On Saturday, we faced our old foes, Seaford Town, in the 2nd Qualifying Round of the FA Isuzu Vase at St George’s Field. Unfortunately, only 78 spectators turned out, with Seaford Town’s attendance notably affected by the last-minute cancellation of their supporters’ coach the day before.

Fabio Nunes returned from injury to take his place in the team, replacing the absent Sean Anderson. Two new signings, Anthony Nazareth and Niall Stillwell, were welcomed onto the bench.

In the first half, we were undoubtedly the dominant side, creating numerous chances through shots and corners, and even seeing a goal disallowed for offside. Just as it seemed we would head into the break at 0-0, a dangerous low cross was turned into the Seaford net by one of their defenders, with a looping interception finding the corner. Half-time: 1-0.

We extended our lead early in the second half when Luke Miller found the net at the second attempt after his initial shot was saved, following a perfectly timed slide-rule pass from Adam Green. Unfortunately, Stefan Aiwone sustained an injury in an innocuous challenge, and it looks like he could be sidelined for a few weeks. We all wish him a speedy recovery. His replacement, debutant Anthony Nazareth, was next on the scoresheet, capitalising after Seaford failed to clear a corner, making it 3-0.

At this point, one would have expected us to comfortably see out the game and preserve the clean sheet. However, Seaford Town struck back with two quick goals Just before injury time, which narrowed the score to 3-2. With a considerable amount of added time remaining due to several stoppages in the second half, the tension grew, but we managed to hold on, securing our place in Monday’s First Round draw.

On to Tuesday where we face Hilltop at home with a 7:45 pm kick-off in the Combined Counties Premier Challenge Cup. Then, we welcome Horley Town to King George’s Field next Saturday for another league clash.