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Woodhurst keep alive their Essex Cup ambition as they earn place in Round 4 |
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Cyprus Wanderers |
1-5
(aet) |
Woodhurst |
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Shepperd 2, Probert, Jordon 2 |
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New Beckton Park, Beckton |
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10.30pm, Sunday 12th December 04 |
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Essex Sunday Junior Cup Round 3 |
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Referee: Alan Goddard |
Woodhurst's Essex Cup involvement moves into the New Year as the boys from Nelson Road left Beckton with a 5-1 extra time victory.
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It was by no means a vintage Woodhurst performance, whose line-up is changing week on week, but the events of an epic 120 minutes in east London will be remembered well beyond the season's end.
This week it was the turn of Jamie Bradbury, who'd led the attack seven days earlier against Cambourne Wednesday, to once again take the gloves and act as stopper for the day, allowing Patrick 'fast becoming a Macca-status legend' Ladbury to return to the middle of the park alongside the buffalo soldier, Jimmy Woodham.
Up-front, Nigel Jordon slotted neatly in alongside pal Andrew Shepperd, Kofi Owusu was given a chance on the right-hand side of midfield with Jan Souleyman away at Tony Taylor's wedding, while the Tank himself was deputized by Steve 'getting balder by the minute' Hughes at left back. Jenssen Clifford began on the right hand side of the back four alongside Paul McShea and skipper Nick Bashford as Simon Probert made up the starting eleven in a familiar left-midfield hole.
 With a number of absences, including injuries to Jason Fullerton and Alex Alexander and a holiday for Tom 'is he wearing his woolly hat in Spain' Gray, Manager Roy Lawley was forced to down his sheepskin coat and pull on a pair of shorts to be named as the only 'Hurst substitute and linesman, but he was to get his chance later coming on as a second-half substitute.
The game started and the visitors struggled to find a rhythm but continuously found the head of Cyprus Wanderers' big centre-half. Though it wasn't working just yet, it would only take the right ball to open up a rather flat-footed rearguard and exploit the Sunday Combination outfit.
At the other end, the wise heads of Bashford and McShea snuffed out any Cyprus danger with the imposing figure of 'Jerzy' Bradbury marshalling as a cultured glove-wearing sweeper.
And soon, thanks to some good work from Hughes, Woodhurst were a goal to the good. The Geordie played a quick one-two with Probert on the left-flank and delivered a precise low cross towards Shepperd who applied the killer touch to guide under the 'keeper's body.
Woodhurst were in control and, with the long-ball the only option for a one-dimensional but mobile Cyprus Wanderers, opportunities began to arrive at a considerable pace for Lawley's boys - despite the all too regular off-side judgements. However, the goals were not as straight forward and chance after chance went begging as three separate occasions both Jordon and Shepperd gave the home 'keeper a chance to be the hero stopping the one-on-one duels.
Then, when a soft penalty was award for a McShea nudge on the lightweight Wanderers forward just outside the box, Cyprus looked almost certain to level matters.
Bradbury made the goal look small with his strapping frame and his cap-covered bouffant barnet. It was enough to put the rugged striker off as he stroked his kick left of the target as Bradbury's off-putting dive in the other direction had the desired effect.
One-nil it remained at the break, and Lawley was happy that, if his team kept producing, more goals would eventually come. And produce they did, but again the final touch was missing as Probert added his name to the growing list of offenders.
 Woodhurst nerves, and tempers, were soon to be tested to the limit as the referee awarded another spot-kick for, well, only he knows. But this Bradbury lad is a psychological weapon and after teasing the new penalty taker - the big centre-half - with his experience and gamesmanship tactics, the defender ploughed his strike close to the 'keeper who dived to his right stopping, and holding, in style to once again get his side out of jail.
"That's the first penalty I've ever missed for this team," remarked the taker as Bradbury launched the ball forward. "How funny, that's the first one I've saved," replied Bradbury, "I'm usually in midfield."
But soon after the heroics, mad-cap Steve Hughes, whose magic earlier had provided the opener, gifted the equalizer to Cyprus. As he went to clear a long-ball up field, the attacker had made space a premium and the ball ricocheted off his leg and into the net.
The home side was lifted, but instead of taking the game to Woodhurst, like their shouting suggested was the aim, they proceeded to press the self-destruction button blowing their hopes apart.
A third penalty shout - and perhaps the only one worthy of reward - was this time turned down inside the Woodhurst box, and the attacker made his feelings known expressing all the four-letter words stored in his vocabulary, and bringing the official's parentage into doubt. Red was the only option and Woodhurst had the man advantage.
It wouldn't count though until after the 90 minutes and the extra time was underway.
Jordon was put free on the right and delivered a lovely cross to the back post where Shepperd nodded down and Probert was on hand to guide home with his head.
At that point it looked over, but more fun and frolics were to be had when the third goal - a Nigel Jordon tap-in - beat the offside trap and the linesman's flag to send the Cyprus Wanderers captain ballistic.
He obviously had a gripe and his language backed up his determination to get the referee to change his mind; he wouldn't and more colourful abuse resulted in another colourful card. His team mate, also disappointed, began to respond verbally to the man in black, found himself in the book and seemed intent on using the hot water of the shower before anyone else. More insults followed, then another card and, for the record, no shower.
The game resumed at three-one with the majority of the Wanderers team wanting to get on with the football in the hope that further disciplinary action would not follow.
Another goal from Jordon, an audacious looping shot over the head of the goalie, was added to when Shepperd made it 5-1.
It ended up looking a convincing win and one, which, overall, was deserved, but only papered over the cracks of a below par Woodhurst performance. If they want to progress into the area semi-final - overcoming Cambourne's victors Winward FC - they'll need to be far more sharper where it matters.
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Team From
Jamie Bradbury
Jenssen Clifford
Steve Hughes
Patrick Ladbury
Paul McShea
Nick Bashford
Simon Probert
Andrew Sheppard
Nigel Jordon
Jimmy Woodham
Kofi Owusu (Lawley)
Subs
Roy Lawley
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Tom Gray
