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| Saturday 11 September 2004 Fairwarp 2 East Court FC 5 The second game of the season saw East Court gain maximum points from a difficult away fixture in Division 5 of the Mid Sussex League. It took Billy Denyer just over 30 seconds to put the away team ahead as some neat footwork inside the area saw him slide the ball home after a mistake by the home defence. Early pressure could have seen East Court further extend their lead, but it was the home side that got the equaliser when a long-range effort was not closed down and the bounce beat the dive of keeper Paul Bishop. Both sides continued to work hard and create chances, but it was East Court that edged the first half and took the lead just before the interval. Tom Greig worked well down the left flank to turn inside and put the ball into the area where Ross Kelly managed to dig out a pass to Denyer who again made no mistake from 5 yards. Greig was injured just before the break and was replaced by Sunderland at half time, Buckler reverted back to his usual left wing back position having started the game up front. East Court extended their lead after some neat interplay in midfield between Kelly and Andy Wright, Kelly was freed down the right and cut the ball back to Sunderland inside the box who drove it home to make it 3-1 to the visitors. The away side never looked like giving up and a neat finish saw get back to within one goal. The home side continued to push on and only a fine save from Bishop stopped Fairwarp from equalising. A firm header was heading towards the roof of the net but the keeper made amends for his earlier blunder as he produced a flying save to tip the ball over the bar. This gave East Court the wakeup call they needed, captain Simon Nickols threaded a ball through Fairwarp's back line to find Sunderland's left side run, who crossed for Denyer to slide home and complete his second hat-trick in two weeks. Substitutes Nick Clarkson-Tooze and James Crittell came on for the hard working Adam Shillibeer and Kelly. At 4-2 up East Court looked dominant and could have scored three or four more, but the last goal was saved until the last five minutes for the best move of the game. Sunderland found Clarkson-Tooze after a clever run, he turned inside his marker and picked out Nickols on the edge of the area, he controlled and found Martyn Bishop who took the ball on the volley from 25 yards and sent it rocketing into the far corner of the net. Martyn Bishop got man of the match if not for his goal, for the amount of headers he made at the back. With Dan Medcalf, Shillibeer and Crittell, he ensured the defence was tight. The midfield of Wright, Denyer, Nickols, Greig and Nick Palmer played well on a very small pitch. The win ensures Court remain top of Division Five with a maximum six points having scoring eleven goals in two games. Team: P.Bishop, A.Wright, N.Palmer, A.Shillibeer (Ja.Crittell), D.Medcalf, M.Bishop, S.Nickols, B.Denyer, R.Kelly (N.Clarkson-Tooze), C.Buckler, T.Greig (B.Sunderland) |