New signing Pete Coggan scored an instinctive debut goal early into CCK's first game of the season. However, The Badgers were forced to share the spoils 1-1 with Ovingdean at Happy Valley.
The game started with CCK very much in the ascendency. Within minutes they were troubling the Ovingdean defence. Mike Preston swivelled inside the area, only to see his half volley rebound agonisingly off the post. The travelling supporters, didn't have long until they were on their feet again. This time celebrating a goal. Dan Shotton received the ball in the left back position and played the ball over the opposing defence. Pete Coggan beat the offside trap and ran through towards the advancing keeper. As the pair were about to meet Coggan delicately poked the ball beyond the stopper and watched with joy as the ball hit the net. The attacking impotess remained with CCK as they continued to play good passing football. Dave Sewell and David Jones were linking with Brett Joyce and Mike Preston well, while Mike Morrison was finding pockets of space between the Ovingdean defence and midfield brilliantly. Defensively, CCK were dominant. Mike Spence and Jacob Fortescue were aerially supreme, and with timely interceptions they broke any attacking threat from Ovingdean. The opponents were in fact becoming increasingly frustrated, and this was reflected in their tackling. Several late and dangerous tackles seemed to go unpunished as the referee, Malcolm Merrell chose to keep his cards firmly in his pocket. Despite Ovingdean's physical intimidation, CCK continued to show glimpses of magic going forward. A run by Doug Reid was followed by a neat lay off to Brett Joyce, who saw his long range effort narrowly miss the target. Chances for Morrison and Coggan also came close to extending the lead before half time.
Ovingdean's half time team talk must have been heated, as they came out with a determined, purposeful attitude. CCK failed to respond adequately as they were out-battled in many areas of the pitch. It was not long before the scores were level. Neat hold up play by the Ovingdean striker culminated with a good lay off to the central midfielder who shot from 25 yards. His shot went through the legs of Dave Jones and continued to rise over the outstretched fingers of Paul Muzzall before dropping down into the CCK goal. It was a huge blow for the CCK players who had dominated the first half, only to conceed so early in the second. A substitution of attacking intent was made soon after the equaliser, with Aaron Edwards replacing Dan Shotton. It wasn't long before Edwards was causing the Ovingdean defence problems with his mazy dribbles down the left. Mike Morrison in particular was linking with the substitute very well, and with greater quality on the final pass CCK could have created more clear-cut chances. Injuries seemed to disrupt CCK's rhythm when they were enjoying productive spells. Mike Preston went down clutching his ankle and had to come off. Mark Edwards came on to replace him down the right flank. The older of the Edwards' almost made an immediate impact when his inviting cross was almost reached by the outstretched foot of Pete Coggan. Then another serious injury blighted CCK's opening game. Jacob Fortescue collided awkwardly with the opposing keepers raised knee's. It was an innocuous challenge, however, Fortescue went down in some distress as his troublesome back was causing him considerable pain. After several minutes of precaution, he was able to walk off the pitch, to be replaced by Mick Melville-Reed. The veteran centre back shuffled into the defence, and caused little disruption to CCK's defensive compitence. Mike Spence, Doug Reid, Brett Joyce, and Melville-Reed were making good defensive headers and interceptions to scupper Ovingdean's advances. Spence in particular was marshalling the defence with great confidence. The one good opportunity Ovingdean managed to create saw Paul Muzzall excel. The striker managed to create space for himself to shoot from eight yards out. Muzzall dived low to tip the powerful drive around the post superbly. The final minutes of the game saw CCK come close to grabbing a winner on several occasions. Good link up play between Dave Jones, Mike Morrison and Aaron Edwards, gave Pete Coggan an opportunity. His shot was saved by the well-positioned keeper. Neat combination between strike partnership Morrison and Coggan allowed the former to burst through on goal. However, Morrison's measured lob, dropped inches wide of the post. The Badgers fans almost travelled home in rapturous fashion just moments from the end. Mike Spence's long throw was met by Dave Sewell's head, only for the talismanic midfielder's effort to frustratingly rebound off the bar. The final whistle blew, and the points were shared.
Manager Tim Rose was pleased with his side's performance, even though they didn't get the 3 points they wanted. Speaking at his post match press conference Rose stated, "The boys put in a good performance today and probably deserved to win the match. There are plenty of positives to be taken out of the game, the good football we played going forward and the strength we showed at the back. It was just a shame we couldn't grab a winner towards the end." Rose was then asked about the injuries to his players, "The initial x-ray on Mike's ankle doesn't seem to show a fracture, however, the club doctor has said that we'll know the extent of the injury when the swelling reduces. Jacob looked in considerable pain, but we'll get the physio and the medical team to keep monitoring his injury, and we'll have some sort of idea as to the extent of the injury in the coming days. I just hope both players are playing again soon." Debutant Pete Coggan was pleased with his goal when he spoke to the media in the press room, "I saw the keeper coming out and just managed to toe poke it past him. It's great for me to score so soon after signing for the club, and hopefully there's more of that to come." It was Coggan who handed the Man Of The Match champagne to his team mate Mike Spence. The centre back was keen to deflect the glory to the whole team, "It was a good team performance. We played some great football, created chances, and defended well as a team. Hopefully we can push forward now and build on this start." CCK will be hoping they can record their first victory of the season when they entertain Montpelier Villa at Wish Park next Saturday.
