doubt that the side that did play, should still have been of sufficient quality to beat the third or fourth best side in Eastbourne, who play in the second division of the County League and represent the merger of Eastbourne United and Shinewater Association, which took place in the Summer. And so it appeared for the majority of the first half, which Hastings dominated. Ricky, Steve Sands, Dominic and Ryan all missed presentable chances, before Burtie put Hastings in front after twenty-three minutes. Ricky's inswinging cross from the left ran through to Ryan, who thumped a tremendous volley onto the underside of the bar, with Burtie nodding in the rebound for his first goal of the season. Ryan and Dominic missed further chances and Eastbourne then stole an equaliser in first half stoppage time when Sam failed to come and collect Steve Prodger's deep cross from the left and Mark Warren shot into the roof of the net.

The second half was pretty dull and even for about half an hour, although Ryan was denied by an excellent low save by Dave Browning. A long range effort from Scott McDonald then stirred Hastings into life and in the closing stages, Aaron, Steve Hafner, Ricky and Simon all came close to grabbing a winner.

The prospect of extra time hardly filled me with gladness, but to be fair, tiring legs did lend themselves to slightly more entertaining fare. The visitors missed a decent chance when Burtie bravely blocked Andy Atkins close range shot and Ryan just failed to connect cleanly with Ricky's accurate cross. Two minutes after the change of ends, Aaron won possession twenty-five yards out and teed up Dominic for a splendid left foot drive across the keeper, his first senior goal, to cap a decent full senior debut. Six minutes later though, Nathan Crabb's deep cross from the right was met by a superb tumbling header from McDonald, which beat Sam's despairing dive to level for a second time. McDonald almost won it when his twenty yard shot struck the outside of a post with three minutes to go, only for Ryan to do the same at the other end thirty seconds later. All square it finished though, and it is hard to say that Eastbourne didn't deserve something from a game, in which they worked tirelessly for each other and although Hastings created a fair few chances throughout the one hundred and twenty minutes, they too often failed to trouble the keeper and paid for a couple of defensive lapses. One can only hope that Steve Lovell now decides to get the first team out to do the job properly in the replay, although something tells me that that is unlikely to happen and, in any event, perhaps Tuesday's team should be made to go out and try again, as a punishment for failing at the first attempt. Either way, the replay will take place at The Oval (Princes Park) in Channel View Road, Eastbourne, next Tuesday, 18 November, with a 7.45 kick off. I am guessing that there will not be a Supporters' Club coach running to that one, despite the promise of more extra time and penalties, with the tie having to be decided at the second time of asking.

I have never given much credence to the idea of bogey teams, despite that appalling record we had against Sittingbourne for so long. Perhaps there is something psychological going on, but the simple turnover of players over the years makes such ideas unlikely. Therefore, I am not going to start feeling that way about Folkestone either, although our recent league record against them is dreadful. We have beaten them in the FA Cup and the League Cup since we initially dropped out of the Premier Division, but I hope that I live to see the day when we next take three points off them. It'll be something to tell the grandchildren at least.

After the decision to rest the first team for Tuesday's near debacle in the Sussex Senior Cup, we had our usual clutch of changes for Saturday with Russell Eldridge the only player to feature, having played at King's Lynn and again on Tuesday. With Tony Burt not even in the country and Graham Morris out injured, David Henham linked up with Russell and Kieren Startup at the back. Injury to Steve Sands meant a return for fit-again Jimmy Elford down the right and the rest were as you might have expected. The bench looked stronger and it was especially good to see Ryan Peters back in league action. It is rather worrying to note that, according to Tony Cosens at least, we had sixteen players unavailable for Saturday's games, for a variety of reasons. That under-strength squad really has taken a battering so far and it is perhaps forgivable that Steve Lovell is trying to wrap his starting eleven in cotton wool to prevent any further mishaps. The Folkestone line-up contained two former Hastings players, Tony Kessell and Adam Flanagan, and the division's joint leading scorer, Jim Dryden, who had grabbed two of Folkestone's six in the League Cup tie at the Pilot Field, two and a half weeks previously.

The visitors created the first opening in the sixth minute, James Millar shooting straight at Will from long range. Five minutes later, Chris Honey created our first opportunity, turning his marker, but firing well wide from a difficult angle. Allan Tait and Millar, again, gave Will more catching practice, before Invicta took a twenty-first minute lead from a simple set piece. Drew Watkins took a free kick on the left, sending it deep to the far post. John Guest headed it back across goal, Will flapped at the ball unconvincingly and it bounced invitingly for Mark Munday to hook home. I should perhaps point out that Will was already struggling with a thigh strain, which he suffered while taking an early goal kick, but it would be very kind to suggest that his lack of mobility contributed to the goal. Moments later, he did extremely well to back-pedal and tip Tait's looping header over the bar, although it was clear that he was in discomfort and he was eventually forced to relinquish goal kicking duties in the second half. At the other end, Monster and Flanagan got involved in a bit of a spat. Chris then barged into Kessell, causing him to drop a cross, but Mylie's tap in was never likely to count. Another Watkins free kick found Tait's head and Will produced a fine low save and Guest's misdirected header almost ran for Mitchell Sherwood, but Kessell was quickly out to clear. Folkestone suffered a blow when Dryden was stretchered off with a serious ankle injury five minutes before half time. No firm news yet as to whether it was a break or ligament damage, but it was suffered in a seemingly innocuous challenge by the goalline, as he was crossing the ball, and hopefully, we can avoid any talk of litigation.

Early in the second half, substitute Jon Ayling's crossfield ball released Watkins down the right. Will came out to clear, but appeared to misjudge the strength of the pass and the ball ran past him, forcing him to illegally block Watkins' run. Nothing was given though, and it was the first of several non-decisions that were to frustrate the visitors. Carl Rook just failed to connect properly with Jimmy Elford's chipped pass and Mitchell's run and shot from the left was well saved by Kessell, as we tried to up the tempo. Invicta responded with a lob from Ayling, a volley from Flanagan and a cross-shot by Millar, which were all off target. A triple substitution by Steve Lovell then turned the game. Steve Hafner's long run down the right was aborted when he was upended by Scott Lindsey and, just two minutes after coming on, Ryan Peters struck a fierce shot, direct from the free kick, which beat Kessell to equalise. Will saved well from Flanagan's header and Munday glanced a header wide from the resulting corner. Mitchell's powerful run down the left was followed by a superb cross, which was just out of Carl's reach. We then suffered a very unfortunate blow, when David Henham was forced to leave the game due to injury, leaving us with ten men, having used all three subs. There were still chances being created at either end and, for a spell, we looked the more likely winners. Another long run by Haffy ended with a shot straight at Kessell, who then pulled off an outstanding low save to deny Ryan from another close range free kick. Kessell's clearance led to another moment of controversy as Ayling ran on to the long ball, Russell appeared to foul him just outside the area, but, again, nothing was given. Millar and Lindsey were both booked for dissent at that one and Munday and Guest were to join them for comments in response to other decisions as Folkestone's frustration began to boil over. They continued to create chances though. Sub Tony Hogg, Millar and Flanagan all going close, only for Watkins to show them how it should be done with just one minute of the ninety remaining. Kieren's rash challenge on Millar presented Invicta with a free kick, just outside the area and Watkins curled it over the wall and into the corner, giving Will no chance. In stoppage time, the numbers were evened when Guest received a second yellow card, after an altercation with Carl, and there was still time for Chris to glance a header wide and Ryan to curl a shot into Kessell's arms. But, in the end, it was to be a fourth league defeat on the trot and the winless run extended to six in all competitions. I was left trying to convince myself that we deserved at least a point, but the shot count of eighteen to ten in Folkestone's favour probably told the true story. How unfortunate though, that that triple substitution just before the hour mark, which had led to the equaliser and, arguably, gave us the upper hand for a few minutes, was to then backfire on us. When it rains, it pours, I suppose.

It is very hard to find the words to sum up the latest offering from our beloved Hastings. I will settle for abject, which my copy of the Collins English Dictionary defines thus; "utterly wretched or hopeless, miserable, forlorn, humiliating". Yes, I think that sums it up nicely. And let's be honest, when I start using such language, you know we must have been poor.

As I mentioned in my report at the weekend, it had been decided to field a locally based side for Tuesday's replay and a Kent based team in Wednesday's reserve game at Dover. It led to a completely disjointed effort, almost totally lacking in spirit or desire and, in the end, to a hopelessly tame, first hurdle exit from a fourth cup competition of the season. With so many players out through injury, illness and suspension, I can well understand the objective of pooling the club's thinning resources over the two midweek matches. Surely though, as the Sussex Senior Cup remains a first team competition and a reserve league game is precisely that, a reserve league game, I fail to understand the logic of fielding two mixed strength sides. The first team's rightful place is wherever the first team are due to be playing, even if that is a bumpy, windswept Princes Park, on a cold and damp Tuesday evening in November. To fail to have done so, let down the impressive number of United supporters who made the effort to go to the game and also showed a complete lack of respect for the opposition and the competition as a whole. Unless, that is, we really were trying to get eliminated from this one as early as possible, which I cannot believe.

Anyway, time to get off my soapbox and discuss what actually happened on the pitch. The Tuesday local line-up was missing Will Toal and David Henham, both injured in Saturday's defeat to Folkestone. Young Sam Harris-Green and Simon Stickney were called on to deputise. Jimmy Elford's right sided slot was taken by left footed Dominic Cruttenden, in an effort to accommodate another left footer, Joe Cornwall, in Mitchell Sherwood's position down the left flank. Danny Ellis, free from his flu bug, replaced Charlie Belcher in midfield and Scott Hayhoe came in for Carl Rook up front. That meant that five members of the regular first team were present, although they might has well not have bothered for all the good it did. The less said about the quality and experience of those on the subs bench, the better. Overseeing proceedings were the reserve team management duo, Ken Dullaway and Phil Boswell, as Steve Lovell had other things, to prepare for. Assuming the home side lined up as per the programme, they made just the one injury enforced change from last week's side, which I imagine to have been their full first choice starting eleven.

The first forty-five minutes were as bad as any half of football that I have seen in a very long time. The first decent chance didn't arrive until the 22nd minute, when Scott Hayhoe failed to get enough power on a header from Steve Ringwood's inswinging cross. Three minutes later, Nima Cham shot across the face of Sam Harris-Green's goal from the right and our only other chance of note came when Mylie headed Russell Eldridge's free kick straight at Dave Browning in the home goal. In first half stoppage time, Scott McDonald fired over from Mark Downey's cut back and Lewes Fry missed an open goal, when he missed his kick from Cham's cross. As time crawled by, a strong wind got up, blowing straight down the pitch, making good football an almost impossibility, although there hadn't been any on offer anyway. We even had to wait half an hour for a cup of coffee, as our hosts ran out of hot water, presumably due to the increased demand.

The second half began with another injury, as Hastings played with the wind behind them. Dominic Cruttenden was caught late by Steve Prodger and hopped straight to the dressing room, with ankle ligament damage. Joe Heasmer, a central defender by trade, came on to replace him on the right wing. We continued to create little of worth, but then neither did Eastbourne, although they should have had a penalty, in my opinion, when Sam came out to collect a cross field pass, didn't quite make it, and appeared to foul Mark Warren. In the 71st minute, the opening goal arrived out of nothing. Prodger's long ball fell between Simon Stickney and Kieren Startup, into the path of McDonald, who produced an inch perfect, first time, lob volley, which brushed Sam's fingers on it's way into the back of the net. Six minutes later, Andy Atkin almost wrapped it up, when he headed Prodger's corner onto a post. Hastings came back with Danny Ellis shooting over, when Joe Cornwall picked him out on the edge of the box from a corner. Either that, or it was the worst mishit corner in the history of corner taking, and I am just prepared to give Joe the benefit of the doubt. Steve Ringwood's shot from twenty yards went straight at Browning and two minutes later, it was all over bar the shouting. Prodger again tried to pick out McDonald with a long ball. Russell had a chance to clear, but only managed to knock the ball up in the air. As Sam came out, McDonald flicked the ball past him, they collided, and the referee had no option but to give a penalty that time. Jason Morley stepped up, and although Sam went the right way, the spot kick was too good, going in off the post. Hastings brought on their other two subs for the last rites and it changed nothing. Atkin had the game's final chance, firing into the side netting after a strong run down the right, and Eastbourne were left to celebrate a well deserved victory and, on paper at least, a famous giant killing. They will be at home to East Preston in the third round in January and are one more win away from a potential quarter final tie with Brighton, who will probably fancy the prospect of a cold and damp evening at Princes Park, every bit as little as we did. Good luck to them.

Well, I didn't see that coming. Had it down as a home banker myself, especially as it marked the start of the post Burtie era and it was hard to see a defensive combination that would work effectively in his absence. In the end, it was at the other end that we won the game for a change, scoring three goals in a league game for the first time since beating the same opposition on the opening day of the season. Shame that I couldn't get up there to see the win personally (still no sign of that baby either), but I'll settle for the win just fine. I have visited the Rockingham Triangle on one occasion, about ten years ago, to see us win an erstwhile relegation battle thanks to Paul Tuppenney's late strike. That, and the 5-0 win there more recently, apart, I don't believe this particular Northamptonshire outpost to have been the happiest of hunting grounds for us over the years. So the news of our first win in eight games was every bit as welcome, as it was surprising.

As Corby do not have an active website, from which I would have obtained a home view of the game, I have had to settle for Tony Cosens' Newsline report. Tony described the performance as one of our better ones this season, especially in the first half, when we played some excellent passing football. It was against the run of play that Corby took a 16th minute lead, when a cross into the box was met by a shot fired in off the underside of the bar. Our response was twelve minutes in coming, when Steve Hafner scored with a low shot from the edge of the area. With about a quarter of an hour left, Carl Rook put us in front from a couple of yards out, after a free kick from halfway was headed goalwards. Carl then set up Mylie for the crucial third with a minute left, cutting the ball back from the left to the edge of the area, from where Mylie thumped it home. The ref then found ten minutes of stoppage time, towards the end of which, Corby were awarded a penalty for handball. Will, who saved one up at King's Lynn a couple of weeks ago, blocked this one as well, only for the ref to order a retake, as he judged Will to have moved off his line too early. Corby scored at the second time of asking, but couldn't find a last gasp equaliser and we hung on to clinch our first away win of the campaign and our first league double of the season and there are unlikely to be many of them this year.

Before the details of Tuesday's game, just a brief update on Joe Cornwall's progress, as he recovers after having his leg broken in Saturday's reserve team game. First of all, to confirm that that horrendous challenge actually caused breaks to both his tibia and fibula. Now, I am not a medical man, but two breaks can't possibly be better than one and there was talk of operations and pins and so forth, all rather unpalatable. Well, Joe was admitted to The Conquest on Saturday evening, where the bones were reset and his leg put in plaster. He was discharged from hospital within a couple of days, although he may well have to return for an operation in a week or so, I guess they just have to monitor his progress, as with any other injury. He will be in plaster for at least twelve weeks and you must be looking at another month or two to rehabilitate and another to get back into training and full fitness. Fair to say that his season is over, I should think. Once again, best wishes to you Joe, for a full recovery and let's hope to see you back knocking on the first team door next season.

Well, it might have taken six attempts in five different competitions, but Hastings finally recorded their first cup victory of the season on Tuesday evening. Even then though, they made hard work of beating Westfield of the Sussex County League Division Two, but a win is a win and Hastings are half way to defending their Hastings Senior Cup title and can now look forward to a final meeting with Sidley United at The Pilot Field in April 2004.

It is surely no coincidence that this was by far the strongest line-up that we have fielded in any of the three more minor cup competitions this season, with at least seven regular first teamers in the starting eleven. Will Toal was one of those to take a rest, with young Sam Harris-Green again stepping up from the reserves and keeping his first clean sheet in his third first team start. Indeed, although he wasn't called upon all that often, Sam produced a couple of top drawer saves just before half time to preserve our lead and after a fine game for the reserves on Saturday, his confidence seems to have grown immeasurably in a very short space of time, just as we prepare to sign up St Leonards' Greg Nessling. In front of Sam, we had another new defensive trio, as Kieren Startup and David Henham dropped out in favour of Simon Stickney, another who is looking more assured with every game, and, skipper for the night, Jimmy Elford. Ricky Spiller played down the right, with Mitchell in his usual left wing slot. Steve Hafner and Steve Ringwood retained their places in midfield, but Stuart Myall was absent for personal reasons, Charlie Belcher returning to take his place. Up front, Carl Rook was paired with Scott Hayhoe, with Chris Honey starting on the bench, along with Danny Ellis and Joe Heasmer, all three coming on in the second half. I am sure that Will's selection amongst the subs was little more than a token gesture. The Westfield side contained at least two former Hastings players in goalkeeper Peter Newstead and striker, Darroll Parris. If I have overlooked one or two others, I humbly apologise.

The game wasn't exactly a thrill-a-minute, end-to-end, entertainment fest, but Hastings went about their business in a fairly professional manner and restricted Westfield to very few opportunities throughout the ninety minutes. Westfield's main problem was in the middle of the park, where they seemed outnumbered at times and Hastings had a creative edge, in keeping with their senior status. Mitchell's mazy run and cross set up a chance for Russell after only fourteen seconds, but it proved a slightly false dawn and the next decent opportunity led to the opening goal after fourteen minutes. Carl burst through the Westfield defensive line only to see Newstead pull off a good save. Steve Hafner picked up the rebound, cut the ball back to the edge of the area, from where Charlie produced a beautiful curling chip over Newstead and into the corner for his first senior goal. Charlie and Scott both went close to increasing the advantage before the break, but in stoppage time, Sam Jamison broke clear to force Sam into his first save of the night. Moments later, the same player headed onto the crossbar with Sam well beaten, but he recovered well to deny Russell Jones from the rebound.

The second half was pretty much a non-event until Chris replaced Scott with about twenty minutes to go. Almost immediately, Chris followed up after Carl's shot from the edge of the box had been spilled by Newstead, but his effort spun wide. At the other end, Parris found himself in space, lobbed Sam, but saw the effort miss the target. Chris produced a strong run, but shot over. Charlie broke clear, chipped Newstead, but the shot clipped the top of the bar and Chris' backheel set up Danny, but the he dwelt far too long and his effort was blocked. With one minute left on the clock, a clearance fell to Steve Ringwood, about twenty-five yards out, and he advanced and hit a screamer, which hit the underside of the bar and bounced out again. The angle of the bounce suggested to me that the ball may have crossed the line and that view was shared by the referee's assistant, who must have been ten yards from the goalline at the time. A goal was given, Steve's first senior effort as well, to the not inconsiderable annoyance of Newstead, who first tried to talk himself into a booking, failed, but proceeded to boot the ball away and succeeded at the second attempt. Chris almost got a third when he broke down the right and fired across the goal, just wide of the post, with Carl screaming for a low cross, which would have presented him with a tap-in. As Westfield's frustration began to get the better of them, Alan Johnson, who copped an awful lot of flak all evening, from two guys sitting to my left, hacked down Joe Heasmer and was maybe lucky to pick up just a yellow card, although a dismissal wouldn't have been worthy of a game played in very good spirit. Mercifully, Joe picked himself straight back up again and got on with the game, but Steve Hafner did look as if he was hobbling after a heavy second half challenge. I will try and find out more on his condition as the week progresses and I have also asked Tony Cosens to give me a run down on the current injury list, in response to Big Dave's message on the Guestbook. If I get any news, I will try and get it posted before the weekend.

A second trip to Northamptonshire on successive Saturdays and a second straight 3-2 come from behind victory, giving us a second league double. If you include Tuesday's win over Westfield, that makes it three wins on the trot now and that's a first this season. The most incredible statistic for me though, is that this win took us up to 15th in the table, the highest we have been since September. Onward and upward, as they say, although I am not yet convinced that we have really turned the corner. Let's face it, four of our five league wins this season have come against Corby and Rothwell and, much as we may wish to, we are not going to be playing them every week. Just to put our win at Corby into further perspective though, they managed to beat Stamford 3-1 in midweek, to go back above us in the table for a few days. The previous week, they beat King's Lynn 2-1. In between, we won there 3-2 of course. That must say something for where we are heading. It may be a little concerning to think that we allowed Rothwell to add 40% to their season's goals tally on Saturday, but as long as we are scoring one more than the opposition all the time, our rise up the league table is bound to continue.

Another week, another clutch of changes. With David Henham still struggling with injury, Simon Stickney stepped up for his first true taste of first team action in defence. After a good performance against Westfield, Charlie Belcher retained his place in the continued absence of Stuart Myall and on the bench, yet another welcome return for Ryan Peters, who sat alongside Ricky Spiller and the gaffer himself.

Details of the match are sketchy, as I have been once again forced to make do with Tony Cosens' Newsline report, in the absence of an updated Rothwell website. On the whole, our performance lacked the cutting edge of the win at Corby, but without Mylie controlling the middle of the park, coming to terms with a strong swirling wind was none too easy. As with the Corby game, we found ourselves a goal down early on, when Graham Mitchell sent a looping header over Will. Charlie equalised within a quarter of an hour, but Joe Hanney was allowed time and space to head past Will to restore the home side's advantage shortly before the break. We played a bit better after the interval and Steve Hafner put the finishing touch to a swift counter attack, with a snap shot from the edge of the area on sixty-five minutes. Two minutes later, Chris smacked home a quite stunning effort from twenty-five yards, off the underside of the crossbar, to give us the lead for the first time and that lead was seldom troubled for the rest of the game, with Chris and Steve Ringwood both going close to extending it before the end.