Match Reports
19/10/08
Cheltenham 2's 2-4 Men's 2nd XI
Brighton 2nd XI rolled up to this 2nd round HA Cup match with plenty of time to spare but it seems the 3 hour warm-up helped to get rid of any aches, pains and hangovers from the previous nights antics in Oxford. With Alan McGuiness at the wheel of the minibus, the Brighton side trundled along the A40 towards Cheltenham in high spirits. The journey was surprisingly quick and painless, possibly aided by the occasional story from the rear of the bus after the young and influential goalie, Ed Heathcock, enlightened us into his choice of magazine. I never knew Gardeners Weekly could be so entertaining.
Player coach Luke Williams looked like he might require a zimmerframe just to get him to the pitch and when the relief players, Kenny Rogers, Tom Langston and Mike Deller-Merricks, turned up in a car and were unable to work out how to open the door, it looked like it was going to be a long day.
The 16 man squad of Cheltenham arrived to find the 12 man Brighton squad in full swing and starting to look like a force to be reckoned with, especially after a penalty stroke competition between the Brighton players saw temperatures rise. Who knows if Jon To's flick was above or below the target. All I know is that spirits were high and push back was almost upon us.
Brighton dominated most of the match with some very confident passing and slick inter play which led to goal number 1 scored by Mike Deller-Merricks. The team celebrated with Alan McGuiness going too far with a pirouette and twisting his ankle. Cheltenham equalised with a well taken drag from a short corner and then went into a 2-1 lead with a nicely finished open play goal. Things were looking bad for Brighton but heads stayed high even after an Oli Pothelswaite goal was disallowed. Some good sustained pressure from Brighton saw a short saved by the Cheltenham goalie only to drop to Jamie Hendrick to chip into the net from 6 yards. 2-2 at half time.
The second half was dominated by Brighton and after some quick thinking, Dan Hore took a quick hit to Mike who beat a player and unselfishly square it to Oli for an easy tap in. Another was added by Mike from open play to make it 4-2 and a thoroughly deserved 3rd round draw.
Who will Brighton 2nd XI face in the next round? Watch this space.