CCK’s first home victory of the season lifted them out of the relegation zone after they comprehensively defeated Brighton North End 4-1 at Wish Park. Matt Carvel and Mike Morrison both struck twice to delight the Badgers fans.
Brighton North End started the game in determined mood after last week’s defeat at the hands of the Badgers. The opening stages of the game were dominated by the sky blues who were first to the tackle and crisper with their passing. CCK then kicked into gear and started playing their good football. Dave Jones had two efforts at goal saved, while Matt Carvel, Dave Sewell, and Mike Morrison also threatened to open the scoring. BNE were then undone by a magnificent passing move. Sewell, Morrison, Carvel, and Jones were involved in a flowing move that ended with a left foot finish from Carvel who racked up his fifth goal of the season with the goal. The Badgers continued to hold the superior goal threat, whilst proving tough to break down at the other end. Paul Muzzall made a couple of routine stops while his defence protected him superbly. Doug Reid, Mike Spence, Jacob Fortescue, and Brett Joyce were solid and showed just why the Badgers hold one of the best defensive records in the league. The second goal had been coming a long time before a rather fortuitous set of events allowed Matt Carvel to double his, and CCK’s, tally. Doug Reid collected the ball right of centre, 30 yards out and unleashed an effort at goal. The keeper struggled with the shot and could only palm it into the danger area while his momentum took him off the field of play. Carvel got to the loose ball first and was able to smash the ball into the empty net. BNE were shell-shocked and struggled to cope with CCK’s attacking momentum. Dave Jones narrowly missed the target with a volley that could have contended for the goal of the season award, after a fantastic cross field pass by Mike Morrison. It was Morrison who then did find the net with a majestic goal that will certainly contend for the formerly mentioned accolade. Mike Spence pumped a long ball forward which Morrison controlled superbly; he then showed fantastic technique to half-volley the ball past the motionless keeper and into the corner of the net. The fans went wild as the pundits salivated. It was a truly inspirational goal which added to BNE’s woes. Frustration got the better of the sky blues who were clearly rattled. Tempers flared after a succession of wild challenges, when Doug Reid was hacked down and grabbed the offenders legs, the BNE players reacted angrily and Dean Halton in particular grabbed Reid around the throat while the yellows looked to keep the peace. After many a threat aimed at Reid the referee calmed the situation and booked the over-excited Brighton North End player and play resumed. The resulting free kick almost produced a fourth goal when Mike Spence’s whipped cross was headed marginally over the bar by Dave Jones. The half time whistle came as welcome relief to the sky blues who had much to think about during the break.
The half time team talk seemed to do the trick for BNE who came out with renewed vigour. They kept possession well and looked to get back in the game. CCK however, weren’t keen to surrender their three goal advantage and defensively continued to out-battle their opponents. Jacob Fortescue and Mike Spence were reading the game superbly making timely interceptions and sweeping up through balls. The midfield were working hard to protect the back four, Dan Harnden, Dave Sewell, Mike Morrison, and Ben Tucker stuck to their task and looked to spark counter attacks of their own. The Badgers were clearly looking to soak up the pressure and then capitalise on any defensive gaps caused by BNE’s frustration. The sky blues were playing their part as their inability to breach Paul Muzzall’s goal led to late challenges and plenty of back chat. A combination of both saw Chris Macaulay receive a deserved yellow card. Moments later CCK extended their lead further. Mike Spence played the ball down the right which Dave Jones ran onto. Jones then picked out Mike Morrison on the edge of the area. The midfielder produced a fantastic effort which found the corner of the net. The game was over as a contest and North End clearly didn’t like that. They continued to make rash tackles in an attempt to intimidate the Badgers. Jake Burton was handed a yellow after a particularly cynical tackle on Dan Harnden. Then came a worrying moment for the Badgers faithful. Mike Morrison went down clutching his ankle and was unable to continue. Pete Coggan replaced Morrison and played on the right wing, while Dan Harnden shuffled across to fill the void central midfield role. Coggan showed some neat touches down the right, producing several crosses. One of which narrowly eluded Ben Tucker’s lunge, almost adding to CCK's lead. Tim Virgo replaced Tucker moments later. Virgo also made an early impact when he rose to meet a corner, however, he couldn’t keep his header on target. BNE found a consolation in comical fashion. Dean Halton raced down the left and played the ball goal wards. Paul Muzzall parried the ball, before Jacob Fortescue seemed to regress to a previous existence as a Seal at Sea World. The ball seemed to spin on the defenders head before the trick went all wrong as it fell into the net. An embarrassing moment couldn’t distract from CCK’s brilliant result as Wish Park witnessed the Badgers first win of the season.
Manager Tim Rose believes his side can continue their run and avoid the drop this season, “The first 15 minutes of the game were not easy to watch as I felt we were a little under the cosh, but then we showed our class with fantastic creative football. They couldn’t handle us. I’ve told the boys in the changing rooms not to get complacent just because we’ve climbed out of the drop zone. It’s important for us to keep this run going and pull away from the teams around us.” Rose was then asked about Mike Morrison’s ankle injury, “He thinks it’s just a twisted ankle but we’ll know more when the medical staff has examined him fully. He’s a massive player for us, so we hope he’ll miss as few games as possible.” Defender Brett Joyce felt CCK dealt brilliantly with the intimidating tactics employed by BNE, “They tried to kick us and provoke us, but we didn’t let up and kept cool and played our football. The team goal was class and Morro’s two strikes were top drawer. That was the perfect response to their tactics.” CCK will be looking to display similar levels of commitment when they face 2nd place O&G United, who have won 6 consecutive games. CCK have recorded 3 wins in a row so something has got to give when they meet at Aldrington Recreation Ground next week.
