Division Two outfit Hartfield were the visitors to The Recreation Ground for an eagerly anticipated Edger German Cup quarter final, with The Archers determined to at least give the Fourth Division some credit, if not progress past the current holders to book a first-ever semi-final place. Influential veteran Neil ‘Nails’ Bradford was rested for the week due to a niggling groin injury, but Ross Davidson and Marten Leeves both returned to take a place on the bench. Cork was restored to the backline with Duly moving forward into the vacant holding role in an otherwise unchanged team.

Hartfield won the toss and invited The Archers to make the most of the sloping advantage. Fletching certainly started the better of the two sides, with the gulf in league placings certainly not evident as Hylands men showed little respect for formbook. The Archers were playing in a positive fashion, confident of taking something from this game as they got amongst the opposition, with the home sides impressive midfield bossing the center of the park, giving ‘Field little time to settle on the ball. A vocal home crowd nearly saw their side take the lead after only ten minutes when the quick feet of Chris Hyland caught hold of a stinging half volley from thirty yards which drifted agonizingly wide with the keeper in trouble. Whether Hartfield expected an easy ride or not, this was certainly a wake up call and at an instant cranked up the gears as they came back into the match with a couple of well taken, dangerous corners, but Philips was in commanding mood as he confidently punched the ball away, despite pressure from the opposing teams towering back four, who throughout the game were a real nuisance at set pieces. In a game that was tighter than Wolvey’s shorts, Burchett and Unwin were looking to make their trademark runs in behind the back, but were limited to only a couple of half chances against a well marshaled, technical and experienced defence. At the same time The Archers back three looked in fine form, never looking out of their depth, Funnell in particular was on top of his game, controlling those around him, even finding time to go on a couple of inspired runs. And when Hartfield did find a way through on the break, Phillips stood firm, denying ‘Field’s striker from a one on one down the left hand side with a terrific finger tip save to keep the scores on a par going into the break

With forty-five minutes safely behind them The Villagers knew they still had every chance of being in the hat for the next round and sensing a upset, went all out to get the lead against the holders. The Archers looked to keep the pressure on and got their break through ten minutes into the half. The Hartfield defender looked to turn in his own box but was hustled by both Hyland and the ever-battling Unwin, with the latter nicking the ball off his feet only to be bundled down for a penalty. Burchett confidently stepped up to send the keeper the wrong way and give Fletching the lead. With half an hour still remaining, ‘Field upped their game once more, and threw men forward as The Tangerine Machine looked to hold on and utilise the inevitable counter attacking opportunities. The visitors stormed straight back into the game ten minutes later when their sprightly midfield creative man found space to hit a rasping shot, from well outside the box, past the despairing Phillips. Fletching were finding it hard going up the hill, but thanks to the tireless running of Roberts and Duff were still creating chances for The Archers attacking line up. As in recent weeks the aforementioned wide two were constantly back with their men before breaking with pace and finding yards for themselves. Several crosses found their way into the Hartfield box but could not be converted, one unparticular from the left foot of Duff which spat right across the goal and was palmed, thankfully for Hartfield, to one of their own defenders. With the game still poised at 1-1 The Gaffer sent Davidson on to replace Duly, who had a fine game in an unfamiliar role. Chris Hyland switched back to a deeper position as The Villagers looked to the fresh legs of Ross for a potential winner. In truth though the match then became a game of cat and mouse, a tight affair with any further chances few and far between. With the game seemingly heading towards extra time and two fresh substitutes still to come on, The Archers were hit with a hammer blow in the 89th minute. The lanky Hartfield midfielder drifted down the wing, and looked to get his cross in right on the byline, but as the ball drifted in, it flew over everyone’s head, including the stranded ‘Minty’ only to hit the post and drop into the net, for one the flukiest of goals seen at The Recreation Ground. The cup holders hung on in a frantic few minutes, which saw the petulant Duff booked for descent and Davidson miss a good chance to level up and send it to extra time right at the death.

View From The Dancefloor with Billy Elliot (a.k.a Chris Hyland)

After the game the lads were totally gutted with the result especially as we pushed a division two team so far, but with a lucky goal like that at the end of the game there is simply nothing you can do! In hindsight we can take heart that we put in a very strong performance against a very organised team, and on another day could have come away with the spoils. Next week we are back in league action where we visit Wealden for another crunch league game, and there is nothing like local derby to get back on track!

Team: Philips, Holford, Funnell, Cork, Duly (Davidson 73), Wolvey, Duff, Roberts, Hyland, Unwin, Burchett. Unused Subs: Leeves, Cronin