The 8-2 Haywards Heath victory sounds like a mauling, however, for the opening hour of the match CCK had given the Heath a real run for their money. Twice the Badgers pegged back the county side, and overall the side gave a good account of themselves, couragously refusing to compromise their passing philosophy. Many teams would have perhaps resorted to route one anti-football tactics. CCK didn't and perhaps were punished for that, but at times looked every bit as creative as their gifted opponents.
CCK on paper perhaps looked like a side that would be easy to beat. Bottom of the league, without a win. Haywards Heath however, didn't find the opening stages of the game comfortable. The Heath dominated possession as was expected, however, some great defending and particularly good goalkeeping from Paul Muzzall left the blues frustrated. The Badgers also held their own in the attacking third. Some neat combination play in attacking areas regularly threatened to develop into chances. Eventually the deadlock was broken. A shot from the edge of the area crept through Paul Muzzall's arms and squirmed into the bottom right corner of the net. Muzzall was unfortunate to have conceded after a fantastic string of saves. CCK refused to surrender as they attempted to get back into the game. Dave Jones saw his shot from the egde of the area saved by the keeper. Defensively the yellows continued to be resillient as Mike Spence, Dave Sewell, Jacob Fortescue, and Doug Reid continued to halt many of the Heaths attacking momentum with well timed tackles, good blocks and aerial dominance. Then the blues were dealt a shock. A free kick from the right was swung into a dangerous area by Dave Jones, as bodies ran in front of the keeper the ball narrowly missed all of them and the unsettled keeper could only palm the ball out awkwardly. The ball then hit Josh Van Nes' chest and rebounded into the net. At 1-1 the home support were feeling anxious at the prospect of a humiating result against supposedly inferior opposition. Confidence grew among the CCK players as the midfield quartet looked to build on their display. Ivan Sambles showed great work rate down the left, while Mike Preston showed good energy levels. Tim Rose worked hard to break up the passing football Haywards Heath were playing. Mike Morrison was finding more space to manouvre and started to link up well with the attacking players. It looked like CCK would remain level with the blues at half time, however, seconds before the whistle Haywards Heath regained the lead. They worked the ball well into the area where a snap shot found the net.
CCK were full of confidence, despite the goal deficit, heading into the second half. They had shown that they could cause their opponents problems and looked to continue that. They equalized soon after the break. A corner was whipped in by Dave Jones, and the keeper failed to claim the ball as it continued on its course into the net. Silence from the crowded home section of the ground greeted the goal, as the away fans rejoiced. The goal that CCK hoped would springboard them to success, seemed to anger their opponents into action, and they bombarded the Badgers goal. Despite the yellows best efforts the Heath made it 3-2, then 4-2 in quick succession. Those two goals seemed to signal the end of the cup run for the Badgers, althougth they continued to work hard. Their passing football became more sparadic as Heath seemed to be camped inside the CCK half. It was inevitable that CCK would concede more and that was to be the case. A goalmouth scramble led to Heath's fifth goal of the game. Ivan Sambles was replaced by the fresh legs of Ben Tucker. It was a difficult game to settle into for the CCK substitutes as possession was brief and pressured. The blues made it 6-2 after some neat football. Ben Eneke came on for Mike Preston. Josh Van Nes had seen little of the ball, however, he did force the keeper into a save with a low shot. It was a fleeting threat as Heath continued to make all the play. Another goal saw the blues take a 7-2 lead. Dave Jones made way for Pete Coggan as Tim Rose looked to add fresh legs to his attack. One more late goal added gloss to the final score for Haywards Heath, who had completely dominated the latter stages of the match.
CCK Manager was dissappointed yet philosophical about his sides result when he spoke with BBC Sport reporters after the game, "It's gutting to be out of the cup, but we were beaten by a good side today. A good side that we at times made look average with our good football. The manner we lost the game in the second half is what upsets me so much, after working so hard to stay in the game up until that point. We need to re-group now, forget the result, just remember some of the good passages of play we enjoyed and work to make them more frequent." Captain Dave Sewell was proud of his sides display if not the result when he spoke to journalists in the press room, "We made them work hard for the victory. The history books will show a thrashing, but those who watched the game would see a different story. We matched them for 50 minutes of the game, and thats not easy against a quality county side. We showed some good stuff, it's a shame we couldn't sustain the first half display." Man of the match Doug Reid felt his side could hold their heads high after the game, "The result is perhaps a little disheartening but the character we showed to peg them back twice shows the kind of determination we have in our side. We need to show this kind of desire in our league performances." The Haywards Heath Manager was complimentary of his opponents efforts, "They came here and played some good football. Some teams even in the county leagues adopt anti-football tactics, but when these guys got the ball they caused us problems with some passing football. We obviously deserved our win, but the 8-2 scoreline flatters us a bit, maybe." CCK will be looking to bounce back from their loss, when they face Littlehampton Res' in another cup clash in two weeks time.
