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| Saturday 17 January 2004 East Court 2 Old Varndeanians III 1 A LOCAL derby with Crawley Down III in the next round of the Mid Sussex Junior Charity Cup was the reward for East Court after they beat opposition two divisions higher on Saturday (January 17). The away side nearly took the lead in the opening seconds when James Crittell failed to clear a through ball and although the Old Varndeanians player beat East Court keeper Paul Bishop to it the shot went wide. East Court thought they had scored direct from a corner but Billy Denyer's effort went just over the crossbar. After that initial scare East Court had the best chances and played some good free-flowing football. They took the lead when Denyer's shot was saved but the rebound fell to Carl Buckler, who fired home. Martyn Bishop then saw a header cleared off the line following a Denyer corner. Old Varndeanians equalised against the run of play but East Court regained the lead when Denyer's corner was met by an unstoppable header from Martyn Bishop. During the interval Nick Clarkson-Tooze came on and Lee Champion went in goal replacing the injured Paul Bishop. East Court had further chances to extend their lead in the second half. Denyer fired over twice while Ross Kelly saw his header cleared off the line after a brilliant team move. Duncan Bewley came on for James Salter as East Court continued to test the Old Varndeanians defence. There were nervy moments in the final minutes as Old Varndeanians pushed forward in search of an equaliser but the home side deservedly held on to win. Team: P.Bishop (N.Clarkson-Tooze), A.Wright, C.Buckler, M.Bishop, D.Medcalf, Ja.Crittell, S.Nickols, B.Denyer, R.Kelly, L.Champion, J.Salter (D.Bewley). Unused sub: C.Butler |