9 October 2005 Surrey Lower Junior Cup 1st round at West Byfleet Knaphill Village 1 DCFC 2 Ed 2 pens by Matty Aitken

 

 

 

 

 

Colin (right) takes a shine to our opponents

Ed (right) really wants this, but Leroy (left) ain't gonna budge

After eight games unbeaten it was time to take our unbeaten run into the English countryside. Somewhere near Woking was the venue and unknown entity Knaphill Village were the opposition for this, the first round of the Surrey Cup.

Being on the pitch by a freakishly early 10 o’clock gave us plenty of time to adapt to the country air and to speculate whether or not this team were any good. Images of fat mutton chopped farmers were quickly banished though when two Peter Crouch‘alikes ran out onto the pitch. Naturally these were their strikers.

We were straight into action from the kick-off knocking the ball about well on a slick pitch. It was quickly ascertained that Knaphills’ only form of attack was the long ball forward to the big men up front. Our more controlled passing gave us the breakthrough early on with Dan M finding himself one on one with the keeper after a nice move. This resulted in Dan beating and then being chopped down by the keeper in the area. No hesitations, the ref pointed to the spot. Ed stepped up and coolly slotted the ball home.

It was a touch of déjà vu ten minutes later with Dan, who was dominating the midfield, being bundled over by a stranded keeper after more slick passing. Once again the ref pointed to the spot. This time though he also reached for his pocket and awarded the red card. Maybe a bit harsh for a Sunday morning game but in the words of a Knaphill defender, he should have gone for the first one. Ed faced up against the new keeper and cheekily put the ball the same side as his first and into the back of the net.

With two goals and a man advantage you wouldn’t have been blamed for thinking this was game over. This though remember is Dundonald Chase.

The remainder of the half passed by without any team creating any real chances apart from a good effort from Leroy. Surely the most entertaining thing for our spectators Tom and Mel (plus Deck chairs) was watching the other team ignore the fifty or so balls that went over the fence and into the road.

A new half saw new balls and a renewed spirit for Knaphill. A couple of half chances passed them by. One long range effort forced a good punch over the bar by Rob the copper keeper. Despite their efforts our defence held out well, with Rob M and Dan L blocking out any threats.

With twenty minutes to go we seemed to be cruising to the next round. Then the ball broke loose to a Knaphill player who was clear on goal. Our initial cries of offside were swamped out by even louder ones when the striker played the ball forward to his team mate who looked obviously offside. Amazingly the goal stood, despite our best efforts.

The goal shifted us up a gear. We started to frustrate Knaphill demonstrating a new found composure on the ball. They never looked like scoring again until with five minutes to go a long ball looped over our defence and onto their striker. We were all now dreading another half-hour of football in extra time. Fortunately for us the Knaphill striker wanted to get home and watch Eastenders omnibus and swiped the ball wide.
That was indeed the last chance of the game, with the ref blowing time some minutes later. A good, but not brilliant performance sees us through to the next round of the cup. Dreams of playing on an actual flood lit pitch live on.

A better performance is needed next week as we take on top of the table Carshalton Village. Come on, let’s make it ten!