Arctic conditions see Arundel hold YM

It was a dogged display with the weather playing a key role in the game as freezing conditions crippled the performance of both teams with YM boss Peter Buckland described the elements as “arctic conditions, madness”.

Leroy Hyett opened the scoring in the fourth minute as Arundel were robbed of position in midfield, leading to Ashley Dugdale feeding the ball between two defenders for Hyett, who fired past the keeper to score his eighth goal in six games since joining.

After initially getting off to a flyer, boss Buckland felt hard done by as they had two goals disallowed in the first 15 minutes. The second disallowed goal was called offside as Martin Smith slotted the ball in the back of the net, a goal which Buckland was adamant should have stood.

As the weather continued to freeze the players, coaching staff and spectators, Arundel matched YM’s quick start in the first half as they equalised five minutes into the second half.

The goal came from a misjudged clearance, the ball holding up in the air longer than anticipated. Arundel pounced on to the loose ball and Dave Herbert raced through on goal and slotted home.

Despite YM only getting a point out of the game Buckland remained upbeat about the result and said: “I don’t see it as two points lost rather one point gained.”