With Phil off on holiday there were two match reports produced. I have added them both and will let you decide who started their career as a Sports Journalist! SUBMITTED BY HUW PAYNE:- In sub zero temperatures on a bobbly pitch Cringleford squeezed into the next round courtesy of a spectacular overhead kick from Mark Dennis. Things had not started so brightly. The kit bag was in the car with four 40 somethings and no map between them. After an unscheduled visit to Pleasurewood Hills (closed) and by taking the opposite direction proposed by Jennings every time, the kit finally made it with 20 minutes to spare but the smug look on Limon’s face who had used his new Tom Tom said it all. With a 15 man squad including the return from injury of Wilson and Taylor, Cringleford had a variety of options despite the absence of the globe trotting Shaul and wise old head Sanders. The postmen looked keen, eager and young with a distinct lack of grey hair, but their confidence soon dwindled as Cringleford took the upper hand in the opening salvo. A tactical masterstroke on 10 minutes threw the postmen into further confusion when Limon, still blaming others for making him drink over indulgently during the new year celebrations, started palpitating and was replaced by McMillan. The bewilderment of the Yarmouth lads as Limon’s team mates laughed and joked at his plight was clearly evident. Then on 20 minutes Fairman was fouled on the edge of the area. Quick thinking by Fairman saw a perfectly weighted pass put Payne one on one with the keeper. The hoops held their breath as Payne, not renowned for his composure in front of goal, rounded the keeper and calmly slotted the ball home. With Sharred and Payne snapping away like a couple of poodles on the posties round, and with Limon restored the Yarmouth midfield went AWOL and for the next 10 minutes even the referee was admiring the way that Cringleford controlled the game. Then a hopeful lobbed effort from the postmen landed on the penalty spot and bounced harmlessly into Johnson’s gloves only for the referee to give a penalty, Bartlett having been guilty of blowing the centre forward over. Having converted from the spot the home team came alive and it needed some smart defensive work by Dennis and Skipper to limit them to a couple of corners. Then on 40 minutes a neat move by the postmen on the edge of the area saw Payne and Sharred tackling each other leaving a hapless Jennings to try and clear up the mess, but the outstretched boot of the Yarmouth captain toe poked the ball under the diving Johnson. In true Phil Brown style Wilson refused to let his players go back to the relative warmth of the dressing room. But in another inspirational team talk told the team they were all brilliant and reminded them that the pitch did have corners and to use them. As the second half resumed the game swung from end to end with Yun Min in particular finding some good shooting positions without actually troubling the keeper and Johnson commanding his area at the other end. Then on 55 a stoke of luck for the Hoops. An innocuous ball into the postman’s penalty area saw a full blooded collision between goalkeeper, centrehalf and Pyne and in the ensuing melee the ball popped out for Pyne to scramble it into the net. A few minutes later the now rejuvenated Pyne was again chasing a ball into the box only to be sent sprawling and from the resulting penalty Fairman fired Cringleford back in front. Joy was short lived as within 5 minutes the scores were level. Some neat play on the counter attack by Yarmouth left Cringleford short at the back, the ball spooned off Jennings boot after a great challenge on the edge of the box and despite Paynes despairing effort and a magnificent save by Johnson the ball cruelly bounced over the line. With the game entering the tense last quarter Wilson rang the changes replacing Payne and Bartlett. In the reshuffle, Sharrad moved to left back, Skipper to right back, Fairman joined Wilson in the middle of the park and McMillan partnered Pyne up front. The class of Wilson injected new life into Limon in particular and despite a further bout of mini palpitations he began to torment the Postie’s left back combining well with Pyne who delivered the perfect cross for Yun Min to head past the keepers flailing gloves. Unbelievably the postmen were level again only moments later. The ball was swung in harmlessly from the touchline and looked to be going out when it dipped viciously at the end of it’s trajectory to slide under the bar despite the efforts of Johnson and two defenders. The Yarmouth touchline were ecstatic, their numbers having swelled to double figures, and started urging their team forward; extra time loomed. The Cringleford bench urged their lads not to defend too deep, Taylor even prepared himself for the call to come on by removing his track suit. With just seven minutes remaining a Cringleford corner was only half cleared by Yarmouth and Dennis with his back to goal athletically steered the ball into the back of the net with an overhead bicycle/scissors/somersault kind of thing. In the remaining few minutes Pyne and Limon used the corners effectively to shut out the game and keep the dream of silverware alive. Thanks to Taylor for running the line and to Bird who chased the ball tirelessly every time it went out of play. SUBMITTED BY ECKY LIMON As this merry group of time-worn gladiators assembled at the Rec before travelling East into battle, you could tell that they meant business. Steve Jennings, Captain for the day in the absence of the talismanic Phil Shaul (off wrestling moose in the Canadian rockies. He’s a lumberjack and he’s ok!) had a hunger for victory in his eyes, Huw Payne was hungry like the wolf before the kill, Dave Sharred was just hungry and wanted a cheese sandwich. After arriving at the somewhat optimistically named “Green Lane” of Bradwell and after a very quick change into those famously flattering green and white hoops (with appropriate excuses being made due to the cold weather!) the boys jogged confidently out onto what was a vast, bumpy, moon surface of a pitch. It’s just a shame Phil Shaul wasn’t there sporting his red space boots. The team lined up with Scottish Ally replacing German Olly in goal and Jennings breaking up the solid Shaul/Dennis centre back partnership. Payne and Shaul provided a gutsy, battling duo in the centre of midfield with Sharred shaking off a late fitness concern with the cunning use of some Lemsip. Pyne and Fairman offered a blossoming and potentially lethal striking partnership, with the hope as usual that Richie hadn’t “used up” all his telling strikes in the warm up. The first 20 minutes saw CVFC very much on top winning their battles in all areas and rightly rewarded with a goal after some quick thinking between Fairman and Payne. A quickly taken free-kick allowed Huw a free run into the area and with a shimmy and a shake, he fooled the keeper and slotted home. A hotly-disputed penalty soon gave Postals an equaliser, although an action replay may have shown that Ian Bartlett’s hands seemed to be exerting an excessive amount of pressure on the strikers’ back. (or to quote the ref “you pushed him mate!”) Fletcher in goal had no chance against a well taken penalty. Boosted by the goal, the opposition raised the tempo and Sharred’s blood pressure, and a clever one-two in the box gave the Postals an unlikely lead at half-time. The away team trudged off the pitch, angry and frustrated looking for solace and inspiration from their glorious leader, George Wilson. Georges’ half-time team talk soon gave the team great renewed belief and desire. The boys looked hungry again. “Look, they’ll be some food in the pub after the game!” someone had to tell Sharred. CVFC stepped out for the second half looking stronger, meaner and quicker with Wilson’s Churchillian speech still ringing in their ears and echoing in their hearts. Mike Pyne led the way. Fearless and strong, he began a one man campaign to terrorise the opposition’s defence who had otherwise been keen to play “keepball” at the back. Pyne’s tireless efforts soon paid off when a ball over the top of the defence which few would have considered even bothering to run for, led to a titanic clash with the keeper which left Mike running away with the ball and scoring into an empty net. The team were galvanised once again with heroic displays at all positions with “Skippy” in particular working his proverbial’s off. Another controversial penalty, this time in Cringleford’s favour, as Pyne was bundled over in the box, led to Fairman drilling home confidently from the spot and putting his side in the lead once again. The joy was shortlived. A succession of shots and parries led to Fletcher making a spectacular one-handed save only to see the ball loop behind him into the net. Cometh the hour, cometh the man. With 20 minutes to go, the game poised at 3-3 and Huw having taken a knock to the ribs, a look at the sidelines saw George Wilson removing his fifth layer of clothing and preparing to come on. After a long absence through injury the sight of Cringleford’s starman running on to the pitch was quite emotional. A few may have shed a tear. Target-man Fraser also provided a new option upfront and CVFC began to push on once again. Some good work again by Pyne saw him grapple possession from the full back and produce a great cross, which Young Min directed superbly into the corner of the net, wrong-footing the keeper. The came was soon to swing again when a hopeful cross from the left arced into the top corner leaving Fletcher as helpless and downcast as a Scot who has lost his sporran. The glorious ending which both the game and the away side deserved was soon forthcoming. A Limon corner was won in the air by Fraser and as the ball looped towards the edge of the box, Mark Dennis produced a sublime overhead kick which brushed the keeper’s fingertips and fell into the back of the net. This time there was no way back for the home team and Cringleford were able to enjoy a pint in the local pub and a fantastic spread of food which had Sharred snatching desperately and Skipper reassessing his league table of post-match tucker. This will go down as an historic win for a Cringleford team who showed a lot of character to overcome a very strong Great Yarmouth Postals side, a victory which is very encouraging for the rest of the season. Hurrah.
