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| Saturday 23 October 2004 Village of Ditchling II 0 East Court FC 3 East Court Football Club remain at the top of Mid Sussex League Division 5 after a convincing victory in Ditchling on Saturday. In blustery conditions East Court started well and would have taken the lead if it wasn't for a series of excellent stops by the Ditchling keeper. Ben Sunderland and Billy Denyer had close-range shots that were well held, while Paul Brice and captain Simon Nickols both had fierce drives which were somehow pushed to safety via the woodwork. The away team took the lead mid-way through the first half. Ditchling stuggled to clear their lines and the ball fell to Ross Kelly. Kelly sent an improvised backheel into the path of Denyer who steered the ball under the keeper and inside the far post for his 11th goal of the season. East Court continued to dominate in the first-half but were unable to build on their lead. Court scored their second goal shortly after the interval with a brilliant team move. The ball was confidently passed around defence and midfield before being fed through to Kelly in the inside left position. Kelly reached the byline and pulled a dangerous ball back to Denyer who couldn't miss from 6 yards out. Man-of-the match Lee Champion won countless loose balls in midfield and worried the home defence with his trademark surging runs. Nickols and Brice worked well down the flanks and were supported in attack by full-backs Dan Medcalf and Carl Buckler who both had excellent games. In the second-half Tom Greig came on for Brice and Sunderland was replaced by Nick Clarkson-Tooze, whose impact on the game was immediate. Martyn Bishop's through ball found Clarkson-Tooze who cleverly shook off his marker before unleashing an unstoppable angled shot from the edge of the area into the far corner of the goal. East Court had several chances to add to their tally but could not quite find the back of the net. Sunderland was unlucky to clear the crossbar with a lunging attempt from a Kelly cross, and Nickols almost got on the scoresheet with an effort from the edge of the area. Adam Shillibeer and Martyn Bishop, who made way for Chris Butler in the second half, mopped up everything at the back and won all of their aerial battles against the Ditchling forwards. Such is East Court's dominance in defence, they have now only conceded 4 goals in 6 league matches this season and once again Paul Bishop was largely untroubled in goal. Team: P.Bishop, D.Medcalf, C.Buckler, L.Champion, A.Shillibeer, M.Bishop (C.Butler), S.Nickols, B.Denyer, R.Kelly, B.Sunderland (N.Clarkson-Tooze), P.Brice (T.Greig) |