It was men against boys this morning as Stronstad utd booked their place in the second round of the cup after a 1-sided match against Affinion International FC.
Stronstad were on the attack from the start and it did not take long before the Affinion goalkeeper was called into action as a ball into the box fell to James Clarke but the keeper saved his header. At the other end Affinion almost opened the scoring as the Affinion striker beat Ian Privett to the ball but centre back Jorge Morrison-Cooke was in the right place to hook the ball off the line under pressure.
Stronstad went 1-0 up after a sweeping move resulted in Mark Betteridge firing home from just inside the box to open his account and Stronstad’s account.
This seemed to settle Stronstad and they continued to attack Affinion and they almost scored a second as a ball to the back post fell to James Clarke but his low effort was well saved by the keeper.
Stronstad did get a second goal as a great long range effort from Mark Betteridge found the back of the net despite the worst effort to save it by the Affinion keeper.
Stronstad were playing some flowing football and really it was a quiet day for Andy Scanlon, Jorge Morrison-Cooke, Gary Cowell and Rich Gillam as they snubbed any attack from Affinion and it was from a rare Affinion attack that saw Stronstad go 3-0 up as a strong tackle from Mark Betteridge in the centre of midfield released Gary Cowell and his ball back to Mark Betteridge saw him move towards the edge of the Affinion box and his centre found Brad White who fired home from inside the box for 3-0.
It was then 4-0 after 20 minutes as a great ball into the box from Dan Moore fell nicely to James Clarke who with a flick of the boot turned the ball into the back of the net to open his account for the season.
At the other end of the pitch Jorge Morrison-Cooke made a great last-ditch tackle to deny the Affinion striker from getting a shot at Ian Privett.
It was soon 5-0 as some great work down the Affinion left with James Clarke and Gary Cowell creating room and as Gary Cowell moved to the bye line his deep cross found its way into the back of the net to make the score 5-0 and the tie well and truly over.
It was then 6-0 as James Clarke doubled his tally for the day with a close range finish as he capitalised on some poor defending to fire home past a shell-shocked Affinion keeper.
There was still time for Mark Betteridge to be denied a hat trick after his long-range effort took a deflection and hit the bar.
Just before half time Stronstad got a 7th goal as Bradley White put his name in the hat for goal of the season as a poor header of defence fell nicely for Bradley White who fired a wonderful effort from 25 yards into the back of the net with the Affinion keeper no where to be seen.
Half Time:- Stronstad Utd 7 Affinion International FC 0
The second half was the same as the first half as it was a sea of Blue shirts swarming forward looking to increase the score but Stronstad had to be aware that Affinion were still looking to cause Stronstad some problems and yet another goal line clearance this time from captain Andy Scanlon denied Affinion who were running out of ideas because Stronstad were look solid all over the park.
Eventually Stronstad got a 8th goal as Bradley White completed his hat-trick after he collected a through ball to slot past the advancing Affinion goalkeeper to make the score 8-0.
Before this Stronstad’s biggest win was a 9-1 win a few seasons back and with John Way and Robert Pearson encouraging their troops forward they were almost rewarded with a 9th goal as substitute Jeff Needham almost headed his first goal for the club as he met a Dan Moore corner but headed inches over.
It was then 9-0 as James Clarke completed his hat trick as he got forward and beat the Affinion keeper to the ball before celebrating as he knocked the ball into the empty net. The last time James Clarke scored a hat trick was 3 seasons ago in the Hampshire Cup.
It was then double figures as Stronstad Utd scored a 10th goal as a corner from Mark Betteridge saw Jorge Morrison-Cooke power a header home from close range to open his account for the season.
Just before full time Stronstad then made it 11-0 as another substitute John Way who had been on the pitch for 5 minutes saw a shot block with his right foot before firing a shot from outside the area with his left foot lob the keeper and into the back of the net for Stronstad’s biggest win.
It was a fitting end to the scoring as John Way had suffered a serious knee injury during last season but has bounced back to score his first goal since the early part of last season when we lost 7-4 to Royal Ex in division 4.
After the game you could see the delight on the players faces as they knew they had played a very professional game and really they could and maybe should have scored another 5 or 6 goals but everyone was happy with the 11 they scored.
