Before I begin this report, I must warn everyone that the frustration experienced during this game was at an all-time high. So, sit back, relax, and prepare to be extremely frustrated. Oh, and if there’s any Brighton fans reading this, I apologise for any flashbacks from ‘Potterball’ that are caused.
Bexhill United started the game on the front foot and within the first five minutes they had already created a few good chances. The first came from a cross that was well caught by the Oakwood goalkeeper and the second was a sliced volley from the centre back. The effort sailed over the bar (2). The next five minutes of the game were the same. The Pirates were dominating but missed another two huge chances to take the lead. Both came from low crosses into the box, but they were missed by everyone (4). Despite the early misses, the home side didn’t let their heads drop and they continued to create more and more chances. A long corner was curled to James Stone at the back post, but his loose touch gave Oakwood the chance to clear their lines. Minutes later Harrison Smith drove down the right-hand side and whipped a fantastic ball into the box. James Stone reached for the header, but the ball flew inches wide (6). 15 minutes past and the score was still 0-0, Bexhill continued to attack but Oakwood’s goalkeeper was keeping his side in the game. Aaron Cook picked the ball up in space and he looked to catch the keeper out with a quick shot, but a combination of keeper and defender manged to clear the ball away. Bexhill won another corner, but this time the ball was played perfectly into the danger area for Sena Aklotsoe to power a header towards go. From close range, the goalkeeper pulled off another superb save (8). Another five minutes past and once again the Pirates missed another two chances. A beautiful reverse ball from Jack Samways was controlled by Harrison Smith in space, he looked for the shot but instead laid the ball back into Samways’ path. The midfielder’s shot was weak and rolled into the keeper’s arms. Bexhill were getting a lot of joy down the wings, so they continued to fire crosses into the box, another lovely cross was latched onto by James Stone and the header looked to be destined for the top corner, but somehow the goalkeeper tipped it over the bar (10). Oakwood were defending well to keep the score at 0-0, but surely it was only a matter of time before one of Bexhill’s shots went in. Another cross was missed by everyone in the box, but this time the ball fell to Tom O’shaughnessy who had an open goal. As he was about the shot, the defender dived in front to steal the ball off his foot (11). A massive last-ditch tackle. The half hour marked had been past and the match continued in the same fashion. Another header was pushed away by the keeper and a curled effort from the edge of the box by Aaron Cook was also punched away (13). Chance after chance had been missed by Bexhill. With 10 minutes to play in the half, Jack Shonk delivered a perfect free kick into the box. It landed on the head of Jordan Ray. The defender lost his bearings and his header looped straight into the air and into the keeper’s thankful grasp (14). As half-time quickly approach, Bexhill needed to find the opener to capitalise on their dominance. A low effort from Harrison Smith was deflected into the side netting before Jack Shonk slotted the ball home into the bottom corner. A low and powerful cross picked out the goal scorer perfectly. Or did it… OFFSIDE. Another frustrating chance for Bexhill (16). So far, no matter what they did the ball just wouldn’t go into the goal (legally). On the stroke of half-time, the Pirates created another two chances. The Oakwood keeper pushed a shot away, but it only fell as far as Harrison Smith. He smashed a volley towards the open goal, but the ball whistled wide. A huge miss. Beautifully, Bexhill played their way through the Oakwood defensive again but a heavy touch from Aaron Cook presented the goalkeeper with an opportunity to come out and smother the ball (18). The referee blew his whistle for half-time and despite all of Bexhill’s dominance and chances, the teams headed in at 0-0.
The second half started after a quick 15-minute break, and guess what… within five minutes Bexhill had missed lots more chances. An ambitious curled effort from Jack Shonk went high and wide before Harrison Smith’s powerful cross led to a corner. Scrappy headers and blocked shots finally fell back to Harrison Smith. The young man tried a strange volley technique, but the ball dipped just over the bar (21). What a goal that would’ve been. Another 10 minutes past but this time Oakwood started to become a lot more solid at the back, which restricted Bexhill to only one chance. Another curled shot from Aaron Cook went inches past the post (22). The Pirates continued to stretch the pitch and Harrison Smith was having a great game down the right-hand side. Power, pace, and skill. Another 10 minutes past and chances had really slowed down now. Bexhill’s midfielder turned sharply on the edge of the box to create a shooting chance, but his chipped effort flew over the bar (23). More and more and more chances were missed by Bexhill. Another Harrison Smith volley looped just over the bar before strong hands from the keeper held onto another powerful cross (25). There was so much space down the right wing and Harrison Smith continued to cook his marker every time. A cut back was taken by Aaron Cook but the defender just about manged to step in front and shepherd the ball out for a goal kick (26). With only 5/10 minutes to play, Bexhill had missed another two big chances. A dummy from James Stone rolled agonisingly across the box before another long-range effort was caught by the goalkeeper (28). Oakwood restricted space well and reduced Bexhill’s chances to two long range curled efforts that flew over the bar again (30). Sloppiness and more frustration started to creep in for Bexhill which led to a poor pass in the midfield. Oakwood saw their opportunity to break quickly but Fin Holter spared his side’s blushes and produced a fantastic save. Phew! As we entered added time, James Stone whipped a wicked ball to Jack Shonk at the back post but out of nowhere the goalkeeper tipped the forward’s header over the bar (31). A ridiculous save. Full-time was seconds away. James Stone received the ball on the edge of the box and looked up. He saw his opportunity. He drew his leg back. He smashed his shot towards goal. it deflected off the defender and rolled desperately past the post (32).
A game that had been completely dominated by Bexhill and one in which they had 32 chances was heading to Penalties.
Thankfully, the Pirates kept their nerve to win 3-1 on penalties. Fin Holter became the man of the hour after he produced THREE unbelievable penalty saves. He couldn’t help himself with a few celebrations after each one. Bravo Fin.
Louis Selling – Bexhill College