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| Saturday 07 February 2004 Crawley Down III 3 East Court 1 EAST Court were knocked out of the Mid Sussex Junior Charity Cup at the quarter final stage on Saturday (February 7). Down took the lead from a corner which Andrew Wright was unable to clear off the line. But despite playing against a side two divisions higher, East Court created chances and Billy Denyer fired over the bar twice. James Salter shot over from 12 yards while Martyn Bishop burst through but his effort was straight at the Down keeper. At the other end Nick Palmer, back in defence after returning from Canada, had an excellent game. In the second half Down extended their lead when a cross from the right was fired home. But East Court got back in the game when Ross Kelly threaded a ball to Denyer and he slotted past the Down keeper. Meantime a Down player was booked while East Court's Bishop also saw yellow. Bishop was lucky to stay on the pitch after a mistimed tackle and was replaced by Lee Champion. Ben Sunderland came on for James Crittell as East Court pushed forward in search of an equaliser. But disaster struck at the other end when keeper Andrew Mackie slid out to catch the ball only to see it slip from his grasp to a Down player who slotted into an empty net. Still East Court pushed on and Lee Champion was denied a penalty after being dragged back in the area. Denyer had a shot saved by the Down keeper and Ross Kelly's attempted rebound was also tipped away by the shot-stopper. James Salter's sublime run ended with a cross which Sunderland could not convert and Kelly's attempted shot hit the side netting. Chris Butler went on for skipper Simon Nickols but East Court could not get back into the game. Team: A.Mackie, A.Wright, C.Buckler, Ja.Crittell (B.Sunderland), D.Medcalf, N.Palmer. S.Nickols (C.Butler), B.Denyer, R.Kelly, J.Salter, M.Bishop (L.Champion) |