A bad tempered game ended with a late winner for the hosts, when it clearly wasn’t going to be City’s day after Crowborough had opened the scoring via a huge deflection and despite quickly drawing level, City saw two goals chalked off for tight decisions before the winner was headed home in the last few minutes.
A rough, tough game wasn’t pretty on the eye and in truth was very difficult to officiate. An early decision that gave Crowborough a corner when it was clearly a goal-kick set the stall for the afternoon and with some poor crunching tackles going unpunished, both benches having plenty to say and a total lack of help and support from either linesman, the referee will probably look back and say the best whistle that was blown all afternoon was the final one!
It was an open first half, little quarter asked or given with both teams giving as good as they got. City thought they had taken the lead when a free-kick played into the box was missed by the keeper and volleyed back over him and into the net. Unfortunately for City, the Crowborough keeper Dan Ellis was left prostrate on the floor having taken a heavy tumble in attempting to reach the ball so much so it was enough for the referee to blow up for a foul.
Dave Pilcher then sliced a shot wide, while Matt Martin, troubling Crowborough with his pace was clattered to the floor – not for the only time today – while setting up a City attack.
On fourteen minutes and out of nowhere, the hosts took the lead. A long throw was launched into the City box and found Adrian Stone who struck a shot goalbound and with City keeper Jack Delo diving across to make the save, the ball cannoned of his teammate Tom Phipp as he desperately tried to duck out of the way and ricocheted off his back wrongfooting the keeper and looped up into the net for 0-1.
City were only behind for a few minutes though and equalised soon after when a corner from the left found Jamie Maxted and his towering header was floated back across goal and in the roof of the net for 1-1.
Crowborough were beginning to apply some pressure and Stone was getting the best of the opportunities as he sent an unchallenged header over the bar and a first time volley even further over. As the challenges came flying in, it was with some surprise that these were being allowed to go unpunished yet City’s Wayne Wilson was yellow carded for not much really – which is the story of City’s season as far as many of the cards go.
City had a chance to take the lead on forty-one minutes when a great ball forward by Maxted saw Martin take it into his stride with a lovely touch, but having drawn Ellis towards him he could only shoot tamely across the goal and wide. It wasn’t Martin’s day either as he chased through to beat Ellis to the ball and headed it into the net only to see the offside flag before in the run up to the break, Martin was hacked down again, this time with a late flying lunge from Jack Turner who was very fortunate to only receive a yellow card as it looked a straight red from our angle and in the heated debates that followed – which went on for several minutes, Maxted also saw yellow as the arguments and finger pointing rumbled on.
Thankfully the half soon ended with the teams all square and from a supporter’s point of view, hopefully a better second period to come.
Although most of the early pressure after the restart came from the home side, they only had a couple of corners and a Stone volley wide to show for their efforts, before City were a squeak away from taking the lead. A ball sent over from the left slipped straight through the keeper’s butter-fingers and Josh McCallum rather surprisingly found the ball at his feet. He could only react quick enough to stab the ball forward where it was hoofed off the line by a home defender.
At the other end, Delo was forced to beat away a bullet of a shot from outside the box as the home side began a determined effort to search out the lead. An attacking home free-kick was wastefully fired straight at the City wall, while from the ensuing corner, Phipp fired well over from just outside the box.
All the pressing was coming from Crowborough as City scrambled away one attack before Delo cut out a great low inviting cross from Sam Crabb. Zac Attwood volleyed over the bar from outside the box, while another snap shot was straight at Delo, with the keeper reacting well to make the save and claim the ball.
The hosts made all three changes in quick succession as they desperately searched for a potential winning goal. They kept City pinned back and under considerable pressure and although hanging on at times, the City defence with Laurence Harvey and McCallum leading the line were soaking it all up and dealing with the aerial bombardment that continued from Crowborough – as clearly they weren’t able to or just couldn’t find a way through on the floor.
City began to get back into the game though and a debutant Luke Griffiths shot drifted past the post while from out wide, Rob Lawrence’s effort was saved by Ellis as he stood firm to block out the shot with both feet. City’s next attack saw Pilcher’s fierce effort find the side netting from a tight angle, but Crowborough, urged on by their bench and the home crowd, continued to surge forward. A soft header was easily saved by Delo, before Phipp struck well over from outside the box, Tom Vickers fired just past the upright and another long range effort whistled well wide.
Given the sterling job that the City defence had done to keep the hosts down to mainly long range efforts and deal with the continued aerial stuff, it was especially disappointing when on eighty-seven minutes they conceded the eventual winner. A long throw from the left was sent into the City box where an unchallenged flick-on found Sam Carrington who seemed to have far too much time to plant an easy header home for 1-2.
City could do nothing to respond in what little time remained and the hosts hung onto their lead to secure all the points.
Not the greatest of games but Crowborough proved to be the most determined of the two teams and claimed their victory in a tough and very competitive game. Not always the friendliest of places to visit, but to their credit, a very partizan home crowd were warm in their applause as City left the pitch.
Final score; Canterbury City 1 Crowborough Athletic 2
City; Jack Delo, Gary Sayer (Ryan Catmull), Jamie Maxted, Dan Keyte, Laurence Harvey, Josh McCallum, Luke Griffiths, Wayne Wilson (Matthew Catmull), Rob Lawrence (Billy Lewins), Dave Pilcher, Matt Martin.
Unused subs; Pat Nzuzi, Ben Smith