Tonight, we played Old Varndenians in the WFA National Cup Regional Final, with the winners advancing to Nottingham to represent Sussex.
Within 2 minutes, OV took the lead as a rocket from Dave Bridges shot into the top corner. Within 5 minutes, Mark Neocleous scored to give OV a 2-0 lead. In the next attack, John Ling was hacked down and remonstrated with Steve Tomlin, the referee, who duly sin-binned him for 4 minutes.
Andy Benn's side rallied, and with John's first touch as he returned to the pitch, he set up Duncan Moore, but a brilliant save from OV's keeper pushed the ball onto the post and out to an unmarked Neil Flockton, who rifled it home to make it 2-1. This spurred the Blacks on, and a quick interchange saw Ade Cooper score, making it 2-2.
In the second half, both keepers kept the score down. John Ling then scored to put the Blacks 3-2 up. Almost immediately, Dave Bridges scored again, making it 3-3. Another piece of teamwork saw Ade Cooper score from a tight angle, bringing the score to 4-3. There was still time for both sides to create chances, and unfortunately, a speculative shot hit Ade Cooper and spun into the net, making it 4-4.
At this point, it was anyone's game, and time was running out. Then Dave Bridges found half a yard of space and scored in off the post, making it 5-4. Thirty seconds later, the game was over. Congratulations to OV and commiserations to the Blacks, who did Andy Benn proud.
A massive thank you to the 8 or 9 supporters who came out.
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