Cup game – Quarter Final
A very wet and not very nice Saturday morning away on a sloping pitch at a team a League above us was not as very inviting proposition.
A very bright start by Cranleigh soon had Chiddingfold on the back foot. Ethan Payne won the ball in the midfield and threaded a ball through the defence for Deon Mubaiwa who just clipped the bar. Two minutes later another through ball by Charlie Gibson saw Toby Davis round the keeper to score . Great control and footwork from Toby. Cranleigh were dominant and playing very well.
Fletcher Russell was having a very good game at the back and he put Deon in 1 on 1 with the keeper who could only haul him down in the area for a penalty . Charlie Gibson stepped up and coolly slotted home to put Cranleigh 2-0 up. Chiddingfold were starting to wake up a bit more now and exerting some pressure . A miss pass let in the Chiddingfold centre forward with only our keeper to beat . Izzy Denton- Miller pulled off an amazing save pushing the ball out for a corner.
Unfortunately from the resulting corner William Aitken in trying to clear could only turn it into our goal for Chiddingfolds first. Unlucky for William who had no choice but to deal with a very awkward cross.With renewed belief Chiddingfold were really in the game now and 2 more quick goals meant they went in 3-2 up. Half time and Chiddingfold were leading which was a bit harsh on Cranleigh who had played some great football. At the start of the second half Deon Mubaiwa broke beating 3 defenders before smashing home the equaliser. The game was end to end and very hard fought.
Chiddingfold scored a fourth only for Sullivan Howick to cut in from the wing to score and make it 4-4. With the game settling into a real dogfight there were chances at both ends. Another break by Chiddingfold and a ball across the area left their centre forward with an open goal , however Charlie Obrien came from nowhere just as the player shot for an unbelievable block.
With 5 minutes to go it looks as though we were heading for extra time only for a speculative shot to bounce awkwardly on the muddy pitch in front of Izzy who spilled it and Chiddingfold went 5-4 up.The belief and spirit in this Cranleigh side shone through as they immediately went on the attack managing to force a corner with 3 minutes left. Everyone pushed forward and Charlie Gibson delivered a perfect corner which Deon for the first time this season managed to steer his header on target for yet another equaliser .Guess we cant call Deon Mr fifty pence head anymore as all his previous headed efforts have looked more like defensive clearances. Extra time was looming at 5-5 with 20 seconds to go .
A pass from out from Izzy to Fletcher saw him slip and the ball bobbled off his leg straight to the Chiddingfold player who scored to make it 6-5 . Fletcher was distraught after having such an amazing game to slip on a muddy pitch was really tough . With the final whistle we had lost the quarter final .
What a game to play in and to coach with the Cranleigh team giving it their all and at times looking the better side. Best part of the game was seeing the team picking a tearful Fletcher up for a group hug and reassuring him. Mistakes were made in the game which gifted Chiddingfold 3 maybe 4 of their goals but at no time did any player lay the blame at anothers feet but all rallied around each other which showed true team spirit.
Best performance of the season and a very very proud coach .well done team
Man of the Match : Fletcher Russell. A joy to watch and imperious a true quality player
Scorers;
Deon Mubaiwa – 2
Toby Davis – 1
Charlie Gibson – 1
Sullivan Howick – 1
