 |
| Saturday 14 February 2004 Wivelsfield Green II 1 East Court 3 HOLDERS East Court booked their place in their second consecutive Malins Cup final with a fine performance on Saturday (February 14). It was the away side that created the best chances and both James Salter and Billy Denyer were denied by excellent saves from the Wivelsfield keeper. Ross Kelly also saw his shot go inches wide after a good team move. Carl Buckler gave East Court the lead with a wonderful goal. The midfielder picked up the ball on the left wing and beat a couple of Wivelsfield players before cutting into the area and firing into the top corner. East Court doubled their advantage when Ross Kelly threaded a ball through to Denyer who steered his shot past the keeper. A Wivelsfield player was booked before half-time after a cynical foul on Salter. The home side came out all guns blazing at the start of the second half and immediately pulled a goal back. They almost equalised from a free kick but Martyn Bishop cleared the ball off the line. Another Wivelsfield player was booked after a late tackle on Bishop. Both sides then found themselves on the wrong side of controversial decisions. East Court thought they had grabbed a third when player-manager Daniel Medcalf's free kick was turned home by Kelly only for the effort to be ruled out for offside. Wivelsfield went straight up the other end and a player found himself one-on-one with East Court keeper Andrew Mackie, who was left helpless as the ball came back off the post. A Wivelsfield player tucked home the rebound only for the assisitant referee to flag and the goal was disallowed. Ben Sunderland came on for Salter and almost immediately got on the scoresheet but his shot just cleared the crossbar. Kelly was booked after knocking the ball away but East Court made sure of victory when Buckler threaded a ball through for Denyer, who tucked his shot into the bottom corner. Chris Butler came on for Bishop as East Court protected their advantage with some nice passing. Medcalf, still looking for his first goal for the club, set off on a blistering run only for the final whistle to blow as he looked certain to be clean through on the Wivelsfield keeper. Team: A.Mackie, Ja.Crittell, N.Palmer, S.Nickols, D.Medcalf, M.Bishop (C.Butler), A.Wright, B.Denyer, R.Kelly, J.Salter (B.Sunderland), C.Buckler Unused Sub: L.Champion |