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| Saturday 14 December 2002 Lingfield III 1 East Court FC 5 AT THE fourth time of asking Lingfield III and East Court FC were finally able to stage this long-awaited Malins Cup tie and it was the away side who came out on top. East Court were quickly into their stride with Simon Nickols, Martyn Bishop and Billy Denyer winning most of the battle in midfield. The away side grabbed the lead with a fabulous goal from Denyer who beat half of the Lingfield defence before slotting past the keeper. Five minutes later Denyer repeated the trick and added his and East Court's second. Lingfield rarely threatened the East Court goal in the first half. They came closest with a free kick which deflected off the East Court wall and went wide. In the second half East Court added a third when Ross Kelly thundered home after a scramble in the Lingfield box. It was soon four when Denyer completed his hat-trick after latching on to a goal kick and chipping the Lingfield keeper. East Court were coasting and were awarded a free kick after Denyer was clattered. But as Martyn Bishop stepped up for the set piece he was shown a red card by the referee which left both sides bemused. Lingfield pulled a goal back after being awarded a free kick and a forward was left unmarked at the far post to slot home. Then, in another controversial decision, East Court keeper Paul Bishop was judged to have pulled down a Lingfield player giving the home side a penalty. But justice was done when the spot-kick was saved and before Lingfield could get to the rebound player/manager Daniel Medcalf had cleared the danger. East Court came under more pressure but superb defending by Dave Nolan, Nick Palmer, Medcalf and Andrew Wright mopped up everything that was thrown at them. The away side extended their lead when James Salter found himself space and slotted home. There were more chances in the final minutes for East Court. Carl Buckler, still looking for his first goal for the club, could have grabbed a couple and Wright was unlucky when his magnificent run from his own half ended with his shot being saved. It was an excellent team performance from East Court against opponents a division higher than them in the Mid Sussex League. Team: P.Bishop, A.Wright, C.Buckler, D.Nolan, D.Medcalf, N.Palmer, S.Nickols, B.Denyer, R.Kelly, J.Salter, M.Bishop. Unused Subs: J.Nickols, O.Wright |