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| Saturday 06 December 2003 East Court 5 Cuckfield Town III 3 HOLDERS East Court came from 3-1 down to book their place in the quarter finals of the Malins Cup at Imberhorne School on Saturday (December 6). In the process they also recorded their first home victory in nearly three months. East Court started well and created plenty of chances. Ben Sunderland shot wide as did Lee Champion. They took the lead when Sunderland's corner came to Champion. His effort was blocked but Martyn Bishop was on hand to thump home the rebound. Cuckfield equalised after a mix-up between Chris Butler and goalkeeper Paul Bishop resulted in the defender heading into his own net. Butler came close to making ammends at the other end but saw his shot come back off the upright. At the start of the second half Cuckfield shocked the holders with two goals in five minutes. First James Crittell, making his debut, could only clear to a Cuckfield forward, whose looping effort ended in the top corner. They scored again from a free kick. East Court showed character to get back into the game. First a wonderful flowing move involving Mark Nolan, Martyn Bishop and Nick Clarkson-Tooze, who came on for Champion at half-time, ended with Sunderland thumping a shot past the Cuckfield keeper. Man of the match James Salter then equalised when he cut in-field past three Cuckfield players before firing an unstoppable 25-yard shot into the top corner. With 10 minutes remaining East Court went in front when Sunderland's corner was headed into the net by a Cuckfield player. Clarkson-Tooze made the game safe in the remaining minutes when he burst free and slotted past the Cuckfield keeper. Team: P.Bishop, A.Wright, C.Buckler (D.Bewley), C.Butler, D.Medcalf, Ja.Crittell, J.Salter, M.Nolan, B.Sunderland, L.Champion (N.Clarkson-Tooze), M.Bishop. Unused Sub: N.Dawson |