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| Saturday 29 January 2005 East Court 7 Lindfield III 2 EAST Court moved into the semi-finals of the Stratford Challenge Cup last Saturday (January 29) after a home victory over division 6 side Lindfield III. Both sides lined up in a 3-5-2 formation and as the game got under way both sides cancelled each other out. There were very few chances before the visitors took the lead. A corner was swung in from their left and after a scramble the ball was headed home while East Court appealed in vain for a foul on keeper Paul Bishop. Despite this setback East Court still struggled to impose themselves on the game and were fortunate not to find themselves 2-0 down after a free header from another corner sailed over the bar. However, soon after the home side were level when a Billy Denyer corner was turned in by striker Ross Kelly. East Court had numerous chances to take the lead but poor shooting let them down on each occasion and they were thankful for keeper Bishop saving when one-on-one with a Lindfield attacked. A second goal for East Court did come before half-time when Nick Clarkson-Tooze was put clean through. His initial effort was blocked by the keeper but Clarkson-Tooze reacted quickest to slide the ball home. A third followed almost immediately, a ball was played through to Kelly whose diving header turned the ball into the path of the unmarked Denyer. Denyer hit the ball first time into the top corner of the net leaving the Lindfield keeper rooted to the spot. Just after half-time Ben Sunderland replaced Clarkson-Tooze and he soon found himself on the scoresheet. Kelly fed his fellow striker in the area and Sunderland took a touch before firing high into the roof of the net. Seconds later a fifth followed, Kelly took advantage of a slip in the Lindfield defence to put the tie beyond doubt. He held off a couple of defenders before slotting the ball home. Denyer was replaced by Paul Brice and shortly after Chris Butler came on for centre-back Nick Palmer. Lindfield pulled a goal back when East Court were robbed of possession just outside their own area. The ball was played through to an unmarked striker who made the most of the opportunity. Ben Sunderland then went on to complete the scoring as he netted twice more, one from the right hand side of the area that flew in off the far post. Team: P.Bishop, A.Wright, C.Buckler, A.Shillibeer, M.Bishop, N.Palmer (C.Butler), S.Nickols, B.Denyer (P.Brice), R.Kelly, N.Clarkson-Tooze (B.Sunderland), L.Champion |