CCK were dumped out of the College Cup 4-2 in a rematch of last season’s final. Brighton Electricity progress through to the final and will be looking to retain the illustrious silverware.
The Badgers started the game in confident mood. Their cup form this season has been a complete contrast to their poor league showing, with top performances and giant killings in abundance. Both teams showed a desire to get the ball down and play and this was the theme of the game. Electricity struck first in controversial circumstances. An Electricity striker had been off the field of play, before he was gestured back on during play in an attacking position. The ball got pumped forwards towards him, and the unaware CCK defence believed the long pass was destined for safety and left it, this allowed the striker to close in on goal and watch as his strike was first saved by Paul Muzzall before the ball was tapped in at the back post by Sam Murphy on the rebound. Protestation from the away dugout ensued as the fourth official was bombarded. This set of events seemed to rock CCK as they came under severe pressure. Several shots were blocked and saved as Electricity looked to build on their positive start. The Badgers did show glimpses of an attacking threat as Tom Powell and Dave Sewell saw shots saved by the Electricity keeper, then Matt Carvel and Ben Tucker narrowly missed the target with long range attempts. Despite the rare foray forward, it seemed CCK were destined to concede again and not long before half time Electricity did double their lead. A penetrating run from the inside left position by Henry Robbins culminated in a neat finish into the bottom right corner of the net. The half time whistle blew with Badgers fans fearing a thrashing.
Early in the second half it seemed the fans fears were about to become reality as the Badgers conceded again. The move originated from the left again with some neat passing football. The goal was anything but neat however, as a deflected shot seemed to ping around the six yard box before finally being scrambled home by Johnny Dan. There have been few times this season that have seen CCK surrender matches, in fact they often don’t know when they’re beaten, (the narrow 5-4 aet loss against Littlehampton springs to mind). This was also the case during this match. Despite the scoreboard showing a 3-0 deficit the Badgers pushed forward in hope. They found a foothold when an Electricity defender handled on the edge of the area. Dave Jones stepped up and smashed the ball accurately past the wall and the keepers outstretched left hand. The ripple of the net ignited belief as CCK applied pressure as they looked to get right back into the game. It didn’t take them long to ask further questions of the Electricity resolve. A long throw from Mike Spence was flicked into the danger area by Dave Sewell. The ball fell kindly for Dave Jones who saw his shot well saved by the keeper. Another Mike Spence throw from the right led to CCK’s second goal, when the ball found its way to Tim Rose. The midfielder neatly swivelled and struck the ball in with his left foot on the half volley. CCK had gained the impotess in the match and looked to add fresh legs to their attacking force. Pete Coggan replaced Tom Powell and was deployed on the right wing, while Matt Carvel moved into the striker’s role. Coggan made an immediate impact running down the right wing and supplying a decent cross. Dave Jones pulled the ball down and laid in Matt Carvel. Unfortunately Carvel couldn’t find the target with his shot and was left disappointed as the ball flew over the bar. Dave Sewell was bossing the midfield aided by Tim Rose, Pete Coggan, and Ben Tucker. The CCK captain was imposing himself with some strong challenges and equally strong forward runs. Defensively CCK improved significantly from the first half with Doug Reid, Mike Spence, Jacob Fortescue, and Brett Joyce battling hard to thwart many of Electricity’s attacking moves. Tim Rose then decided to hand Galen Abraham his CCK debut, as he replaced Ben Tucker. Abraham slotted in at right back, as Doug Reid moved to left back, and Brett Joyce shuffled forward to the left wing. Abraham performed solidly making some good clearances. The game looked like it could go either way as CCK seemed to have purpose in their attacks, while Brighton Electricity were also attacking looking to put the game beyond the yellows. Brett Joyce cleared the ball off the line for CCK and Paul Muzzall saved to keep the Badgers in the game. However, as CCK poured forward they left themselves open to the knockout blow, and that came on 77 minutes when a long range strike by George Carney found the top corner. The Badgers couldn’t recover and when Malcolm Merrell blew the final whistle CCK’s cup hopes faded.
Manager Tim Rose was less than impressed with the referee when he spoke with reporters after the game, “It leaves a bitter taste in your mouth when an injustice like this happens. An Electricity player was off the pitch and then allowed back on through on goal, it’s a disgrace. I suppose we have to learn to expect this when we play one of the “big boys”, its common knowledge that you don’t get anything against those sorts of clubs.” Rose may find himself in hot water with the F.A after his remarks. Defender Jacob Fortescue also felt that Electricity were fortunate to have taken the lead, “It doesn’t seem fair to me but to be fair, the ref had a good game other than that moment. We should have had more communication as a defence anyway and dealt with the situation anyway.” Captain and man of the match Dave Sewell believes his team should be proud of their cup run this season, “We have done so well to get this far and we’re quite unfortunate not to have progressed further, we had some good spells and chances. I thought at 3-2 that we were going to pick up an historic comeback, but it wasn’t to be. Now we move forward and fight for Premiership survival”. That fight starts against Hikers BHA next week.
