Sussex Senior Cup Round 2
Lancing 1 v East Grinstead Town (The Wasps) 0
Attendance 108
Lancing Starting : X1
Alieu Secka, Jake LeGrange, Tom Butler, Sean Stephenson, Owen Spicer, Finn Daniels-Yeoman (Capt.), Tyrone Madhani, Faris Khallouqi, Reece Hallard, Tommy Boyle, Fraser Middleton-Tozer.
Substitutes:
Darius Goldsmith, Mohamed Joumaa Zabadne, Marcel Powell.
It is tempting to say that this win was a case of third time lucky after losing out to The Wasps in the F.A Cup and the away league fixture, but there was no luck involved in Lancing’s successful progression to the next round of the Sussex Senior Cup, as their win was fully merited by an excellent all round team performance. For the second game in a row, Lancing welcomed back former players. This time it was Andrew Briggs, Clayton Garner and Harrison Parker in the starting line-up, with Matt Daniel, surprisingly, on the bench.
Alex Welsh was back in charge of Lancing with Dale Hurley after being forced to miss the Burgess Hill game and made changes to give starting opportunities to Fraser Middleton-Tozer , Sean Stephenson and Faris Khallouqi. Owen Spicer continued to stand in for the injured Marcus Allen and it was good to see him present to support his team mates.
The newcomers to the line-up for Lancing certainly took their opportunity to impress with all showing pace and enthusiasm pressing The Wasps defence right from the k.o. Finn Daniels-Yeoman set an early example winning the ball up field and striking from distance.
The Wasps had their first attack with a break down the left with a finish close to the upright which Alieu Secka did well to block and recover the loose ball. Lancing were trying to exploit the pace of Fraser Middleton-Tozer and Tommy Boyle by hitting balls into the box for them to get on the end of. Both were getting into good positions and a corner resulted from Tommy Boyle tussling for the ball near the corner flag. Faris Kallouqi hit a well-directed corner kick into the six-yard box. Tom Butler timed his run to perfection reaching the ball before any defender and powering a bullet header into the back of the net on 16 minutes.
Lancing came close to a fortunate second when Tommy Boyle blocked a clearance from the bye line, the ball rebounding from him towards the goal and almost catching keeper Matte Pierson unawares. Some quick interplay between Sean Stephenson and Faris Khallouqi created an opportunity for Reece Hallard to test the keeper who responded with a good save.
At the other end Andrew Briggs tried to punish Alieu Secka for a mis hit clearance with a hard low drive, but Alieu got down well to get his body behind a good attempt.
Faris Khallouqi took responsibility for a free kick for a push in the back against Fraser Middleton-Tozer and brought a fingertip save from Matte Pierson, pushing the ball on to the cross bar and behind for a corner. Faris’ corner was cleared back to him and, after cleverly beating his defender, hit a low hard cross into the box but it came off a Lancing player and was deflected behind for a goal kick.
A few chances were falling to The Wasps but their finishing was letting them down and any that reached Alieu Secka were mostly from long range and easily dealt with. Tommy Boyle managed to put in a finish which was cleared from the goal line and with little left of the first half, Harrison Parker hit a penetrating through ball, which had Tom Butler and Alieu Secka coming together to prevent Sam Williams striking for goal. All three ended up on the ground and Lancing supporters held their breath, waiting to see what decision the referee would make. Relief when a goal kick was awarded.
The immediate thought at half time was that Lancing had not made their superiority count with more goals and that this might come back to bite them in the second half.
Neither side made any half time changes and Lancing began much as they did in the first half with Tommy Boyle getting forward well but without being able to apply the finishing touch. The fact that the score line remained at 1-0 was enough to encourage The Wasps into raising their game and they certainly looked livelier in the opening quarter. The introduction of Matt Daniel on 58 minutes for Thiebalt Abbie was likely to add more pressure on the Lancing defence.
Lancing were not content to sit back and continued to mount some determined attacks. Tommy Boyle delivered a cross for Sean Stephenson in a good position to hit the target but his effort was not well struck.
He was soon replaced by Mo Zabadne leading to Jake LeGrange and Tyrone Madhani switching to the right with Mo as left wing back.
Both Owen Spicer and Reece Hallard brought off important tackles in their own penalty area and Alieu Secka had to pull off a good save at his near upright as The Wasps strove to draw level.
Lancing came close to giving themselves the safety net of a second goal when Tyrone Madhani set up Reece Hallard whose fierce drive was well saved by Matte Pierson. Marcel Powell substituted for Fraser Middleton-Tozer on 74 minutes.
Matt Daniel ‘s knack of finding space and time for a shot on goal almost paid off but Alieu Secka was equal to it. Marcel Powell did not take long to demonstrate his speed in attack as he cleared one opponent and as he threatened to run clear was crudely brought down by Harrison Parker on the touch line, earning himself a caution.
Lancing’s final change of personnel saw Faris Khallouqi, who had worked tirelessly throughout, being replaced by Darius Goldsmith for the last 10 minutes, or so.
Matt Daniel had another shot on target but directly into the arms of Alieu Secka. Lancing’s final fling came from a free kick in the box, awarded for a back pass which Matte Pierson picked up, not believing there to have been a deliberate pass back to him. Nothing came of the free kick and, shortly afterwards, the final whistle blew.
So, at the third time of asking, Lancing were able to come out on top in a clash with East Grinstead Town. Pleasing for Lancing management, in that some young players were given the chance to show their worth and they responded positively.
Yet again, good performances from Lancing players wherever you looked. A very well taken goal by Tom Butler, who once again was a rock in the heart of Lancing’s defence, from an excellent corner by Faris Khallouqi .By four votes to one(for Faris Khallouqi), the small committee who met for discussion over some liquid refreshment decided that the overall performance of team captain Finn Daniels-Yeoman, lacking the support for most of the game of his side kick Darius Goldsmith , tackling, chasing back , prompting attacks and setting an example for team mates to follow, made him a worthy MOM.
A pleasing result, despite fears that a one goal lead from a dominant first half might not prove enough.
Dave Wilmott
