A good performance in a friendly against Forest Row from the B division.
With both Jamie Hards and Jack Holden unavailable, Ben Spring (who was unable to kick with his right foot) bravely took over the goalkeeper's gloves.
We took the lead very early on as Ian Dipple hit a cross-cum-shot that the Forest Row goalie pushed onto the bar and it bounced behind him into the net.
Forest Row hit back with an equaliser shortly afterwards, but we regained our advantage in the tenth minute as Ian Dipple followed up a powerful shot from Chris Newbury.
The Forest Row goalkeeper made a series of saves as we got on top, including a great reflex save to push away a brilliant header by Chris Newbury from a corner.
Forest Row survived the onslaught and levelled for the second time after a well-worked move after 21 minutes and then took the lead two minutes later as we failed to make any effective challenges.
We had the better of the second half, with Greg Byrne and Chris Newbury starting to develop an understanding and dominating the midfield and Ian Dipple linking well. Despite creating more chances, the last pass or the shot was often delayed too long and Forest Row held out for a win.
The back four looked very solid and there were some excellent performances from some of the unsung players such as Dan Tester, who passed the ball as intelligently as anyone, and Chris Phillips who made some strong runs. Ian Dipple took his chances well, but Greg Byrne was chosen as man-of-the-match for another imposing performance. |