Away fixture : Manorfield School, Horley
This 3rd round match of the County Cup was played on neutral ground due to poor pitch conditions. On this bitterly cold and gusty Sunday afternoon the referee was keen to get the match started.
Cranleigh kicked off and conceded an early corner. Horley wasted the opportunity and Cranleigh sprang into action. After several attempts by Cranleigh to score, Elliot launched the ball forward to Raul who played a lovely ball past the defender to Gwilym who calmly placed it into the net. This early goal gave Cranleigh a boost setting them up for the rest of the match. Superb defending by Harrison and Elliott kept the ball away from the Cranleigh goal. After several near misses and precision passing by Rylan a second Cranleigh goal was on the cards. Skilful play led to a one on one between Ollie and the keeper; the keeper parried the ball out and Raul took a shot, but knocked it over the crossbar – another near miss! Cranleigh kept up the pressure and the first half ended 1-0.
The second half began with as much energy as the first; Raul won a corner which was expertly finished by Arthur. Cranleigh dominated the first half and kept the Horley defenders busy. Some great battling by Rowan won a free kick which came dangerously close to the Horley goal. After some controlled play and accurate passing Dom shot and scored an impressive goal from outside the penalty area. Horley put on pressure, but the defence handled it very well. After a shot from Dom the Horley defender landed on the ball on the goal line preventing the ball from going in with his arm. This hand ball led to a Cranleigh penalty which was calmly placed in the goal by Dom. An acrobatic attempt by Harry just went wide and made it look like a fifth Cranleigh goal was imminent. Jake then made a superb diving save and prevented Horley from scoring. A fantastic pass allowed Dom smash one in from miles out and he ended his game on a hat-trick. The final score was 5-0 to Cranleigh.
Match report by H Evans
