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| Saturday 01 November 2003 Maresfield III 1 East Court 5 MALINS Cup holders East Court started their defence of the trophy with a 5-1 victory over Maresfield III on Saturday (November 1). The early exchanges were even before the home side took the lead froma throw-in. East Court failed to clear the ball and a Maresfield player knocked the ball past keeper Andrew Mackie. East Court responded well but saw the woodwork twice deny them an equaliser. First Martyn Bishop's free kick crashed off the crossbar and Nick Clarkson-Tooze saw his effort hit the frame of the goal. The away side was level before half-time when debutant Lee Champion fed the ball to Andrew Wright and he calmly placed his shot into the bottom corner. In the second half East Court played some good football and the midfield of Martyn Bishop, Ben Sunderland and James Salter were controlling the game. Martyn Bishop put East Court in front with a well-taken finish and Champion added a third when he beat the offside trap from Sunderland's pass and steered the ball into the bottom corner. Sunderland was unlucky not to get on the score-sheet but found himself on the wrong side of two debatable offside decisions. Martyn Bishop put a header wide before Clarkson-Tooze scored East Court's fourth when Champion set up the forward for a tap in. The defence of player manager Daniel Medcalf, Chris Butler, Nick Dawson, Wright and Carl Buckler limited Maresfield to long distance shots. With the away side well on top Chris Whiting replaced Clarkson-Tooze while Paul Bishop came on for Salter. Wright scored his second and East Court's fifth when he caught the Maresfield keeper off guard and beat him at his near post. In the dying minutes Buckler missed a header and Sunderland shot into the side netting. Team: A.Mackie, A.Wright, C.Buckler, C.Butler, D.Medcalf, N.Dawson, B.Sunderland, J.Salter (P.Bishop), N.Clarkson-Tooze (C.Whiting), L.Champion, M.Bishop |