CCK FC continued their blinding cup form with a 3-2 victory over Brighton North End. 2 Goals from winger Matt Carvel, and a fifth goal in five games for Josh Van Nes saw the Badgers progress to the semi-final of the College Cup.
CCK showed no signs of a hangover following their dismal performance last week against American Express. In fact, they were unrecognisable from start to finish. It took them minutes to take the lead against high flying North End. A great team move including Mike Morrison and Dave Jones created an opportunity for Matt Carvel. The left midfielder had a tight angle, however he managed to squeeze his shot between the outstretched arm of the keeper, and the right hand post. Brighton North End were clearly shocked by CCK's dominant start to the game. Moments after the restart they gifted the Badgers another goal. A poor back header by BNE's left back allowed Josh Van Nes to stride through on goal. The keeper expected a pass from the forward as the angle was against him, however the giant striker surprised him with a near post effort that found the net. It was Van Nes' fifth goal of the season making him CCK's current top scorer. The Badgers were full of energy and were causing their counterparts no end of trouble. Ivan Sambles played a through ball to Dave Jones who saw his shot narrowly miss the target. Defensively CCK were on top form. The central partnership of Dave Sewell and Jacob Fortescue was flourishing as they mopped up any North End pressure. Full backs Mike Spence and Ben Tucker were battling hard and offering themselves as an option on the overlap. Mike Spence's long throw ins were creating havock for the BNE defence. Mike Morrison managed to flick the ball on towards the back post on several occasions. A little more anticipation from the yellow shirts could have resulted in more goals. Ivan Sambles then showed great technique as he acrobatically volleyed after a good Mike Spence cross. He watched on as the keeper managed to divert his effort away from goal. The third goal was inevitable as momentum gathered. Mike Morrison played the ball forward to Matt Carvel who was dispossessed by the right back. Carvel then displayed great tenacity to win the ball back from the hesitant defender and riffle a shot underneath the keeper. The 3-0 half time lead was the least CCK deserved for their fantastic first half performance. The lead could have been greater, Matt Carvel had a chance to score his hatrick as he shot inside the area. The keeper made himself big and blocked the shot. The midfield battle was key to CCK's dominance with Tim Rose brilliantly hounding BNE midfielders.
The second half had a slightly different complexion as Brighton North End returned to action with more purpose and aggression. Aggression is definately the correct adjective as they picked up yellow card after yellow card for desent and ill-discipline. Their determined attitude however, seemed to reap some rewards as their footballing improved. They gave themselves hope when a cross from the left wing was spectacularly flicked, on the volley into the left corner of the net. It was a blow for Rob Woodward who had performed brilliantly in goal for the Badgers. Despite the minor setback CCK continued to create chances. Jacob Fortescue rose to meet a corner and was unlucky to see his effort saved by the keeper. Then a great run and cut-back from the left by Mike Morrison presented Dave Jones with an opening. However, the attacking midfielder squandered the chance blazing the ball over the bar. Morrison then had a long range effort whistle past the left hand post. Ivan Sambles was replaced by Mike Preston in a straight swap mid-way through the half. BNE applied increased pressure to the CCK back line. The defence was proving difficult to penetrate with Spence, Sewell, Fortescue, and Tucker continuing to calmly deal with North End's attack. Rob Woodward also showed great class with some fantastic handling as he tamed BNE's aerial challenge. Clutching crosses, long throw ins, and set pieces with fantastic confidence. Then came two minutes of madness. CCK were left short on the left side as BNE worked the ball down the wing. They then exploited the man over at the back post sliding the ball across goal for their left winger to tap home. Fans of both sides were biting their nails in anticipation of a nervous finale. Then came a moment of controversy. An advanced run from BNE's centre back saw him go down in the box following a Mike Preston challenge. The referee waved away protests as BNE players were infuriated. So much so was one player that the referee was forced to book him for desent. The player subsequently clapped the referee with an element of sarcasm, this resulted in his second yellow card, reducing his side to ten men. CCK then played keep ball near the corner flags, slowing the game down and allowing time to defeat their opponents.
CCK's great away form continued and Tim Rose challenged his team to start playing simularly at Wish Park, "We played well today like we have done away from home all season. It's crazy to see our stats at home in comparison to our away form and there is no explanation for it at all. It's now a case of maintaining our unbeaten away run while trying to create a fortress at Wish Park." The controversial penalty claim for BNE was a hot topic in the Sky Sports studio after the match as video replays were inconclusive, their reporter quizzed Mike Preston about the incident in the post match press room. The midfielder stated "It was a dive. The ref got it right, I pulled out of the challenge and he fell over looking for the penalty". Man of the match Josh Van Nes spoke with Sky Sports about his goalscoring run, attributing his good record to confidence, "My confidence is high at the moment and that is reflected in my goalscoring tally. As a team we played well today, created a lot of chances and got back to playing good football. We need to kick on from here and show more consistency." CCK will be looking to continue their good Cup form when they play Sussex giants Haywards Heath at Hanbury Stadium. David Haye managed to defeat Nikolai Valuev this weekend, showing that David can still beat Goliath in such clashes.
