With both sides below full strength there was little to choose between the two sides as they struggled to cope with the tricky conditions. Despite this setback Ringmer, who were without the Greatwich and MacMillan brothers, managed to hang on to top spot in the table while Pagham climbed five places into third place just one point behind Ringmer and with two games in hand.
The first half was played almost throughout in a steady drizzle that had begun an hour before kick off and which resulted in the ball frequently skidding off the surface to spoil what in better conditions could have been a telling pass. There were chances at both ends in the first quarter of an hour. Joe Dryer, Jo Jo Tubon and Sam Sowter all tested Rob McClelland in goal for Pagham while Doug Peach and Rob Wimble both failing to hit the target at the other end. On thirty minutes Lewis Hamilton’s long range shot was spectacularly turned round the post by the flying Joe Adams. From the resulting corner Brett Forden rose unopposed to head the ball into the top corner of the net to give Pagham the lead. Minutes later Pagham had a goal disallowed for offside and then a minute from half time Ringmer drew level. A shot from Tubon stopped in the muddy goalmouth from where it was kicked away to Dryer whose shot from the edge of the penalty area was deflected on its way through a crowded defence and into the net.
The half time whistle coincided with a break in the weather but the rain returned with a vengeance in the second half and the playing conditions deteriorated rapidly as puddles formed all over the pitch and turned the match into a lottery with players slipping and stumbling and the ball frequently losing its pace through the puddles. Conditions were so bad that some fifteen minutes from time both managers, fearful of the risk of serious injury to their players, asked the referee to abandon the game but he decided the pitch was still playable – a point of view not shared by either set of supporters. Then twice inside ten minutes Ringmer were made to pay for defensive errors caused by the conditions in the centre circle which allowed Michael Frangou to run clear. His first shot was blocked by Adams but Frangou pounced onto the loose ball to give the visitors the lead. In an almost copybook move Adams again blocked Frangou’s shot only for Wimble to tap in the ball into the net from close range. Dryer scored a late consolation goal for Ringmer with a curling shot from twenty yards into the top corner of the net in the last minute of the match.