Charlwood 3-2 Old Whitgiftian AFC
(Cobbett 26, OG 85)Surrey Junior Cup Round 1
(Saturday, 20 October 2007)
MATCH REPORT
by Kenneth Cobbett
Saturday saw Old Whitgiftians visit Charlwood FC in the first round of the Surrey Junior Cup. With absences a plenty, and no recognised goalkeeper in the squad, Whits took to the pitch with Andy Blades deputising in net and Rory making his debut at centre half.
| STARTING LINE-UP |
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| BLADES CLARKE C - McDERMOTT - RORY - TARLTON WARD - HIGGINS - McNAMARA - PATRICK LAKHANI - COBBETT (Cpt) |
The match started at a good tempo, with Charlwood dominating the early exchanges as Whits got to grips with the bigger, stickier pitch and new look line up. The pressue soon resulted in a goal as a free kick outside the Whits box was whipped in towards the far post, the ball evading everyone and nestling in the back of the net. The goal seemed to wake the visiting side up and some good passages of play and counter-attacking football kept the Charlwood defenders on their toes. Whits’ deserved equaliser came as a throw in was flicked on by McNamara to Cobbett who had lost his man, the striker rifling home on the turn to make it 1-1. Whits continued to press, as did Charlwood and the game became more open with both sides looking for the important second. It eventually came, as the home side made a spell of prolonged pressure count, one of their players tapping home from 7 yrds leaving Andy Blades with no chance. Nevertheless Whits rallied and should have had an equaliser minutes later; a super ball over the top from Ward was chased down by Cobbett who was illegally thwarted in his attempt to round the keeper – the shot stopper clearly handling the ball outside the box. The referee waved play on much to Whits’ disgust. The half time whistle blew with Whits 2-1 down but well in the game.
| 2nd HALF LINE-UP |
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| RORY CLARKE C - McDERMOTT - TARLTON - PATRICK WARD - HIGGINS - McNAMARA - BLADES LAKHANI - COBBETT (Cpt) |
The second half kicked off with Whits the first out of the blocks and the brighter of the two sides. With Andy Blades now on the left of midfield Whits’ emphasis was on attack and indeed it was Blades himself who almost brought the scores level. Some good movement and interlinking play saw space open up, the midfielders shot clipping the wrong side of the post and drifting agonisingly wide. The home side responded and went close on a number of occasions, however the finishing left much to be desired as Whits held firm. The killer goal did eventually come, a scramble in and around the box resulted in the ball falling kindly to a Charlwood player who was left with a simple tap in to make it 3-1. There was however time for a frantic finish as McNamara forced a back-pass, which slipped under the keeper’s foot and into the net. The visiting side threw everything forward but despite their efforts were unable to find the equaliser and force extra time.
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