CCK FC were handed a 5-1 thrashing by Brighton Electricity. The Badgers showed moments of promise, but were out-finished by their opponents. A well taken Matt Vitty goal was all that CCK had to show in an open game of attacking football.
As has been the case in recent weeks for CCK manager Tim Rose, he was forced into some last minute re-adjustments. Captain Dave Sewell and centre back Mike Spence were late casualties as Rose called up Hamza Yousuf and Charlie Jones to the first team squad. A few alterations later and CCK started brightly. Neat passing football and great appetite to win seemed to stand them in good stead. However, with this attacking threat, came the risk of letting the visitors counter attack. Electricity moved the ball quickly on the break and isolated defenders very well, however, the opening exchanges were comfortably dealt with by the defensive quartet of Tim Rose, Jacob Fortescue, Gary Walke, and Doug Reid. Electricity organised themselves well in defence and soaked up much of CCK’s play and then looked to explode into life when they won the ball back. This is what led to their opening goal on 20 minutes. A swift break from their own half resulted in a decent finish from inside the exposed CCK area by Alex Campana. The lead could have been doubled on several occasions afterwards, had it not been for some good one on one goalkeeping from Rob Woodward. At the other end CCK were still looking sharp with Mike Morrison pulling the strings in the final third of the pitch. His through ball to Matt Vitty allowed the pacey striker a one on one opportunity, but the Electricity keeper made himself big and was able to stop Vitty’s low drive. Morrison then went on a run, beating several players in brown shirts before unleashing a shot that was blocked by a scrambling defender. The Badgers had responded well to conceding a goal and looked dangerous going forward. Electricity prowled round the pitch as if it were a boxing ring, waiting for their opponents to show a weakness and then go in for the kill. The main weakness in CCK’s play was a real lack of tracking back, especially in wide areas, and when the overlapping Brighton Electricity right back was given free rein to cross on a counter attack, he picked out another free man, Mark O’Regan, at CCK’s back post, who routinely nodded the ball into the net. It was always then going to be an uphill climb for CCK, who had never beaten Brighton Electricity in their past meetings. To change that statistic would have taken something of a miracle. What could have started that process would have been a goal before the break. That almost came when Dave Jones broke forward and played the ball through for Tom Powell. The tall striker looked to clip the ball over the on-rushing keeper, but his angles were slightly off, and the ball squirmed wide. Then came a shocking moment for anyone that has watched CCK over the past two seasons, disciplinary action! In fact the punishment for Dan Harnden could have been far worse. The CCK defence was cut open by a decent through ball, and as the Electricity striker went through on goal, Dan Harnden appeared from nowhere and took him out just inside the box. A penalty was awarded, and the fortunate Harnden received a yellow card for his desperate lunge. It seemed that not only the CCK faithful were shocked by a card brandished to a CCK player, but the Electricity penalty taker, who tamely passed the ball goal-wards and watched as Rob Woodward’s legs diverted the ball over the bar. The half time whistle shortly followed.
The Badgers got off to a nightmare of a start in the second half, as all the half time chat in the dressing room must have gone to pot. A misplaced pass in midfield exposed the defence again and allowed Alex Campana to double his tally, and effectively stifle any hope CCK had of getting back in the game. The Badgers responded to the setback well, and continued to try and play football the right way. The passing improved as the midfield quartet of Dan Harnden, Dave Jones, Mike Morrison, and Hamza Yousuf kept the ball moving and looked to create chances for Tom Powell and Matt Vitty. The link up play was neat and purposeful. Mike Morrison had a good strike saved well by the goalkeeper, who was proving difficult to beat. Jacob Fortescue then saw a header narrowly clear the crossbar as CCK’s pressure mounted. Holes continued to appear at the back, and Rob Woodward twice saved low at the feet of advancing strikers. The overworked defence were trying hard to keep Electricity out, and some especially good tackles and interceptions came from Doug Reid, and Jacob Fortescue who were performing rather more solidly than the scoreboard suggested. Early in the second half Charlie Jones came onto replace fellow debutant Hamza Yousuf. Jones made an immediate impact running at defenders and linking up well with his team mates. A run and shot from Charlie Jones had the keeper scrambling to tip the ball wide. The corner then led to another chance, as Dave Jones’ cross found Mike Morrison who tried to scramble the ball home, only for the keeper to eventually pounce on the ball after a couple of swipes. A goal seemed inevitable, and one did come, but unfortunately not for the Badgers. Another rapid counter attack allowed Mark O’Regan to tap home his second goal of the game with a slight suspicion of offside. The goal stood and CCK’s momentum looked like it had run its course. The goal of the game followed soon after, when Toby Bryan latched onto a long ball on the left hand side of the CCK area. Bryan then flicked the ball over Gary Walke’s head and then scissor kicked it on the volley, brilliantly finding the corner of the CCK net. The game in truth had been over for some time and the CCK support could just applaud such a good finish. The Badgers still looked for some joy of their own, and when Mike Morrison’s through ball found Matt Vitty, they got it. Vitty rounded the keeper calmly and then passed the ball into the net from a tight angle. Vitty’s first goal for the Badgers was a sign of intent from the busy striker who continued to cause Electricity problems. His through ball found Mike Morrison whose brilliant strike flew into the bottom corner of the net. The assistant referee flagged for offside and after a discussion with the referee the goal was ruled out. Video replays clearly showed Morrison was onside and that an error was made. CCK kept pouring forward. Charlie Jones had another good effort threaten to breach the Electricity goal. Dave Jones also had an effort at goal, only for the keeper to beat the ball away. The two Jones’ both had efforts thwarted, Charlie’s strike was saved and as the ball rebounded at speed Dave Jones couldn’t direct his header on target. Mike Morrison then had a good effort at goal saved as CCK ended the game strongly. The damage had been done however, and the 5-1 final score will go down as a mauling on paper, in a game that could have been very different.
Tim Rose was barraged by some difficult questions from the media during his post match press conference. Most were leading questions regarding the absences of Dave Sewell and Mike Spence. It was suggested in the media that Sewell and Spence were absent due to ill-discipline regarding CCK FC’s curfew, with the CCK club captain reportedly out on the town on Friday night, involved in a street brawl along with Mike Spence. Rose was keen to dispel such rumours, “Sewell and Speno are sick, they failed late fitness tests, and this ‘bender’ and ‘brawling’ nonsense is fabricated by you guys trying to unsettle my players. I’ve a good bunch of lads here, and as today shows, they give me their all to the end, regardless of the score. It was disappointing to lose the game, but we can take some positives from it. We can go back to the training ground and look to improve.” Asked about Dan Harnden’s challenge Rose backed his player, “He is as a committed player who miss-timed a tackle. Some people are of the opinion that he should have walked, and perhaps in that respect he’s lucky he only saw yellow, but he is not a ‘dirty’ player, he just miss-timed his challenge.” Matt Vitty was delighted to get off the mark for CCK, but would have traded his goal to be on the winning side, “It’s always nice to score, but when you don’t win it doesn’t quite have the same feeling. Hopefully I can score a goal that contributes to a victory next time.” The Badgers fans will be hoping that they can grab a victory in their next match against Montpelier Villa next weekend.
