Match Report
County League: Division One
| Horsham YMCA 3 Luywyche 55 Price 64 O'Hara 86 |
Littlehampton Town 2 Young 88 Chester 90 |
Date:4th October 2003 Location:Gorings Mead
Source Russell Staves, West Sussex County Times
ANDY Lutwyche scored his first goal for YM who had to survive a late onslaught before booking their place in the third round of the RUR Cup.
After a forgettable first half, goals from Lutwyche, Package Price and Joel O'Hara should have killed off a game Littlehampton. But the visitors responded magnificently, inspired by former Worthing captain Gary Young, to set up a rousing finale.
It was Young who scored Littlehampton's first with two minutes to go when he turned and shot through James Plumley's legs from close range and the drama continued when Derek Chester headed a second in injury time.
Littlehampton pressed for an equaliser and were denied an unlikely draw by the sound of referee Paul Weedon's whistle, much to the relief of YM boss John Suter.
"Luckily we got the three goals and that gave us a cushion, but it was only just enough. But in the cup, the only thing that matters is the result," he said.
Five goals in an entertaining second half made the game a spectacle, but Suter did not get carried away when he reflected on the whole picture.
"People said it was an exciting game, but I did not think it was exciting. It was a game of mistakes. The only difference in the second half was that there were goals," he said.
Littlehampton were beaten 22-1 on their last trip to Gorings Mead almost a year ago, but most of the side that bore the scars of that historic beating have since departed and it was clear from the opening exchanges that the new batch are made of sterner stuff.
Marshalled by Young, who kept things simple as he sat in front of the back four, Littlehampton had the first attempt on goal in the eighth minute when Jan Miller fired at Plumley who held the shot well.
The visitors kept coming forward and went close six minutes later when James West headed Mark Price's right wing cross wide after Dean Carden had lost possession.
It was 24 minutes until YIvI had their first attempt on goal. Greg Brabon, given his first start of the season, kept the ball in play and laid it back to Carden who crossed into the box. Littlehampton cleared as far as Paul Young who took a touch on the edge of the box but fired over the bar.
The visitors were unlucky not to have been awarded a penalty three minutes later when Plumley flattened Price as the two challenged for Young's cross. The Littlehampton midfielder got to the bail first but was left in a heap, much to the annoyance of his teammates who screamed at Mr Weedon for retribution.
The referee was the centre of attention in the 40th minute when the Littlehampton players thought Nathan Sleat had handled the ball in the box, but again Mr Weedon remained unmoved despite the visitors' pleas.
It was YM's turn to shout in vain for a penalty four minutes after the restart when the tireless Matt Duffield was bundled over in the box following good work from Sleat, Young and former Littlehampton frontman Steve Davies.
YM were beginning to get the upper hand, with Young, restored to the right, and O'Hara attacking the flanks while makeshift central pairing of Peter Durrant and Duffield matched their opponents.
The hosts broke the deadlock in the 55th minute as Lutwyche scored his first goal for the club. O'Hara's persistence won a corner which Young delivered deep to Lutwyche who rose majestically to head home from 12 yards out.
It was a superb header and Littlehampton had only just managed to recover when they found themselves 2-0 down nine minutes later. Davies hit the post but second half substitute Price knocked in the rebound.
The Littlehampton defence, which had been watertight for nearly an hour, was now springing leaks and Young should have capitalised on another mistake at the back but sent his header wide after the back line were appealing for offside againsi O'Hara.
In contrast, Littlehampton's attack was just as potent and only an excellent double save from Plumley denied them a goal in the 73rd minute. After being redundant for most of the half, he first pulled off a two handed save off Chester at full stretch but topped that seconds later when he rushed out to narrow the angles and blocked Price's shot with his legs.
It was a passage of play that probably prompted sponsor Victor Gladwish to nominate Plumley as his man of the match, despite the 16 year old keeper not being old enough to enjoy the bottle of wine he was presented after the game.
It should have been 3-0 at the other end when Davies went through on goal. Ignoring the calls of Price and Young. the striker opted to shoot from a narrow angle but blazed the ball over the bar as his two teammates screamed for a squared pass.
O'Hara shot wide a minute later but the winger made amends in the 86th minute when he took Price's pass and fired low into the far corner to cap another energetic performance.
Rather than lie down and die quietly, Littlehampton stirred themselves into a late flourish and gave themselves a sniff of a chance with goals from Young and Chester.
When the final whistle went, Young led a chorus of discontent at the referee for not giving them a penalty in the first half. But it was not the referee that cost them the game, it was letting in three second half goals.
Team: Plumley; Carden, Fenn, Lutwyche, Sleat; Brabon (Price 53), Duffield, Durrant (Oakes 78), OHara; Young, Davies.