The hosts started brightly and looked like they wanted an early goal to settle and they looked the most likely but the Crows defence stayed resolute in the early exchanges with Jack Turner and Dan Tear clearing early dangers. The first real chance fell to the Crows when after a period of possession the Rye keeper was called into action to scramble Paul Butlers effort around the post following good work by Harry Thompson on the right. The resultant corner by Scott Taylor went narrowly out to the relief of the Rye defenders. This was soon followed by a great diving save by the ever dependable Ben Head in the Crows goal to keep the scores level.

Paul Butler was then booked after a tussle with the Rye number seven and on reflection the latter was lucky not to get a card after his reaction to an innocuous challenge and the aftermath which ensued . Fortunately good sense prevailed and the football took over in what was turning into a good nights entertainment at the Salts. Rye were on the ascendancy and with Head stranded the Rye number nine put the ball over the bar with the net gaping , a let off for the Crows.

The passage of play that followed saw Rye miss a number of chances and have a shot cleared off the line and in this period Jack Turner picked up an injury after some typical do or die defending and had to come off and be replaced by Kev Everest who slotted in at the heart of the Crows defence .

Alex Rich then pulled a left foot drive wide of the Rye goal from thirty five yards and under 18 Morgan Steadman came more into the game with his unselfish running. The Rye defence had been fairly dominant in the air with Sean Kelly getting his head on everything as the half drew to a close with a succession of free kicks and the score remained Nil - Nil.

Crowborough were a different side in the second half with Sam Carrington getting more of the ball and in particular Morgan Steadman getting space down the left, assisted by Paul Butler and Alex Rich to give Rye something to think about. The increased possession seemed to change the Crows mood and from a good move down the left the ball was put in the box for the excellent Sam Carrington to control and volley passed the keeper to put the Crows one nil up three minutes after the restart. The whole team celebrated Sams seventeenth goal of the season again showing the tremendous team spirit.

The belief now that the Crows could get something from this game seemed to spread through the team and Rye were unsettled by the goal and while they were trying to regroup they conceded another goal. Callum Ridley’s first involvement in the match, after being substituted on for Scott Taylor, was to break into the Rye penalty area, sidestepped a defender then unlease an unstoppable shot past the Rye keeper two -nil to the Crows. This was a great goal scored by another of the Crows talented under 18 players.

The Crows continued to play a high line and time and time again caught Rye off -side and when Rye did break through Ben Head brought of another great stop, pushing the ball up in the air and catching it again to deny the Rye forward.

Rye were pushing hard and in keeping with their position in the league and showing glimpses of what a good side they are pulled a goal back on seventy three minutes through Dominic Clarke who chased down a long ball , got between two defenders and lobbed the ball over Head into the Crowborough net to reduce the deficit.

Callum Ridley then had a great chance to put the game to bed with almost a carbon copy of his earlier goal, receiving a quick throw in he snaked his way past two defenders and his angled drive swerved away from the far post to the relief of the home keeper.

With Rye going all out for the equalizer further chances were falling to the Crows eager forwards and both Sam Carrington and the impressive Morgan Steadman had good shots wide. The whole team had to work extremely hard to keep Rye out in the closing stages and the woodwork was to come to the rescue aided by staunch defending and great efforts from Ben Head to meet Ryes late aerial threat.

With five minutes left Charlie Ottway came on for Harry Thompson who had put in a good shift on the right to see out the game for a very satisfying three points, never easy but an all round great team performance to be proud of.