East Grinstead Town v Forest Row

THE OFFICIAL MATCHDAY PROGRAMME OF EAST GRINSTEAD TOWN FC | SEASON 2026|27 | ISSUE NO 5 | FREE

SOUTHERN COMBINATION FOOTBALL LEAGUE | PREMIER DIVISION MONDAY 31 AUGUST 2026 | KICK OFF: 11AM

VS FOREST ROW SOUTHERN COMBINATION FOOTBALL LEAGUE | PREMIER DIVISION MONDAY 31 AUGUST 2026 | KICK OFF 11AM

EAST GRINSTEAD TOWN FC The Vistavis Community Stadium College Lane | East Grinstead | RH19 3LS Tel: 01342 325885

WELCOME TO EAST COURT Good morning and welcome to today's derby against Forest Row and the first meeting at senior level between the clubs.

Nothing says County League like an 11am Bank Holiday kick-off two days after we last played but it's the same for both teams of course.

When you score four goals at home you ought to win so in isolation Saturday's draw with Hassocks was a disappointing result, but no one could say it wasn't entertaining.

We're running a coach to the FA Cup tie at Dulwich Hamlet on Saturday - please see Richard Tramontin if you want to be on it.

Good luck to us!

OWNERSHIP STATEMENT In accordance with the Football Association's Rule 2.13 (publication of ownership) in relation to Step 1 to Step 6 Clubs within the National League System East Grinstead Town FC is an unincorporated association / members club and a Community Amateur Sports Club (reg no CASC 02270).

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EAST GRINSTEAD TOWN F.C. VS FOREST ROW

FROM THE

Dugout Good morning and welcome back to The Vistavis Community Stadium for this Bank Holiday fixture against Forest Row, to whom we offer a warm welcome.

Saturday’s game against Hassocks was certainly one for the neutral! In a scintillating 4-4 draw. I have to give the squad credit due to the number of players unavailable. Having only one recognised centre back in the squad probably explains the scoreline along with what I thought was a very harsh red card for Nic D'Arenzio, which also affected proceedings.

We are now finding the net with frequency. Pammy's superb brace on Saturday took his tally to four for the season, Pezza is now also firing with three in his last two games and Curt Gayler opened his account for the season.

Defensively we have looked solid (Saturday aside), however I will say that with Nathan Cooper hopefully back next week and Steve Smith and Alex Malins in the squad today I don’t see this as an area or cause for concern.

After today’s game we enter into a run of three back to back cup ties, away at Dulwich Hamlet next in the FA Cup, followed by a home tie in the Sussex County Cup against Peacehaven and then onto Lydd Town the following weekend in the FA Vase.

That should concentrate our minds on gaining all three league points today.

Today’s opponents Forest Row are, as many of you will, my former club. A warm welcome to their chairman Elliot Benton, a person I have shared many fond memories with including a promotion season. I am also grateful to Forest Row for getting my senior management career on the road.

Forest Row will be organised and I don’t feel the league table tells the true story as certainly of late they have found the net on several occasions.

They also arrive today with a few former Grinstead players in Ryan Green, Cam Lawson, Zack Lamont and Tommy Seale so this match has a true derby feel to it as both clubs will be desperate to gain three points over the other.

This is a game I am looking forward to as I am sure it will be a humdinger I hope you all enjoy the match and the rest of your Bank Holiday.

Andy EAST GRINSTEAD TOWN F.C. VS FOREST ROW

LEAGUE

STANDINGS

SOUTHERN COUNTIES LEAGUE PREMIER DIVISION TEAM

PL

W

D

L

F

A

GD

PTS

1

Eastbourne United

6

4

1

1

18

8

10

13

3

Haywards Heath Town

5

4

1

0

8

3

5

13

2

Guernsey

5

3

2

0

9

4

5

11

5

Newhaven

4

3

1

0

6

3

3

10

6

AFC Varndeanians

5

3

1

1

7

5

2

10

9

Hassocks

4

2

1

1

13

8

5

7

8

Roffey

5

2

1

2

13

8

5

7

10 Midhurst

4

2

1

1

9

4

5

7

11

Bexhill United

4

2

1

1

6

4

2

7

4

Crawley Down Gatwick

6

2

2

2

10

9

1

7

7

Lingfield

5

2

1

2

11

12

-1

7

14 Pagham

3

2

0

1

9

3

6

6

12 East Grinstead Town

5

1

2

2

7

7

0

5

18 Billingshurst

6

1

1

4

13

17

-4

4

13 Horsham YMCA

5

1

1

3

7

9

-2

4

15

2

1

0

1

3

6

-3

3

3

1

0

2

2

5

-3

3

Wick

16 Seaford United Lancing

5

1

0

4

5

13

-8

3

19 Forest Row

17

6

0

1

5

6

19

-13

1

20 Little Common

4

0

0

4

2

16

-14

0

EAST GRINSTEAD TOWN F.C. VS FOREST ROW

FOREST ROW FIRSTS

Frow are one of the oldest football clubs in Sussex, founded way back in 1892. The past 133 years has mainly seen us ply our trade in the Mid Sussex divisions, playing at the Memorial Ground nestled in the heart of the village. It's a beautiful sports pavilion that's still home to our Reserves, the Juniors and other sports including tennis and cricket.

After a new crop of players joined back in 2012, the club were fresh off the back of two successive demotions, managerless and languishing in the MSFL Division One. Fast forward 9 years to 2021 and we were playing in the Southern Combination Football League for the first time in our existence.

Despite three promotions in this time, silverware eluded Frow, missing out on the MSFL Division 1 title due to a deducted point, and coming close in the Montgomery Cup against Lindfield in 2016. We also reached the Sussex Intermediate Cup final in 2020 only for COVID to enforce the cancellation of the

competition. It was a frustrating end to a successful season for Frow, who were also sitting pretty in second and going for the MSFL Prem title.

Following a groundshare agreement with Oakwood FC thanks to support from our sponsors Elliot Scott Group, Frow's high placed finish at the end of the 2020/21 season was enough to take us up to County 1 and enjoy step 6 football.

We registered an impressive mid table finish in our debut season, and maintained our place in the division for the next few years.

In 2024, we bid Tinsley Lane farewell as we announced a groundshare with nearby neighbours, East Grinstead Town FC. This coincided with the most successful period in our history, clinching promotion to the SCFL Premier for the first time after winning the 2024/25 playoffs, following the appointment of Grant Hearn and Andy Willis. The Seconds backed this up with a double, winning the Sussex Cup for the first time and the MSFL Division 2 North title to round off a successful first year for Brett Caiger.

2025 saw the club on the move once again, agreeing a groundshare agreement with Three Bridges FC. It also marked a change in the committee, with Ron Holah and Will Irwin stepping down as Chairman and Vice Chairman respectively. Elliot Benton was named as Frow's new Chairman, with an exciting future ahead. #UpTheFrow HONOURS (MSFL) - Division One 1975-76 - Division Two 1951-52 (joint), 1971-72 - Division Three 1962-63, 1971-72 - Division Four 1959-60, 2000-01 - League Trophy 1987-88 - Mowatt Cup 1972-73, 1975-76, 1983-84 - Sommerville Cup 1999-2000 - Stratford Cup 2019 - Sussex Cup (Junior) 2025 HONOURS (SCFL) - Division 1 Play-off Winners 2024/25

GROUND DIRECTIONS Three Bridges FC, Jubilee Field, Jubilee Walk, Three Bridges Rd, Three Bridges, Crawley RH10 1LQ

FIXTURES & RESULTS

Date

Venue

K/O / Score

Haywards Heath Town Guernsey Bexhill Town Crawley Down Gatwick Wick Bognor Regis Town Jarvis Brook Hassocks Forest Row

SCFL Premier SCFL Premier FA Cup extra prelim SCFL Premier SCFL Premier FA Cup prelim Peter Bentley Cup SCFL Premier SCFL Premier

0-0 0-1 3-0 0-1 3-1 2-1 1-1 (3-4 4-4 11am

A H A H A H A

Dulwich Hamlet Peacehaven Lydd Town Pagham Eastbourne United Little Common Crawley Down Gatwick

FA Cup 1st qual Senior Cup 1 FA Vase 2 qual SCFL Premier SCFL Premier SCFL Premier SCFL Premier

3pm 7.30pm 3pm 7.30pm 3pm 3pm 7.45pm

A A H A A

Seaford Town Lancing Billingshurst AFC Varndeanians Roffey

SCFL Premier SCFL Premier SCFL Premier SCFL Premier SCFL Premier

3pm 7.45pm 3pm 3pm 3pm

H A H

Haywards Heath Town Guernsey Horsham YMCA

SCFL Premier SCFL Premier SCFL Premier

3pm 3pm 3pm

A A H A

Newhaven Hassocks Lancing Lingfield

SCFL Premier SCFL Premier SCFL Premier SCFL Premier

3pm 3pm 3pm 11am

H A H A

Midhurst Forest Row Seaford Town Little Common

SCFL Premier SCFL Premier SCFL Premier SCFL Premier

3pm 3pm 3pm 3pm

H H H H

Old Varndeanians Roffey Bexhill Town Eastbourne United

SCFL Premier SCFL Premier SCFL Premier SCFL Premier

3pm 3pm 3pm 3pm

A A A A H

Billingshurst Pagham Wick Midhurst Lingfield

SCFL Premier SCFL Premier SCFL Premier SCFL Premier SCFL Premier

3pm 3pm 3pm 3pm 11am

A H A

Bexhill United Newhaven Horsham YMCA

SCFL Premier SCFL Premier SCFL Premier

3pm 3pm 3pm

H/A Opponents

Att Scorers

AUGUST Sat 1 Aug Tues 4 Aug Sat 8 Aug Sat Aug 15 Tues Aug 18 Sat 22 Aug Tues 25 Aug Sat 29 Aug Mon 31 Aug

A H H H H A A H H

560 277 172 224 148 486 144 204

Pamment 2, Perry Harris, Pamment, Nandhra Perry 2 Maguire-Drew Pamment 2, Perry, Gayler

SEPTEMBER Sat 5 Sep Tue 8 Sep Sat 12 Sep Tues 15 Sep Sat 19 Sep Sat 26 Sep Tue 29 Sep

OCTOBER Sat 3 Oct Tues 6 Oct Sat 17 Oct Sat 24 Oct Sat 31 Oct

Newhaven FC

Horsham FC

NOVEMBER Sat 7 Nov Sat 14 Nov Sat 28 Nov

DECEMBER Sat 5 Dec Sat 12 Dec Sat 19 Dec Mon 28 Dec

JANUARY Sat 2 Jan Sat 16 Jan Sat 23 Jan Sat 30 Jan

FEBRUARY Sat 6 Feb Sat 13 Feb Sat 20 Feb Sat 27 Feb

MARCH Sat 6 Mar Sat 13 Mar Sat 20 Mar Sat 27 Mar Mon 29 Mar

APRIL Sat 3 Apr Sat 10 Apr Sat 17 Apr

EAST GRINSTEAD TOWN F.C. VS FOREST ROW

TEAM LINE UP EAST GRINSTEAD TOWN F.C. Harry Howes Curtis Gayler Nick D'Arienzo Alex Malins Nathan Cooper Charlie Harris Ollie Starkey Shay Leahy Dan Perry Tegan Freeman Kieron Pamment Mason Saunders Steve Smith Shea Cascoe Rogers Omar Folkes Joe Stone Max Marshall Jordan Maguire-Drew Josh Mandrha Luke Leppard

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FOREST ROW Albert Baker Arthur Rawlingson Callum Corbin Camron Lawson Daniel Gibb Dean Perana Donnachadh Street Ethan McGrath George William Cousins James McCoy Jay Franci Popham Kaiden Hummerston Matthew Weaire Mohamed Kone Noah Joyce Oliver Cash Oliver Spinks Reginald Brooke Reuel Powell-Downey Robert Lagawo Ronnie Reeves Thomas Howard-Bold Tom Green Tommy Seale Zack Lamont

NEXT HOME MATCH

MATCH OFFICIALS:

Peacehaven

Referee: Owen Radley Assistant Ref: Matthew James Assistant Ref: Olga Svaikevic

Tuesday 8 September 7.15pm

This matchday programme was created online: www.matchday-programmes.co.uk

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EAST GRINSTEAD TOWN

HISTORY PROGRAMMES FROM THE PAST BY LESTER MEDCALF We’re going to have a look at a couple of programmes from the past for games played at the very end of August.

First up is East Grinstead v Folkestone Invicta on Saturday 31 August 1996 in the preliminary round of the FA Cup. It was in fact our first FA Cup match for 15 years and, not surprisingly, the programme has an article talking about some of our FA Cup history.

But first there is a welcome to Folkestone Invicta with a reminder that we had in fact played them at East Court only a year or so before - but it was in the FA Vase. They had beaten us 4-1.

We had so far played 3 league matches in the Sussex County League’s division 2, with 2 wins and 1 defeat - our most recent win coming just 4 days earlier on the previous Wednesday evening at home to Newhaven. The ref for the match hadn’t been too popular having played an extra 6 minutes in the first half and an extra 9 minutes in the second half. We had gone ahead very quickly after only some 5 minutes - a Steve Banks header had been half-saved only for Phil Richardson to react quickest to the loose ball which he put into the back of the Newhaven goal. Later in the second half Newhaven had a player sent off and shortly afterwards Doug Cashman scored our second goal. 2-0 was how it ended.

I will now give one or two extracts from our FA Cup history before I give you information about the 1996 FA Cup match. And I did have a quick surprise when I read that in 1980 we had played Folkestone Invicta in the FA Cup away in Kent. They had beaten us 6-2 !! Our most recent home game had come in 1979 when Gravesend and Northfleet visited us and then went home with a 4-1 win.

Had we ever won an FA Cup match? Well, 1977 saw us winning an away match but I don’t know who we had been playing. Our last win at East Court had come in 1971 when we beat Ringmer 3-1. Going a bit further back we had an 11-0 win in 1946 (not at East Court) against Shoreham, while our heaviest defeat had been 7-0 away to Tunbridge Wells in 1929 !!!

So how did the 1996 game go? Well first thing is that the kick-off was delayed by some 30 minutes as Folkestone had brought the wrong kit with them. An early goal came our way through Doug Cashman, but Folkestone scored twice before half-time. A third goal came their way in the second half, and then Doug Cashman scored our second goal right at the end to give Folkestone a 3-2 win.

BOURNE AGAIN - A COMEBACK AGAINST THE BRICKIES Moving on a few years we’ll have a look at the programme for another match on the last day in August Sittingbourne v East Grinstead on Saturday 31 August 2019 in the Isthmian League.

The Sittingbourne secretary welcomes us and give a brief summary of our performance so far. We had played 4 games - all, rather strangely, at home. A 2-1 defeat to Haywards Heath followed by a 3-3 draw with Guernsey and then 0-0 with Hastings before a 1-0 defeat against Abbey Rangers in the FA Cup. In his notes the Sittingbourne secretary contrasts our record with theirs. “Our last 2 matches must have delighted our supporters” - a 2-0 FA Cup win at home to Uxbridge and a 2-1 away league win against Ramsgate.

The programme does also contain a couple of pages on “a brief history” of ourselves. The club’s programme editor - Peter (no surname given) - includes an article by Paul Martin called “Isthmian League clubs 1963” in which he talks about what has happened to clubs that played in the Isthmian League in 1963. 1963 perhaps being chosen because that was the year when a number of Athenian league teams joined the Isthmian League - the Isthmian League probably the best south eastern English amateur league at that time. As an example we’re told that 3 Isthmian League clubs in Eastern London - Walthamstow, Leytonstone and Ilford - no longer existed. While Maidstone United for example have had a spell in the Football league.

And there’s also a page talking about football programmes in the early 1900s - they were beginning to become popular with both spectators and local businesses. And we had another page looking back at a Sittingbourne v Crawley league match 25 years ago. Both sides were struggling at that time but Sittingbourne won that match thanks to a couple of late goals.

It’s about time I told you about the trip to Sittingbourne - not a match I went to see, but a match I could read about in our next East Grinstead programme. We had a difficult time and Sittingbourne had scored a couple of times as we reached the last 10 or so minutes. However we got back into the game with some 10 minutes to go when we had a penalty. Skipper Karn Miller Neave took the kick - and scored. And five minutes later we equalised thanks to Orlando Smith. Still time for Sittingbourne to score another goal - but they didn’t and neither did we and 2-2 was how the match ended.

EAST GRINSTEAD TOWN F.C. VS FOREST ROW

MATCH ACTION

EIGHT GOALS IN THE RAIN IN 4-4 DRAW WITH

EAST GRINSTEAD TOWN F.C. VS FOREST ROW