Sidley United 6 - 1 AFC Hastings

[blueboybird]

Given the lack of any other contributor to this forum I thought it was just as well to call the thread out match rather than Results of the day in general.
Anyway, here you go fellow Nomadian...

Sidley United 6 - 1 AFC Hastings - Hastings FA Junior Cup

Sidley United marched into the Quarter Finals of this cup competition with a comfortable win against league rivals AFC Hastings.

The tone for the game was set from the off as the visitors had to begin with just 10 men although the numbers were levelled up about 5 minutes into the game.

Blues began on the front foot and didn't have too long to wait to make the breakthrough. Simon Corke stole the ball in a dangerous area and he fed Chris Sanderson in the area who laid the ball back to Lee Roberts who scored with a low strike on 11 minutes.

The visitors were guilty of some strong challenges as they struggled to contain a rampant Blues side. Sidley looked like scoring every time they came forward and they doubled their lead on 23 minutes as captain Mark Funnell swept home from an Adam Day cross.

The chances continued to fall to the home side, as Roberts rounded the goalkeeper but put his shot wide. However he made amends a few minutes later as again Sidley won the ball high up the pitch and Roberts played in Scrace who was left unmarked and he finished well to give Sidley a 3 - 0 half time lead.

With the wind behind them in the second half, Sidley looked to extend the score and soon got the fourth goal. On 52 minutes, Scrace did well on the left and his cross was turned in at the back post by Roberts, via the goalkeeper.

The game then lost some of the competitive edge in the following 20 minutes although Blues retained more of the ball. However the gloss was added to the scoreline with two quick goals as first Roberts completed his hat trick on 77 minutes before a minute later Scrace got his second goal by riding a last ditch tackle and poking the ball under the goalkeeper to give Sidley a 6 - 0 lead.

The desired clean sheet was denied Sidley though as on 82 minutes a free kick into the home area saw the referee award a penalty as he adjudged Funnell to have kicked a striker as they went for the ball, despite a lack of appeal. The resulting penalty was dispatched high into the net but it made little difference to the end result as Sidley strode into the next round with a commanding performance.

Of sides definitely through so far, possible opponents in the Quarter Finals are league rivals Old Hastonians and Crowhurst, and Division Two sides Peasmarsh United and Bexhill A.A.C I.

Next up for the Blues is a home game against Ticehurst in the league before two more encounters against AFC Hastings.

Sidley Team: Rogers, May, Aston, Funnell, Eldridge (Copley), Day (Bailey), Sanderson, Godden (Carey), Scrace, Corke, Roberts.