The eagerly anticipated Edgar German Cup quarter-final clash between local rivals Fletching and Uckfield III finally got underway after the fixture had become a victim of the poor weather for the previous two weeks. Officially billed as a tricky away tie for The Archers, a late switch to The Recreation Ground gave Hyland’s men home advantage, but a large traveling contingent, responsible for The Recreation Ground’s largest gate of the season, evened this advantage out and they were treated to an explosive and exciting cup game.

Fletching went into the tie with a depleted squad, influential center back Steve Cork, trickster Mike ‘Sicknote’ Cronin, and super-sub Toby ‘Sinead’ Powell were all unavailable, which meant a recall for Steve Barbe’s 16 year old brother Marcus who took a place on the bench. A reshuffle saw Bradford drop in at center back along side captain Jamie Funnell, whilst ‘Billy’ Hyland moved back into the middle with Wolvey as Rider moved to the left with the usual two up front.

The tone and tempo of the game was set early on as some electric end-to-end attacks and crunching tackles went flying in from both sides. It was the hosts who started the better, causing Town’s big defence some early problems after good work from Wolvey, Hyland Rider and Duff who won the better of the early exchanges in a physical midfield battle. Burchett going closet for the hosts with his twenty yard effort going just wide. Twenty minutes in and The Archers made the most of the downhill advantage. A whipped corner to the near post from ‘the professor of dead ball situations’ Duff, was flicked on by Wolvey where he found ‘The Northern Monkey’ Neil Lucey at the far post who was quickest to react, as he powered his header into the top corner.

The visitors began to adjust and were finding the avenues down the wings, which included former Archer youngster Luke ‘YTS’ Donnelly, to be their best outlet, as they countered at pace on the break. No more than ten minutes later and Town restored parity. A mix up between defence and midfield allowed Tony Funnell in to steal the ball and drive into the box, before cutting across to Hunnisett who finished well. The remaining fifteen minutes turned into a somewhat scrappy affair with neither side able to create any real chances and it was more of a physical battle in the boggy conditions.

The second half began as the hosts kicked up the hill, looking desperately to get back into the lead for the second time. After some sustained pressure The Tangerine Machine got their noses in front, once again from a corner. Bradford rose the highest at the far post, in what was a packed penalty area, to bundle the ball in, making it two in two for the 48 year old. However, Uckfield fought back once again when their left winger went on a mazy run, skipping past Holford as he cut into the box, before nicking the ball past Jamie Funnell who clipped his leg after a genuine attempt for the ball. The big defender could have no arguments with the penalty decision, which was duly dispatched to level the scores.

The game became a real battle from here on in and with neither team having played for a month, gaps began to appear around the park. Town used their advantage of traveling with three substitutes, all of whom were introduced with good effect within quick succession. In particular their right winger Luke Parsons who’s lightening pace and excellent close control began to test Steve ‘Lamb Kofta’ Barbe. He blasted an excellent opportunity well wide after working an opening for himself, whilst Dann was forced into a smart save from the visitors left wide player, as a stubborn home defence cleared the danger. At the other end Pete Burchett was played through by his strike partner Lucey but his quick shot was saved well by the visiting Czech keeper who spread himself well. Then, with literally seconds remaining on the clock, Burchett was put clean through on goal, as he looked to take the shot on, much to the disbelief of the home side, the referee blew up for full time, meaning an extra thirty minutes of play.

Extra time was again a tight affair, with Fletching’s keeper only being called into action from a couple of dangerous long range efforts. Both Burchett and Lucey had half chances, but their best chance came when Rider was put through on goal. Beating the keeper to the ball and knocking it round him, he appeared to be brought down, but the referee waved away the mass of appeals. With so much at stake, tempers were close to boiling point and the referee dished out a couple of yellow cards, mainly for back chat, but neither team could find the winner so penalties were required.

Funnell won the toss and decided to let the visitors take the first spot kick. First to step up was Hunnisett, who sent Dann the wrong way only to be booked for over zealous celebrations directed towards the keeper. For the Archers it was Steve ‘Turkish’ Barbe, who blasted his effort straight down the middle (although it was meant to go to the right, and no Steve it does not count towards your end of season goal tally!). The visitors were to go 2-1 up after a calmly taken penalty, then disaster struck for Fletching as Burchett’s rocket came off the underside of the bar and bounced away. Uckfield now had the chance to go 3-1 up and their effort was converted into the corner - cue over elaborate celebrations once again. Under much pressure from the away supporters who had gathered up near the top goal, Neil Lucey stepped up to stroke home his kick into the bottom corner, sending the visitors shot stopper in the opposite direction. The Town contingent were then silenced as their player dragged his shot just wide of the post. Chris Hyland was once again to come in for some stick from The Uckfield supporters, thanks to his junior days with the club and his many friend that play for them, however he held his nerve to level matters. Town took the lead with their fifth penalty, before Wolvey took the long walk to the goal area and smashed his effort to the bottom right hand corner, taking it to sudden death. The teams couldn’t be separated, so the goalkeepers decided to take matters into their own hands. Town’s foreign import stepped up but had his penalty well saved by Dann as he dived to his left. The custodian placed the ball knowing that if he scored The Archers would progress, stepping up he fired his strike to the left, with such ferocity that despite the visitor’s goalie getting hands to it, he could not prevent it from going in, sending Fletching into their first ever cup semi-final.

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

Where do you start after a game like that? This was a sweet victory over our local rivals Uckfield, and fully deserved after the bottle shown by the players in the penalty shoot out. This game was a real battle, with not too much football played, but I suppose that is understandable given the fact we have not played for so long. Uckfield had a big physical side, and they were hard to break down playing 4-5-1, but the grit and determination showed by the boys will put us in good stead for our semi final against Franklands Village this Saturday. We know they will be desperate for revenge after we knocked them out of the Mowatt, but once again we have nothing to loose and the pressure will be on the visitors.

Team: M.Dann, Holford, Funnell, Bradford, S.Barbe, Duff (M.Barbe), Wolvey, Hyland, Rider, Lucey, Burchett.