VS GUERNSEY
SOUTHERN COMBINATION FOOTBALL LEAGUE | PREMIER DIVISION TUESDSY 4 AUGUST | KICK OFF 7.30PM
EAST GRINSTEAD TOWN FC
The Vistavis Community Stadium College Lane | East Grinstead | RH19 3LS
Tel: 01342 325885
WELCOME TO EAST COURT
Good evening and welcome back to the Vistavis Community Stadium for our first home game in the Southern Combination League.
Our visitors Guernsey - like last Saturday's opponents Haywards Heathare familiar opponents from our 14 years in the Isthmian League and these two games represent as tough a start as it gets as we adjust to life back at Step 5 and in what is still known to a lot of us as the Sussex County League! Whatever the outcome, we wish all connected with Guernsey a successful season and safe trip back to the Channel Islands.
Cover photo shows Nick D'Arienzo battling for possession at Haywards Heath on Saturday. Picture: OB Photography
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).
Followuson:
FROM THE Dugout
I would like to welcome you all back to the Vistavis Community Stadium for our first league home league game of the season.
I would like to extend a very warm welcome to Guernsey as we reacquaint ourselves with them after many battles in the Isthmian League over the the years.
At the end of last season and following our relegation from Step 4 it was clear to all - certainly on the pitch - that a much needed rebuild of the squad was required if this club is to be successful.
My coaching staff and I have worked tirelessly throughout the summer rejuvenating the squad and added much needed experience in the likes of Nathan Cooper, Alex Malins and Charlie Harris to name a few and added young exciting talent such as Ollie Starkey, Nick D’Arenzio, Shay Leah and Tegan Freeman as well as others to bolster the squad and try to bring exciting attacking football to East Grinstead.
That is coupled with some familiar faces you will remember from last season who offer us a mix of youth and experience.
Saturday saw us open the season with a tough trip to one of the promotion favourites Haywards Heath Town.
It was a game where I thought we were dominant in the first half and should have been at least two up at the break. That was followed by a second half where defensively we were outstanding.
Although we were to rue the missed chances at the end, the fact we stopped Haywards Heath having a shot on target in their back yard was a performance to be proud of and certainly a point we may very well look back on at the end of the season and say was very important.
Tonight’s match will prove just as tough. Guernsey finished third last term and only narrowly missed out on promotion in the play-off final. They also started the new season off in strong fashion with a 3-0 home win over Pagham.
It’s a game we need to be at it from the first whistle as we look to secure our first three points of the season. No doubt a will be a fascinating encounter against another of the teams who will be challenging this season. I hope you all enjoy the game and thanks for your support. Up the Wasps!
STANDINGS LEAGUE
FIXTURES & RESULTS
Sat 1 Aug A Haywards Heath Town SCFL Premier 0-0 560
Tues 4 Aug H Guernsey SCFL Premier 7.30pm
Sat 8 Aug H Bexhill Town FA Cup extra prelim 3pm
Sat Aug 15 H Crawley Down Gatwick SCFL Premier 3pm
Tues Aug 18 A Wick SCFL Premier 7.45pm at Bognor Regis Town FC
Sat 22 Aug A Bognor Regis Town / FA Cup prelim 3pm Provisional
Sat 29 Aug H Hassocks SCFL Premier 3pm Mon 31 Aug H Forest Row SCFL Premier 11am SEPTEMBER
Sat 5 Sep A Crawley Down Gatwick SCFL Premier 3pm
Sat 12 Sep A Lydd Town FA Vase 2 qual 3pm
Tues 15 Sep H Pagham SCFL Premier 7.30pm
Sat 19 Sep A Eastbourne United SCFL Premier 3pm
Sat 26 Sep H Little Common SCFL Premier 3pm OCTOBER
Sat 3 Oct A Seaford Town SCFL Premier 3pm Newhaven FC
Tues 6 Oct A Lancing
Premier 7.45pm Sat 17 Oct H Billingshurst SCFL Premier 3pm Sat 24 Oct A AFC Varndeanians
Premier 3pm Sat 31 Oct A Roffey SCFL Premier 3pm Horsham FC NOVEMBER
Sat 7 Nov H Haywards Heath Town SCFL Premier 3pm
Sat 14 Nov A Guernsey SCFL Premier 3pm
Sat 28 Nov H Horsham YMCA SCFL Premier 3pm
DECEMBER
Sat 5 Dec A Newhaven SCFL Premier 3pm
Sat 12 Dec A Hassocks SCFL Premier 3pm
Sat 19 Dec H Lancing SCFL Premier 3pm
Mon 28 Dec A Lingfield SCFL Premier 11am
JANUARY
Sat 2 Jan H Midhurst SCFL Premier 3pm
Sat 16 Jan A Forest Row SCFL Premier 3pm
Sat 23 Jan H Seaford Town SCFL Premier 3pm
Sat 30 Jan A Little Common SCFL Premier 3pm
FEBRUARY
Sat 6 Feb H Old Varndeanians SCFL Premier 3pm
Sat 13 Feb H Roffey SCFL Premier 3pm
Sat 20 Feb H Bexhill Town SCFL Premier 3pm
Sat 27 Feb H Eastbourne United SCFL Premier 3pm
MARCH
Sat 6 Mar A Billingshurst SCFL Premier 3pm
Sat 13 Mar A Pagham SCFL Premier 3pm
Sat 20 Mar H Wick SCFL Premier 3pm
Sat 27 Mar A Midhurst SCFL Premier 3pm
Mon 29 Mar H Lingfield SCFL Premier 11am
APRIL
Sat 3 Apr A Bexhill United SCFL Premier 3pm
Sat 10 Apr H Newhaven SCFL Premier 3pm Sat 17 Apr A Horsham YMCA SCFL Premier 3pm
TEAM LINE UP
EAST GRINSTEAD TOWN F.C. GUERNSEY
Harry Howes n n
Curtis Gayler n n
Nick D'Arienzo n n
Alex Malins n n
Nathan Cooper n n
Charlie Harris n n
Ollie Starkey n n
Shay Leahy n n
Dan Perry n n
Tegan Freeman n n
Kieron Pamment n n
Mason Saunders n n
Steve Smith n n
Shea Cascoe Rogers n n
Omar Folkes
Joe Stone
Max Marshall
Rasheed Alaka n n
Josh Mandrha n n
Luke Leppard n n
Josh Addison n n
Simon Arnold n n
Jacques Cauvin n n
Will Fazackerley n n
Charlton Gauvin n n
Niall Hainsworth n n
Callum Le Lacheur n n
David Meris n n
Sam Murray n n
Sebastian Vance n n
Jamie Dodd n n
Archie Drillot n n
George Goubert n n
Dylan Graham n n
NEXT HOME MATCH
Bexhill United - FA Cup
Saturday August 9 2026
3pm
MATCH OFFICIALS:
Referee: Tom Murray
Assistant Ref: Michael Forman
Assistant Ref: Justin Roadnight
EAST GRINSTEAD TOWN HISTORY
PROGRAMMES FROM THE PAST BY LESTER MEDCALF
In writing about past programmes for East Grinstead matches I can usually find one or two programmes in my collection that match the date of today’s fixture. However, that isn’t the case for today’s visit of Guernsey to East Court on Tuesday August 4. The earliest date in August for which I do have a competitive match programme (and which I’m about to share with you) is five days later - East Grinstead v Selsey on Saturday 9 August 2008 in division 1 of the Sussex County League - the league’s top division and the first league match for both clubs. There is a short article in the programme which talks about the recent early start to league matches. Up until the 1980s league matches didn’t start until late August or early September. Of course floodlights were not very common back then and some clubs used to share their ground with cricketers (as we used to before we moved to East Court). A consequence of matches starting in early August (and of the arrival of floodlights) was that more games could be played - with bigger leagues or, especially for professional clubs, with more competitions being entered.
Our 2008 programme was produced by Lee Quinn and Bruce Talbot - Bruce, who edited his first programme in 1985, is still involved in 2026 and Lee got things moving with a welcome to the town’s Mayor Ginnie Waddingham and the other councillors that will join her in recognition of our having gained promotion from division two at the end of the previous season.
In fact Ginnie Waddingham had also come to see one of our matches at the end of the promotion winning season - though she hadn’t been elected as the town’s Mayor back then. In winning division two we are reminded that we had won the league by 18 points and had only been beaten twice. The programme also celebrates our success with a photo on the front cover of our captain - Drew Cooney - lifting the promotion trophy. (Drew continued to play for us for a number of years before becoming our team manager. However he had left that role earlier in 2026 when we were relegated from the Isthmian League back into the County League).
SELSEY PILL IS A BITTER ONE
Our team manager in 2008 was Steve Norris and he talks about the work that has been done over the summer to prepare the team for the higher division. He also introduces some of the new players that have joined the club and unfortunately has to tell us that one of our players - Liam Bull - will have to miss the first few games. Liam injured a shoulder in one of the pre-season friendlies and if the injury required some surgery he will need longer to recover.
The pre-season friendlies had begun in early July with the earlier games not against the strongest opponents and with lots of players being used (by both teams). However the later games had been against a couple of much stronger teams and the programme has brief reports of a 5-1 defeat by Horsham and a 5-2 loss to Tonbridge Angels. And of course the programme welcomes our visitors Selsey from the far south of Sussex. They had joined the County League in 1961 and, like many of the league’s teams, they had spent seasons being promoted or being relegated (or of course staying where they were). More recently they had been promoted to division one for season 2005/06. In the last season 2007/08 they had struggled early in the season, but later did enough to avoid relegation. So how did the Selsey game go? We had a good first 30 minutes or so without scoring but Selsey had come more into the game and they took a first-half lead. It seemed to affect the way we played and Selsey scored again in the second half and 2-0 was the score when the ref blew his final whistle and Selsey were able to take the three points home.
HONOURS EVEN ON THE OPENING DAY
Our return to the Southern Combination League after 14 years could not have given us a tougher start with our first two games against the teams who finished second and third last season.
It's way too early to know whether a point on Saturday at Hanbury Park against Heath is a good result or not, but it certainly felt like it.
Perhaps the quality in both squads wasn't on display too often in a game that looked like ending goalless from quite early in the second half, but there were mitigating circumstances.
It was very hot, the pitch was firm to put it politely (although still in decent nick given the drought conditions of recent weeks) and there was the feeling that both teams, with lots of new faces, were anxious to play risk-free football and avoid making mistakes.
We were the better team in the first half and had some good chances. Nathan Cooper headed Charlie Harris's corner wide when, unchallenged, he ought to have hit the target at least.
Dan Perry scuffed a shot wide and Teegan Jeffrey, an early sub after Shay Leahy went off with a badly swollen knee, also put an effort wide.
The second half from a Grinstead perspective was more of a grind. The pace of the game dropped, the gap between Perry and our midfielders grew, and Heath began to look more threatening, but defensively we were rock solid and goalkeeper Harry Howes had little to do.
A fair result then om a day when some of the other teams being talked up for promotion like Hassocks and Guernsey took advantage of less challenging starts to get three points in the bag. Let's see how things look at the end of August before we draw any reliable conclusions about how the season ahead will shape up.
