Christian Malford moved on to the next round of the WG Parr Trophy after a 4-3 away win against Cavalier at Beversbrook. The win was their first for over a season, but they were taken to the end by Cavalier who came back from a 4-1 deficit to push hard for extra time.
Malford started brightly against their Division Three opponents. After Tom Bull had caused confusion in the Cavalier defence, Harry Fenwick took advantage and scored his first goal for the club after just 2 minutes.
Although Will Elliott was the busier of the two keepers neither side could convert their chances until the 40th minute when Malford went 2-0 in front. The clearance from a Malford corner went straight to Harry Fenwick who volleyed it back into the net.
In the 44th minute with Malford claiming a foul, Cavalier broke away and a fine run by Roger Wiltshire ended with a slot past the keeper to reduce the score to 2-1. Almost immediately from the kick off Malford were 3-1 in front as Tom Bull’s fierce volly from distance hit the underside of the cross bar on its way into the net.
Malford extended their lead to 4-1 in the 50th minute when Harry Fenwick completed his hat trick by a clever lob after Cavalier failed to clear their lines. After 57 minutes Adam Bewley pulled another goal back for Cavalier when he beat the offside trap to slot the ball home.
Matt Hutchins in the Malford goal had to make a couple of good saves to keep the score. Malford then had to make several changes due to minor injuries and this clearly began to disrupt their play. Cavalier scored again in the 65th minute when Jack Lenagan’s shot beat everybody to bring the score to 4-3 and Cavalier close to equalising. Malford however dug deep and despite efforts from Adam Bewley, Malford got their first win for a long time with a 4-3 scoreline.
