A pulsating match between CCK and American Express ended with no fewer than ten goals having been scored. Hat-tricks for Dave Jones and Matt Vitty after an early goal from Ben Tucker allowed the Badgers to convincingly win the match 7-3.
Tim Rose shuffled the pack moments before kick off as Dan Harnden pulled out of the game late. The pressure of top flight management seemed to be getting to the CCK player/manager who looked like a man with the weight of the world upon his shoulders. The weight was lifted within seconds of the whistle however, when Matt Vitty romped through the defence and when his shot was parried across goal, Ben Tucker stole a march on his marker and tapped the ball home for the opener. Amex responded brilliantly to the shock of conceding so early, and grabbed an equaliser minutes later when a free kick pin-balled around the CCK penalty area before being riffled home by Jamie McKenzie. If the fans thought the game would calm down and resemble anything like a normal match they were wrong. CCK poured forward with purpose and regained the lead when Dave Jones squared the ball to Matt Vitty who swept the ball home clinically. On 21 minutes it was 3-1. Mike Morrison, a thorn in the side of Amex throughout the match, was scythed down in the area by a clumsy tackle, giving the referee no option to point to the spot. Dave Jones stepped up and confidently struck the ball to the keepers left. Jones Vs the keeper became a contest that the Amex stopper enjoyed rather less than his opponent. Jones was fouled in the area, allowing him to perform an action replay of his first penalty and make it 4-1. His first half hat-trick was complete when Matt Vitty crossed the ball to the attacking midfielder, and he skipped past a defender before rounding the keeper, and passing the ball home. If his footwork was admirable, Mike Morrison’s and then Matt Vitty’s were mesmeric. Morrison created the chance when he danced round several lunges and played in Vitty, who waltzed around his man before potently tucking the ball to the keeper’s right from a tight angle. 6-1 with 5 goals in little more than 20 minutes was quite something, but American Express didn’t give up and grabbed what seemed like a consolation when a misjudged long ball allowed the striker to go through on goal. Despite Jacob Fortescue’s best efforts the ball found the net via the foot of Sean Hazeldine making the half time score an unbelievable 6-2.
The second half turned far scrappier with American Express resorting more and more to hacking down players who they couldn’t contain. As a result Mike Morrison was lucky to find a pulse come the end of the game, such was the vendetta against the silky midfielder. The game wasn’t without some refereeing calamity. The man in black over-ruled the linesman who had flagged for offside despite having a far inferior view of the defensive line. The striker was allowed to bear down on goal before being tripped by Jacob Fortescue as the keeper rushed off his line. The penalty was hotly contested due to the referee’s inability to consult with the linesman. Protests were in vain and the penalty was smashed into the left side of the net to reduce the arrears. Matt Vitty then calmed any fears the Badgers fans had of an Amex comeback. The vibrant striker latched onto a Jonny Cassell cross and finished with aplomb to grab his hat-trick and make the score 7-3. Defensively CCK tightened up with Tim Rose, Mike Spence, Gary Walke, and Doug Reid keeping Amex at bay. The CCK midfield continued to dominate, with Jonny Cassell, Dave Sewell, Mike Morrison, and Ben Tucker working hard to out pass their opponents. The 6 goal pairing of Dave Jones and Matt Vitty continued to look sharp. Jones had a goal chalked off despite replays suggesting he was behind Matt Vitty when the forward played the ball across to him. The robust challenges continued as CCK’s dominance frustrated their opponents into some ridiculous lunges. Quite how none went unpunished until the final moments of the game, only the referee knows. That yellow card quite simply should have been red. Matt Vitty raced through only to be hacked down by the last man, who clearly diverted his running path to scythe down the forward. The game finished with CCK grateful for their blitz of first half goals as they grabbed three points with a 7-3 victory.
Tim Rose was pleased with his side’s effort when he spoke with TalkSports Ian Abrahams after the match, “The twenty minutes in the first half were amazing, it seemed we were scoring at will and the boys really showed their quality. The second half saw a different performance, a mature display of resilience.” Asked about some of the challenges by American Express players Rose angrily responded, “My players were playing a football match, those guys didn’t seem to realise a football was on the pitch. It was disgraceful and the referee should have offered my players far more protection. One yellow card all game, that was shocking.” Mike Morrison was equally critical of Amex’s “dirty” tactics, “They struggled to deal with us fairly and so they hacked us down. The referee could have come down harder on them, but it takes the biscuit when they then try and get Mike Spence sent off for a well timed tackle. I was just saying to them if he were to get sent off for that, then they would probably only have their keeper left on the pitch.” The midfielder went on to praise his side for their victory, “It was amazing to play such great football on this difficult pitch today. Some of our moves were brilliant and we were clinical in front of goal today, which is a great sign. We have been playing well without having that ruthless streak. If we can combine the two, who knows where we might finish the season.” Brighton Electricity await CCK next week as the Badgers hope they’ll record another victory to shoot further up the league.
