East Sussex League Premier Division / Division One Supplementary Cup
Battle Recreation Ground, Battle
Admission & Programme: None
Attendance: 60 (approximate)
There was not much football to choose from this midweek, with fixtures beginning to peter out in my local leagues. So this evening, I revisited some familiar territory - with my second visit to the Battle Recreation Ground in three weeks, and my second time watching Battle Town II within a week. But there was plenty of interest about this game, with a potential cup final appearance at stake.
This evening's match was the last fixture in Group B of the East Sussex League Premier Division / Division One Supplementary Group stage, and following Battle Town II's demolition of Crowhurst last Wednesday, a game I watched, they knew that winning their final two games would ensure a place in the final. However, on Saturday they lost 2-3 at home to Rye United to extinguish their hopes, leave Rye United top of the table, and only a victory this evening for Rock a Nore could deny them. Premier Division outfit Rock a Nore won four and drew one of their six group games, and in the curtailed regular league season, they had won three and drawn one of their seven league games.
On a mostly sunny evening, and with a very decent scattering of spectators lining the top of the grass bank along one length, Rock A Nore were certainly up for this game, looking to pump balls high upfield for their forwards to chase, and occasionally pushing the boundaries of what was acceptable with some strong tackles, and remonstrating with the Battle players, the referee and the Battle club linesman. The Battle keeper kept his team in it in the early stages, starting on five minutes when a long ball forward wasn't quite cut out by a defender, allowing a Rock a Nore player to run through on goal, and his shot was well parried low down by the keeper, and the follow up goalbound shot was blocked by a defender. On 19 minutes, following a corner, the Battle keeper made a terrific reflex save from a close range show, and after a couple of efforts went just wide, on 40 minutes, a close range header was excellently parried over the bar. Battle came closest as the game entered added on time, when a corner deflected off a defender's head just over his own bar.
Into the second half and the visitors continued creating decent chances, and finally broke the deadlock on 53 minutes when a free-kick was curled low around the wall and beyond the keeper's dive. And they doubled their lead on 71 minutes when the ball was struck from the edge of the area and although the keeper got a touch as it passed him, the ball rolled just inside the far post to seemingly seal their place in the final. But some doubt was cast on that when Battle pulled a goal back on 84 minutes with a fabulous goal by James Williams, striking the ball from fully 40 yards, into the top left hand corner. But they couldn't grab an equaliser in the remaining minutes, and so Rock a Nore claimed the win which they deserved, and to earn their ticket for the Final, where they will meet Sidley United II on 22nd May at Westfield's home ground.
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