The season continued in earnest this weekend, as Bethel entertained a CBC team desperate to continue their 2013 good form into the New Year (starting in March, obviously). The last time these two sides met Central Baptist scored 8 in a dominant victory, although then-hattrick hero Jamie Parrish was unavailable for this week’s clash due to injury, and have since established themselves in the Champions League spots of the Chelmsford and District Churches competition. Poor Bethel have not won a game since. All signs pointed to a CBC victory
After a comfortable opening 20 minutes, it quickly became evident that Bethel caused no problems to the CBC backline of L. Baker, C. Nash, A. Rowlands and A. Smith. Their diminutive size in the final third and the lack of an out-and-out goal threat allowed a lot of time on the ball in defence, but precious little space in the middle to move the ball up the pitch. The presence of a 7 foot behemoth in the backline also negated the longer option, forcing CBC to reassess its attacking options. However, as the game progressed, it was clear that the physical specimen at the back was not a natural footballer, allowing Neil Parrish to hassle him and panic him into mistakes. Consequently, a hopeful long ball from the back caused the big defender to fluff his lines, gifting Neil Parrish all the time in the world to slot it past the keeper for the lead.
This appeared to light a fire under Bethel, whose captain (and best player) abruptly sprung into life and grabbed the midfield by the scruff of the neck. He hit the post with a great effort on the turn shortly before equalizing against the run of play due to a scuffed shot falling agonizingly wide of a sprawling David Rowlands hand. However, the buccaneering Bethel midfielder allowed more space for Tim Acton and Phil Twite to operate, feeding Luke and Josh Hills to attack the slow(ish) Bethel fullbacks and push CBC up the pitch. This resulted in a couple of golden chances for the normally unflappable Neil Parrish, both of which resulted in wonder saves by the keeper. Central Baptist saw out the half on top, but the scoreline said otherwise.
HALFTIME: CBC 1 – 1 Bethel
The second half saw a completely different Bethel side, helped in no part by a change in the windspeed. Central were pinned into their own half simply because every clearance came straight back at them! Not only was the wind against them, but Mother Nature also sent a 4 legged foe in a dog let loose by its owner, who nearly broke Chris Nash’s leg with a malicious tackle midway through the second half. Whilst the mutt was lucky to escape with just a warning, Central Baptist were riding their luck on the pitch. Richard and Neil kept providing a mischievous presence up top, backed up by Tom Spurgeon’s constant battling in the air to try and relieve some of the defensive pressure. Ultimately, they eventually broke through when a moment of madness from Nash sent the Bethel captain sprawling for a penalty. Bethel fans began to question whether the bottom of the league minnows could pull off the upset, but these hopes were short lived, as the clumsy Bethel giant pushed Neil over for a reciprocal penalty just 5 minutes later. He passed over the penalty duties to Tim, who duly obliged to make the game level.
Central once again showed the fitness levels that allow them to control the ends of halves, and roared on hoping for a last gasp winner, but sadly it was to no avail. A strange game that will go down in the ‘Should have won’ column for Central, a draw – while not telling the story of the game - is by no means anything to sniff at. This team are just warming up after such a long break, and have a Cup semi-final to worry about next week. Here’s hoping they can overcome rivals Baddow and secure their first final in history!
FULLTIME: CBC 2 - 2 Bethel
