Bexhill United returned to SCFL premier division action with a fine 2-1 victory away at Peacehaven.
There was little time to dwell on Saturday’s FA Cup exit as they headed along the coast to Peacehaven on Tuesday night.
There were a few alterations to the Cup line-up with Jack Shonk slotting back in as centre forward, the return of Kyle Holden to the middle of the park and Dale Penn starting at left-back.
Bexhill started on the front foot, getting their passing game going from the off and had created a couple of good openings when a ball over the top from Ryan Moir was pounced on by Charlie Curran.
He went eyeball to eyeball with the home keeper and sent the ball past him and into the net for a deserved Bexhill lead at the break.
On 56 minutes the Pirates’ lead was doubled when Ryan Moir picked up a through ball from Shonk half way into the home side’s half and bore down on goal before placing his shot into the bottom corner.
At the back Richie Welch and Dan Rogers were imperious dealing with everything that was hurled their way.
It was not until the 90th minute that Peacehaven generated some excitement of their own. The referee blew for a foul on the edge of the box. The hosts’ players argued in vain it was inside the box and Peacehaven’s Drew Matthews was sent off for his protests.
On 94 minutes there was more late drama, with what was probably Peacehaven’s first really clear chance, as the ball looped into the Bexhill goal. However, the Pirates calmly saw out the closing minutes to extended their unbeaten run to three league games.
Holden was awarded the man of the match honours for his non-stop work on a night when the whole Bexhill team put in a huge effort.
Next up for the Pirates is a home game with Guernsey in the FA Vase on Saturday which will be played at Hastings’ Pilot Field (2pm).
