 |
| Saturday 08 October 2005 Village of Ditchling II 0 East Court 6 EAST Court bounced back to winning ways as they played their third cup game of the season last Saturday. It was the first round of the Somerville Challenge Cup and two goals from Lee Champion helped East Court to a comfortable victory over a side from the division below. Carl Buckler was ruled out having injured his foot in the defeat to Burfield Tyres the previous week and Nick Clarkson-Tooze dropped down to the bench. They were replaced by Ben Sunderland and Ross Kelly in a new look 4-5-1 formation as player-manager Dan Medcalf tried to shake things up in a bid to make East Court a more potent attacking force. East Court started quicker than they had done the previous few weeks but still took a while to find their feet properly. Throughout the first half it was a case of East Court playing well in short spells only to try and hand the initiative back to Ditchling at the first opportunity. Dan Lamprell was called on a few times in the first half but was a virtual passenger in the second half as East Court closed out the game. Too often in the first half East Court wasted possession in good positions as they always looked to move the ball forwards even when there was no support but with this rectified after the break they were much better able to keep the ball for long periods and make Ditchling work hard. Nick Clarkson-Tooze replaced Ben Sunderland on the left wing at half time and a few minutes into the second half playmaker Billy Denyer was replaced by James Salter. Paul Bishop was the last sub and he replaced Lee Champion as East Court switched to a more conventional 4-4-2 for the last 20 minutes. It was 3-0 at half-time after goals from the skipper Simon Nickols, Lee Champion and Ben Sunderland. Nickols reacted quickest to a loose ball in the Ditchling area to fire the away side in front before Champion doubled the lead. Palmer got forward on the left hand side and his ball inside was tucked home by Champion. Sunderland was first to another loose ball in the area to complete the first half scoring. The second half started very quickly with two goals for East Court in the first few minutes. Champion got his second of the afternoon from the penalty spot and then substitute Nick Clarkson-Tooze got on the end of a Simon Nickols through ball to slot the ball through the keepers legs into the net. Lee Champion then released Andy Wright down the right wing who closed in on the keeper before lifting the ball over his body. Paul Bishop had a chance to open his ECFC account after coming on but his first touch let him down in a promising position inside the box. Team: D.Lamprell, A.Wright, N.Palmer, S.Nickols, D.Medcalf, A.Shillibeer, P.Brice, B.Denyer (J.Salter), R.Kelly, L.Champion (P.Bishop), B.Sunderland (N.Clarkson-Tooze) |