Two points dropped but some comfort drawn

Worthing 1 Burgess Hill 1
Rebels captain Jamie CrellinRebels captain Jamie Crellin
Rebels captain Jamie Crellin

Hillians finished the Bank Holiday derby double in sixth place but manager Ian Chapman admitted his side are not firing on all cylinders.

He felt it was more like two points dropped rather than one gained at Woodside Road on Monday, especially as Greg Luer came on for his first outing of the season and missed three gilt-edged chances inside the closing 15 minutes.

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Chapman said: “If someone had told me we’d be in this position after that 5-1 defeat at Walton & Hersham I’d have been delighted but we’re not playing well. Too many players are not consistent enough.”

The gaffer was particularly disappointed with the first half performance although Max Miller’s third goal in two games two minutes before the break sent them in level.

“We were much better in the second half and Greg Luer made a difference when he came on. He could have had a hat-trick but those missed chances made it feel like we dropped two points.”

Lloyd Dawes looked sharp on his home debut for Rebels and his second goal in as many matches gave the hosts a deserved lead on 27 minutes.

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Worthing have nine former Hillians in their squad and one of them, John Lansdale, provided the long throw that was not effectively cleared, enabling Dawes to score with sweet volley.

Darren Budd went close to equalising against his former club with a curling free kick five minutes later but Miller levelled when he burst through the middle to score via the underside of the bar.

Safe hands by home keeper Jack Fagan were a feature of the second half before he cemented his man-of-the-match performance in the closing stages. First he pulled off a smart double save to deny the newly-arrived Luer and then a minute later denied him again when he latched on to a through ball.

Then on 85 minutes Luer missed an open goal after Fagan had done well to save from Richard Greenfield.

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It would have been a travesty had Alan Mansfield not thwarted Dawes at the other end and then seen Jamie Crellin fire the rebound into the side netting.

Hillians: Mansfield; Watts, Lake-Edwards, Graves (Luer, 75), Pointing; Armstrong (Greenfield, 63), Budd, Fisk; Miller (Curd, 63), Harding.

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