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McCarthy
Industries picked up their first win of the
season in tricky conditions at the Hamsters
Cage. Seen as a warm up game for Thursdays
massive encounter with the Diamonds, manager
Scott McCarthy named a side that featured the
players who will make the trip to Haywards
Heath. Despite only being 50% fit, McCarthy
named himself between the sticks, with Pete
Morgan returning to the side to partner Kieran
Elliott in defence. Bert Lloyd enjoyed a
midfield role alongside Peter Chapman, while Dan
Collin returned in attack after playing the last
game in goal. Doug Lane came on with 10 minutes
gone to stern up the defence, after passing a
late fitness test
The
game began in difficult conditions at the Cage,
as rain lashed down on the stadium. The fans
that had decided to brave the conditions were
treated to a show of footballing excellence in
the early stages, as Marle Place set their
intentions straight from the start, attacking
the Hamsters by committing large numbers of
players forward. The defence of Elliott and
Morgan held firm though, and in particular
Morgan, who threw himself around making tackles
kept the score at 0-0. Despite the early
pressure from the visitors, it was the Hamsters
who opened the scoring in typical style. A quick
break saw Collin released down the left, and the
captain for the night delivered a sweet pass
across goal for Peter Chapman to knock home and
make it 1-0. As Marle Place came forward, Mac
Industries continued to break quickly, and it
was soon 2-0, as Chapman saw his effort cannon
back off the post, but Dan Collin was there to
knock it home for his first goal of the season.
Marle Place continued to come forward, and it
was a great relief when McCarthy was able to introduce
Doug Lane to steady the back line, allowing
Elliott to push into midfield. Another Marle
Place attack saw McCarthy quickly gather the
ball, and his long throw forward was met by
Collin, who showed the control that made him
such a deadly player last season. He played in
Chapman, who had now taken up a more attacking
role, and he netted his second of the night to
put the Hamsters 3-0 up
The
attacking gamble of Marle Place was soon to pay
off though, as they committed more and more
players forward, with Tom Barlow looking
particularly dangerous when moving out of the
back line. It was a familiar face who did the
damage though for the visitors, as Jamie
Farhall, on loan at the Wanderers, was allowed
to hit a powerful drive past the sprawling arm
of Scott McCarthy. It was soon 3-2, as Wanderers
player-manager Mike Fletcher was allowed all the
time in the world to put the visitors right back
in the game. However, straight after they got
themselves back in, Marle Place shot themselves
in the foot, as a dodgy back pass saw Bert Lloyd
nip in before keeper Tom Panton could get onto
it, scoring in similar fashion to the way he did
in the last game against Hove Old Boys, to make
it 4-2. Farhall was back to his old tricks
again, as made it 4-3 with a shot that beat the
on-rushing McCarthy. On the stroke of half time,
Mac Industries made it 5-3, as Kieran Elliott
combined superbly with Bert Lloyd, releasing Dan
Collin to net his second of the game
The
second half saw Marle Place come out inspired,
and their attacking force looked to get them
back in the game. However, they came up against
a resolute Hamsters defence, and in particular
Pete Morgan. The defender was continuing to
throw himself around, and despite profound
bleeding from his knees was becoming the rock
around the Hamsters back line. It was Dan Collin
who was taking advantage up the other end, as
Bert Lloyd played in the striker again, and he
netted beyond Panton to make it 6-3. Farhall was
soon on target again though, pulling Marle Place
back in at 6-4, and the visitors continued to
push forward. With McCarthy dropping Elliott
into just in front of the defence, it meant that
the runners were not coming through, and so
Marle Place had to push forward a defender. It
nearly worked though, as Fletchers shot from
distance flew onto the post, but after
television replays it was revealed that Scott
McCarthy got the faintest of touches to divert
it away from goal. He denied Farhall twice more,
as the striker became greedy and shot at every
opportunity. Their all-out attack of the
visitors soon backfired though, as Peter
Chapman, tracking back, won the ball in his own
half, before running the length of the pitch to
score a goal that was born solely out of his hard work.
The Hamsters clone on late on, as Marle Place
pushed forward, with Doug Lanes muscle at the
back keeping the Hamsters in it at times. Tom
Panton was forced into a superb save late on
though, and the visitors did net a late
consolation goal to pull the game back to 7-5,
before the final whistle was blown to cement
McCarthy Industries first win of the
season
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