Bexley Athletic opened their Plumstead Challenge Cup campaign with a rematch against Division 2 Mottingham Forest. Record signing (for height) Tom Woolf making his debut. Mourinho was forced into rotation with notable absentees and lateness, but Bexley coped with this flexibility well.
This fixture was a record for poor lateness excuses. Those included:
·I have to drop my fiancé off to somewhere
·I couldn’t find my boots
·I’m running late for some reason
·I didn’t turn my clock backwards an hour so I’m running late
Sevenoaks filled to void at centre back until Hamberger arrived, as the new back three made its debut. Vincent took photos from the side-line nursing his gammy toe as Dan McGovern took on the centre midfield role. The most meticulous official refereed the game.
Mottingham hit the bar with an early chance from a poorly defended set piece, but were then largely second best in the opening half an hour. Without fashioning many clear cut chances, Bexley dominated possession and controlled the game. Dan Mcgovern and Klavs both had decent opportunities blocked. The home side took a deserved lead when a well struck free kick was spilt by the keeper, and Tom fed Elton to tap in from close range. It would be a lead that was comfortably held into half time.
The highlight of the half was a remarkable piece of skill by Dan in goal, tekkers many can only dream of possessing.
The feeling going into the second half was to push on and score more goals, mindful that one mistake could change this game. However for some reason Bexley sat back and only fashioned chances on the counter. As the game continued, the anxiety increased and Bexley were making hard work of this. That said, the home side were defensively strong and a credit to themselves for the effort they had put in over the last month. Sam Hamberger was at his brilliant best on the cover and a massive part of this clean sheet. One hairy moment from a short back pass was dealt with; as Bexley saw out the 1-0 win after some end of game hand bags.
Division 2 Bayswater RK FC await in round 2.
