Sat 5th Jan: Inter Regional Challenge Cup
Bearsted 2
S.Brockman
M.Maxwell
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Hollands & Blair 6
L.Preston (2)
B.Christy (2)
D.Blackburn
M.May
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Although the early exchanges were even, overall it was the visitors who were the more organised side on the day. It took 25 minutes for the opening goal to arrive mainly due to some smart saves by goalkeeper Jason Reeves, notably when he denied Lee Arston when clear in from six yards. However Arston did not make the same mistake again after taking full advantage of a rebound following some less than efficient defending. With Seb Brimstead having to leave the field and the introduction of substitute Matt Maxwell soon after, came the equaliser.
Maxwell sending Kevin Swaisland on is way before setting up Stuart Brockman to round keeper Dan Port to score into an empty net.
With only a few minutes remaining before the break, the whole game was turned around and effectively killed off by what can only be described as some questionable officialdom. First when Darren Blackburn was allowed to run on from a position which looked clearly offside, which in turn resulted in a penalty for a trip by Darren Thornycroft, for Blackburn to step up and score from the spot. Perhaps the more bizarre decision however, came immediately after when Arston was allowed to run on clear to miss a great opportunity by shooting wide, only for the referee to call back play, award a free kick outside of penalty area and send off bemused full back Scott McCloud. The result of which resulted in another Areston.
After the break and on a heavy surface, both sides struggled to put telling passes together, Bearsted more so than their opponents. The possibility of a comeback did briefly seem a possibility after 60 minutes, when Maxwell collected the ball on the left to run on and curl in an angled shot around the outstretched arm of Port from just outside the penalty area. Unfortunately for the home side, far from it being a lift for them it acted more as a spur for Hollands and Blair, when just a minute later Martin May forced home an effort from close range after getting onto the end of a deep right wing free kick by Blackburn. With legs tiring and staring at defeat the Bears may have taken some comfort from a Swaisland effort out of nothing which narrowly missed and another from Maxwell going narrowly wide, but in truth by this time the game was lost. Two more goals in fact still followed, another by Ben Christy getting between two defenders to head home and the other when he was allowed to run on and almost pass it into the net past a static home defence to complete the result and take his side into the next round.
Alan Hefferon - Bearsted FC |
