Tom Powell stunned Premier Division champions Montpelier Villa with a late double to salvage a point for CCK FC. A late rally by the Badgers laments their brilliant start to the season as they look to challenge for silverware.
The game started brightly for CCK who made two changes from the side that defeated Ovingdean. Jonny Cassell made his full debut, and Mike Spence played his first game of the season. CCK dominated the opening stages of the half without severely threatening the Villa goal. The champions then settled into the game and started to apply pressure to the Badgers defence. Ben Eneke, Dave Sewell, Mike Spence, and Doug Reid battled well to keep the sky blue shirts from penetrating the back line. Rob Woodward was also on top form once more making good Villa efforts look routine. Neither side looked like opening the scoring as attempts on goal were few and far between. Montpelier Villa then were dealt a decent hand by the referee. A blatant handball was ignored by referee Robert Myhill. This allowed Villa striker Danny Tugwell to palm the ball into his path before unleashing a well-struck half volley into the back of the net. The sense of injustice seemed to galvanise the CCK team as they started to string passes together. Jonny Cassell, Tim Rose, Mike Morrison, and Ben Tucker started to combine neatly as they looked to find Josh Van Nes and Tom Powell in attacking positions. The spell of possession passed without a serious test for the Villa keeper and as the half time whistle blew fans behind the Wish Road End could be forgiven if they had fallen asleep during the first half, such was the level of inaction coming from the end of the pitch the Badgers had been attacking.
Yellow shirts took to the field in desperate need of a good spell of passing football. It was the Villa side however, that continued to dominate the midfield with some decent passing moves. Rob Woodward continued to be the busier keeper, and had to pick the ball out of the net again when he was unable to hold onto a stinging long range effort, and Ezra Martin fortuitously put the ball beyond him with his knee. The goal stirred Tim Rose into action and the game swung on the CCK re-shuffle. In the space of a few minutes, Jonny Cassell and Ben Eneke were replaced by Dave Jones and Jacob Fortescue. Dave Sewell moved into the centre of midfield, while Tim Rose was moved to right back, as Jones found himself on the right side of midfield and Fortescue at centre back. The impact was immediate as the Badgers started to dominate the midfield with unrelenting pressure on the Villa goal. Tim Rose was finding great joy overlapping down the right as CCK looked to get balls into the box. A foothold was needed, and Tom Powell found that on 71 minutes. Dave Jones received the ball at the edge of the ‘d’ after a fantastic exchange of passes, and with a crowded penalty area ahead, jinked himself into a shooting position. Having drawn numerous players in sky blue towards him, he then shifted the ball through to Powell just inside the box with just the keeper to beat. The tall striker composed himself brilliantly before tucking the ball away with his left foot. The atmosphere lifted among the fans as they roared their side forward. The players responded as the midfield continued to dominate, and the yellow shirts were first to every ball. Tim Rose saw a long range effort narrowly clear the crossbar, as CCK’s momentum developed. Good combination play down the right involving several players saw a Tim Rose cross nervously cleared to touch on CCK’s left, deep in opposition territory. The resulting throw in from Mike Spence wreaked havoc in the penalty area as Mike Morrison’s flick-on to the back post rebounded back across goal to Tom Powell, who slammed the ball home. The decibel levels soared as fans and players rejoiced. CCK were intent on completing the comeback and continued to cause the Villa defence problems. Mike Morrison saw an effort awkwardly pushed wide by the keeper, who still seemed shell-shocked. It was his opposite number who then performed the heroics, Rob Woodward saving a free header from point blank range. The final whistle followed shortly after and both teams had to settle for a point.
CCK Manager spoke of his pride, when he made a guest appearance on the Match Of The Day 2 sofa on Sunday night, “I’ve got a great bunch of lads down there you know, they didn’t know when they were beat, and kept on going.” Rose then praised Tom Powell’s performance, “He showed that ruthless edge that we need if we are to challenge at the top. He is a great marksman and took his goals brilliantly today.” Man of the match Tom Powell was delighted with the manner of the draw, as he explained to ESPN, “What a game. We looked dead and buried, then the gaffer switched a few things around and we started to open them up. I was pleased with the goals and just hope to keep this scoring run going.” Optimism around Wish Park is tangible as the Badgers look to continue their fine opening to the season.
