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| Saturday 21 February 2004 East Court 3 Ashurst Wood II 0 EAST Court moved into second spot in Mid Sussex Football League Division 6 after winning this fiercely contested local derby on Saturday (February 21). With skipper Simon Nickols injured, player-manager Daniel Medcalf was forced into changes with Lee Champion coming into midfield. And it was the home side that started brightly and took an early lead. The ball was passed around in midfield before Ross Kelly threaded a pass through to Duncan Bewley, who steered his shot past the on-rushing Wood keeper Daniel Lamprell. East Court doubled their lead when Andrew Wright's cross found Billy Denyer, who controlled the ball with his left foot before firing past Lamprell with his right. Denyer could have had another soon after when Lamprell misjudged the bounce of the ball but the East Court midfielder hit the side netting. Wood came close to pulling a goal back when a player burst through but his shot hit the crossbar after East Court keeper Paul Bishop had got the slightest touch. It proved a turning point as the home team grabbed an all important third when Denyer scored his 50th goal for the club straight from a corner. At the start of the second half Chris Butler replaced James Crittell while Bewley nearly grabbed his second goal but a heavy touch meant Lamprell was able to get to the ball first. Two Ashurst Wood players were then booked in quick succession for late challenges. Kelly was replaced by Sunderland and Nick Clarkson-Tooze came on for Wright. East Court were forced to play the rest of the game with 10 men after James Salter went off injured. Butler was booked for holding and then an Ashurst Wood player was cautioned for a late challenge on the East Court defender. Clarkson-Tooze nearly scored a fourth for the home side right at the death but his shot went just wide. Team: P.Bishop, Ja.Crittell (C.Butler), C.Buckler, L.Champion, D.Medcalf, M.Bishop, A.Wright (N.Clarkson-Tooze), B.Denyer, R.Kelly (B.Sunderland), J.Salter, D.Bewley |