GOLDS LEVEL DERBY LATE

In a game at boiling point for the full 90 minutes, United felt thoroughly aggrieved when their first-half penalty claims were turned down. Referee Lloyd Rendell wrongly decided Mark McCullum's ill-advised hack at United forward Dave Schneider was outside the box. On such decisions games can be won and lost and this one certainly went against United.

No quarter was asked or given but Littlehampton began to exert their authority from the top end of the table and they drew first blood. From Grant Vanson's right-wing cross, diminutive veteran Paul Williams' headed knockdown found Clinton More whose drive was parried by keeper Dean Fuller only for Mark Windsor to smash home the rebound.

United responded and a sustained period of forward pressure brought its reward five minutes before half-time when Lee Bone nodded in Steve Pickles' headed cross.

After the interval United carried on. Substitute Sonny Banks shot just wide following a fine 30-yard run but a deserved early 2-1 advantage duly arrived 10 minutes later. Jo Shelley found time and space to line up a 25-yard rocket which beat Marigolds keeper Micky Phillips with the aid of a slight deflection.

Littlehampton manager Carl Stabler then shuffled his pack, introduced substitutes Mark Price and Jonas Templeman, and the fresh legs started to assert the desired effect. Littlehampton went on the offensive for the final 15 minutes, chances came and went and Mark Hinshelwood headed over the best of them.

Just as it looked as if United had done enough to hold their neighbours off, Steve Pickles was adjudged to have pulled back Daren Pearce after the Marigolds midfield playmaker had shot wide when clean through. After consulting his linesman, referee Rendell pointed to the spot, Young scored, tempers flared, and man-of-the-match Steve Pickles two minutes later saw red for an innocuously mistimed tackle.

Managers Browne and Stabler all game jousted vocally as much off the pitch as their players did on it. Sportingly, both were highly complimentary about the opposition afterwards.

A slightly disappointed United boss Ian Browne said: " could ask no more from the boys today as each and every one gave 100% effort. We came within two minutes of beating a very good side. Hopefully, we have now come out of the little rut we were in and can look forward to regaining our excellent early-season form."

Littlehampton chief Carl Stabler added: "It was a real local derby today. Credit to United: they stopped us playing from the first minute. It's always difficult to play our pass-and-move style in a derby but the way the lads responded to going behind was well worthy of a point."

UNITED: Fuller; S. Di Paolo, Bone, Pickles, Keech; P. Brown, N Shelley, Webb, Sell, Schneider, J. Shelley. Subs: Banks (Di Paolo 35), Moses (Schneider 72), O'Sullivan, Swietlik gk. Att: 77. Di Paulo broken ankle.

LITTLEHAMPTON: Phillips; McCullum, Hazell, Young, Hinshelwood; Vanson, Barnard, Pearce, Williams; More, Windsor. Subs: Price (More 56), Templeman (Windsor 60), Torode (Barnard 75), Raynor, Bibb.