Friday 28th April 2023, Kick-off 19.45
East Sussex League Divisions 1 & 2 Cup Final
Pilot Field, Hastings
Admission including Programme: £4.00
Attendance: 200 (estimate)
This evening, I decided to go to my third local cup final in a week at the Pilot Field with this interesting looking cup tie between two Hastings clubs.
Both clubs have had a decent season in the East Sussex League, although a division does split the two, with JC Tackleway top of the second tier, Division One, of the East Sussex League, following eleven wins and three draws from 15 league games, but having already finished their campaign, they will be overtaken by second placed Sandhurst if they win their final game tomorrow. Peche Hill Select are in second place a tier below, in Division Two, following eleven wins and three draws from their 16 league games. To reach tonight's final, Peche Hill won 2-5 away at Sedlescombe Rangers Reserves, before losing 0-4 at home to Hollington United II but were awarded passage to the next round, and then received a walkover as Bexhill Rovers were unable to field a team. JC Tackleway were drawn at home in each of the three previous rounds, beating AFC Jesters 4-2 after extra time, Sandhurst 3-1, before receiving a walkover in the semi final when SC Pass and Move Arrows failed to field a team.
On a slightly milder evening than of late, this was an entertaining game to watch, with plenty of attacking play on display, although Tackleway always looked the more threatening. They had a couple of efforts blocked on the line, with protests that the ball had crossed the line, to no avail. But on 42 minutes JC Tackleway were reduced to ten men when the linesman waved his flag for an off the ball incident.
As it turned out, that did not harm JC Tackleway too much, and they continued into the second half in the ascendancy and they opened the scoring on 63 minutes when an initial shot was partied across goal by the keeper, only for a team mate to strike the ball home via the keeper's palms. Peche Hill did respond well, creating some decent chances but in the sixth minute if added on time at the end of the game, JC Tackleway made absolutely sure that they would be lifting the trophy shortly after the final whistle when, after it had looked that a couple of their players had overplayed heading for goal instead of taking a shot, but eventually the ball was smashed into the roof of the net. They certainly deserved the win, but credit to Peche Hill for playing their part in an entertaining and competitive final. They do have another opportunity to lift some silverware though, when they return to the Pilot Field in a couple of weeks to contest the Hastings FA Junior Cup.
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