Challenge Trophy
Round 2
Sun Postal Sports 2 Langford 7
Tuesday, 03 October 2006
Tuesday 3rd October 2006 Spartan South Midlands League
Challenge Trophy
Sun Postal Sports (0) 2 Danny Burke 63, 89
Langford (5) 7 O.G. 1, Lee Pateman 12,28,50, Marc Barnes 39,80,Gareth Grant 25
at Bellmount Wood Avenue
7-UP AS REDS ECLIPSE SUN
Langford recovered from three successive home defeats to make progress in this season’s Challenge Trophy at the expense of Division One side, Sun Postal Sports. The Reds side saw several changes due to injury and unavailability but proved in a devastating first half display that they were not going be one of the night’s Premier Division casualties in this competition.
The action began with less than a minute gone when Marc Barnes took advantage of a defender’s slip and saw his cross put into the net by home defender Lee Eldridge while under pressure from Robert Groves. Barnes was on fire in the opening minutes and was unlucky as he burst through again into the area. The Reds forced a corner and Kevin Patterson, scorer of the winner in the previous round, was denied a goal by the width of a post as he got his head to Groves kick. The home side will feel perhaps that the turning point of this game came as early as the sixth minute when Curtis King’s free kick from twenty yards curled around the wall and struck the underside of the bar and was cleared. An equaliser at this stage may well given the home the impetus needed for a tighter game. Langford went onto exert their higher division status with Pateman coming close with a header from a Robert Groves cross. The Reds doubled their advantage after thirteen minutes with Jim Bywater playing in Marc Barnes who played in a low cross to the far post that was smashed high into the net by Lee Pateman. The home side responded with a Ben Cowen effort the forced Eely into a good save. When Gareth Grant added a third goal on twenty five minutes the game was as good as over but the sending off of home defender Chris Paul for denying Marc Barnes a goal scoring opportunity on the edge of the box sealed the home sides’ fate two minutes later. The resulting free kick from Robert Groves found the inside of the post and as it rolled back across the area Lee Pateman was first to react to add his second and Langford’s fourth. With six minutes remaining Langford completed the first half scoring, Gareth Grant found himself through on keeper Andy Felton who managed to block his effort but Marc Barnes picked up the loose ball and with his back to goal turned and fired home number five. Even after that a powerful run into the area by Jim Bywater that left two defenders in his wake resulted in the woodwork coming to the home sides rescue yet again with the unlucky Bywater striking the post with the goal keeper beaten.
Sun opened the second half with a determined attack that the Reds managed to block but it did awaken the visitors to the fact that a repeat of their first half dominance was going to challenged by the home sides ten men. Langford came back at the home team with Jim Bywater setting up Barnes but his shot was denied a goal with a goal line clearance. Five minutes in and a Langford corner that the was not fully cleared allowed Lee Pateman to complete his hat trick by firing home across the goal from the far post. Pateman then set up Barnes for a scoring chance but goal keeper Felton proved equal to the challenge with a good save. Despite the score line it was the visitors’ goal keeper Dan Eely that produced the save of the night as he pushed Danny Burke powerful strike over the top for a corner as it sped towards the keepers top left hand corner of the net. Sun had their improved second half showing rewarded when Danny Burke, aided by a wicked deflection, finally beat Eely on sixty three minutes. Langford made two substitutions with an injured Jim Bywater being replaced by David Ralph and then Shayne Willett making way for Andy Pilgrim. The substitutions and formation changes saw the Reds loose their momentum somewhat but Marc Barnes was still proving troublesome striking the woodwork for the third time in the game after he charged down Felton’s attempted clearance. He wasn’t to be denied however and claimed his second and Langford’s seventh on eighty minutes by sliding home Gareth Grant’s defence splitting pass. Last action of the second period came from the home side and a deserved second goal after not giving up the game throughout the second half. Danny Burke the scorer with a well placed low strike to Eely’s right.
Langford’s reward for this emphatic 7-2 victory will be a trip to Tring Athletic, who despite poor League form won their away second round tie at Chalfont St Peter, 1-0.
On Saturday the Reds begin another run of home games by hosting Biggleswade Town. This will be followed on Tuesday evening by the visit of Royston Town before London Colney finish off the week at Forde Park the following Saturday.
Langford; Dan Eely, Dave Drury, Shayne Willett(Pilgrim), Kevin Patterson, Robert Groves, Danny Bennett, Wayne Smith, Gareth Grant, Marc Barnes, Lee Pateman, Jim Bywater (Ralph)
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