As the temperatures dropped to match the progress from late November towards the depths of winter, I came with my Dad, who was visiting, to visit the Loxwood Recreation ground, home of Loxwood FC, for their Southern Combination Football League (SCFL) Division 1 fixture with AFC Uckfield Town.
Loxwood FC play at the recreation ground, and had the honour of ex-player, manager and pundit, Jimmy Hill, once visiting to open their new stand back in 2008. The ground boasts modern floodlighting, and a big and friendly clubhouse. The club were relegated from the SCFL Premier Division in 2024-25 and have struggled to regain their confidence on the pitch yet in Division 1.
This fixture represented what already, just a third of the way into the 2025-26 season, looked to be a relegation clash. Loxwood FC, known as the Magpies, have won just three, drawn three but lost eight of their opening fourteen matches. They sat sixteenth, just two places off the bottom of the league, coming into today’s game. Goals have been hard to come by, with only Luke Robert’s (5 goals), Jamie Maunder (3 goals) and Scott Symons (2 goals) having any real success. Loxwood have conceded at a rate of 2.4 goals a game and that would be the key to getting a much needed result today, so manager Ian Matthews would have been keen to ensure his defence was well briefed and prepared, coming into the match.
AFC Uckfield Town, known by their nickname, the Oakmen, have not fared any better than their rivals today, this season. They sat in seventeenth place at kick off with just two wins, four draws and nine defeats from their first fifteen games. They have also only scored thirteen goals thus far, whilst conceding at a rate of three a game. Their goals have largely come from Tyler Pearson (4 goals), Connor Martin (3 goals) and Chris Capon (2 goals). Manager, Alex Harris, would have been really hopeful his side could turn this around in the effort to secure a crucial three points today.
– Courtesy of club’s X Account
The game kicked off in heavy rain, which made the players’ task of tackling and controlling the ball tricky early on. On fifteen minutes, as the rain came down in rods, Loxwood went a goal ahead when Jamie Maunder followed up, after a parried save from Alex Harris in the AFC Uckfield Town goal, to score from close range.
On 26 minutes it was 2-0, when Scott Symons slid in at the far post, to volley home from a corner, finding the roof of the Uckfield net.
At the break in this relegation battle, it was the Magpies who went in with a two goal lead, as the heavens continued to empty down!
In the 50th minute Luke Robert’s added a third for Loxwood, with a fine downward header, after a perfect cross from the left.
With 63 minutes on the clock Mason Massey scored a fourth for the rampant Magpies to put the home side clear 4-0.
The afternoon got worse for AFC Uckfield Town when an own goal was headed into their own net, by a defender, making it 5-0.
With minutes to play it was 6-0 when Jamie Maunder hit the ball home from inside the Uckfield area.
Just as I was getting ready for the final whistle Luke Roberts saw the AFC Uckfield Town keeper of his line and lobbed him from 40 yards, to make it 7-0 and seal a much needed victory for Loxwood. Sadly I missed the goal, but captured a picture of the team celebrating with Ian Matthews.
At full time it was Loxwood FC who walked away with a very valuable three points to pull clear of the bottom two.
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