Arundel FC

The Mullets progressed to the 3rd round of the FA Vase for the second season running with a 4-0 win over Crowborough Athletic at Mill Road tonight.

The club will now travel to face Plymouth Parkway in the last 64 on Saturday 5th December.

Manager Richard Towers welcomed back a host of players into the squad from last time out at St Francis, with David Walker, Lewis Hamilton, Russ Hardwell, Howard Neighbour and Rory Biggs all returning.

The Mullets got off to the perfect start when with the game just minutes old Hardwell broke clear down the right and slid the ball into Tipper who after his initial shot was blocked by a combination of keeper and defender managed to scoop the ball home from close range at the second attempt.

With the visitors squeezing the play high up the field the Mullets used this to their advantage hitting the channels early and finding the pace of Neighbour and Hardwell in behind the Crows defence.

The second goal took a while in coming but when it did it was Hardwell again that was the provider.  Again he broke clear down the right, this time squaring the ball for Neighbour to stab home his 3rd goal since returning to the club.

Hardwell had a chance to score himself minutes later but screwed his shot wide of the far post having beaten a man in the area and Rory Biggs blazed a shot over so the score remained 2-0 at half time.

The game was effectiviley put to bed right at the start of the second half.  Hardwell was once again involved, this time having been put through down the right he elected to shoot.  The Crows keeper could only parry the ball into the path of the onrushing Tipper who moved into double figures for the season with his second of the game.

That goal meant the Mullets could relax somewhat in the second period and Towers took the chance to rest Neighbour, Biggs and Hardwell early in the second half replacing them with Martin, Newman and Hamilton.

The reds created further chances in the remaining minutes, the best falling to Matt Axell after a Sneller through ball but his close range effort was comfortably blocked by the keeper before Axell did get on the scoresheet in the final stages of the match when he was teed up by Lewis Hamilton of the edge of the box and he beat the keeper from the edge of the area with his right foot.

Team: O’Connor; Sneller, Walker(capt), Pickford, Carrigher; Hardwell (Hamilton), Grove, Biggs(R) (Newman), Axell, Tipper, Neighbour (Martin). Subs Not Used: Hall, Wimbleton, Griffiths.