Man of the Match- Steve Bird
Goal of the Match- for quality Dan House, for importance Sean
Save of the Match- Dan down low to his left early in the first half
Moment of the Match- Sean stands on the ball and tumbles with spectacular embarassment
After close to a month off eating turkey and getting fat, Bexley surprisingly returned to action. Those who lost in the first round of the Plumstead Challenge Cup in the first round would be entered into the Fred Jolly Cup. The opponents were from the Premier Division, no less than 4 leagues and 22 places above Bexley. However, they were without a league win all season. On the weekend of the FA Cup third round, could Bexley pull off their own giant killing?
Starting formation sprung few surprises apart from Sean being left on the bench for the first time. Aaron was handed a start on the left, and Dan House was in to anchor the midfield. Kick off at Hall Place. Woolwich 90 tried to play the long game with the ball constantly in the air. This prevented Bexley from playing their own game. Woolwich would get no where near the Bexley goal in the opening exchanges, it took a good 15 minutes for Dan to touch the ball. After a few half chances Bexley took the lead through Dan House. Having received the ball from Steve, he hit a measured shot over the keeper to put the underdogs ahead.
Woolwich couldn’t get the ball forward, the passing and first touch was poor. Bexley’s opportunities on goal were limited, Lee was the only one to come close with an over hit free kick, and James fired a shot over. As the half progressed, Woolwich got themselves back into the game. A dubious back pass decision from the referee handed Woolwich a golden opportunity. With half the Bexley team on the line, Woolwich could only fire wide. Mark made a great save of his own from a near post flick at a corner, he just got his studs on the ball to direct it wide.
Woolwich got themselves back into the game with a switched ball across the box where there were two players unmarked. He was able to take the ball down and somewhat fortuitously found the corner by mis-kicking the ball through the legs of the diving Dan. Bexley got to half time level, and needed this time to regroup and reorganise.
No specifics were highlighted at half time, just that Bexley needed the ball down more. Matt was introduced to centre midfield for Aaron. Woolwich were a different team in the second half. The team that clearly lacked confidence in the first half appear to have changed into a team who were intent on attacking. As it happened Bexley were camped in their own half. They were grateful for some organised defending. Any attempted to get the ball forward was swiftly cut out by Woolwich, putting Bexley on the back foot. Dan was called into action when, in similar fashion to the first goal, a switched ball allowed the player to wiggle free and shoot, saved and held down low.
Steve Bird was leading the defensive charge, with some brilliant defending. Kev, Lee, and Tom were also putting in maximum effort, getting the luck they deserved at times. Woolwich looked certain to score their second when a striker appeared to have a clear shot, but Steve made an unbelievable tackle and Dan grabbed the ball away from the team mates scavenging a rebound. Shortly after, a ball across the box evaded the stretching Lee and beat Kev to the ball to turn and shoot, blocked by Dan.
80 minutes had elapsed, Bexley were absorbing pressure like a sponge. Woolwich had hit the side netting and rather annoyingly put several shots into the forest behind the goal. Sean had been introduced for Dan Haley, and played higher up the pitch than usual. Immediately he was dominating in the air.
With extra time looking like an increasing possibility, Bexley completed a Sunderland style smash and grab. A Bexley player was mowed down on the right. The free kick was fired in and caused carnage in the Woolwich box. With the ball only half clear, Steve managed to get the ball to Sean who seemed to all the world to be offside. Unbelievably, the flag stayed down and Sean had his moment. Bexley didn’t expect much from his striking abilities, but he amazingly took the ball down and fired into the bottom corner. The metaphoric roof came off Hall Place, with Sean making sure his manger knew who scored the winner. With only minutes to go, this secured a fantastic cup win.
A terrific win against far superior opposition, despite them not winning a game all season 22 places is a huge gap. Incredible defensive commitment and clinical finish. The next round will feature an away tie with a team from Division 2 in either Crofton Albion or Woolwich Spartans. Pete says “We all played well and I hope we can keep it up.”
