Rushmere CFC             7

Wetherden Maypole     1

At Dumbarton Road

Rushmere regained the advantage in the race for the Division Five championship with a comfortable win over a determined Wetherden side.

Having faced each other only two weeks previous, the neutrals could be forgiven for expecting a tighter encounter than they got on Sunday.

It didn’t take long for the home side to take the lead. Jake Miller found himself some space on the left wing to produce a brilliant cross to Chris Paine twelve yards from goal. Rather than control the ball, he unleashed a spectacular volley that flew in off the post.

The second followed soon after when in form striker Daniel Higdon converted the prodigal son Mark Stevens’ cross. In between all of this, Higdon’s strike partner Matt Wilson produced a showboating skill of such pure quality that he left teammates, opponents and fans dazed. The only downside to this was that his side couldn’t reward his efforts with a goal. They didn’t have to wait long, however, as Adam Potter smartly followed up his own parried shot to head the ball over the despairing keeper. Wilson eventually got his goal when he latched on to a Paine throw in that deceived everybody for an emphatic finish, handing his side a four-goal lead at the break.

Wetherden, with the wind behind them, came out for the second looking both like a new side and for a way back into this match. They got their reward when a mix up in the defence set up an amazing chase for the goal bound ball between the young away striker and the impressive Rushmere defender Adam Davey. On this occasion the former was the victor but not before sustaining a pretty nasty kick (courtesy of Davey’s defensive attempts) in the process.

The host’s did not let this affect them and within a few minutes restored their four goal advantage. A good shot by Daniel Higdon was once again parried; this time into the path of Stevens for a simple tap in. Manager Cliff Mecoy started ringing the changes with the duo of Jermaine Guiler and Chris Mecoy replacing Wilson and the injured Chris Drewery.

The benefits of these changes were clear as Guiler scored a magnificent goal. Running from the half way line, his knee injury seemingly causing him no problems, he outpaced his marker and drilled his shot home for number six.

The scoring was completed when great work from Paine, Lee Smith and Chris Mecoy left Daniel Higdon with acres of room to complete his brace.

Shortly afterwards Lee Smith was replaced by double Clubman Of The Year Phil Fosker whose first touch in over three months had to be kicked out of play due to an injury to Paine. With the points in the bag, not even a missed penalty or a ridiculous attempt at some flashy skill could do anything to dampen the home fans joy.

On the day that their nearest rivals only managed a draw, Rushmere’s season seems to have picked up momentum at the perfect time. Rushmere CFC would like to thank Wetherden Maypole for their great attitude and friendly support of both sides and we wish them all the best for the rest of the season .

Final Score: 1-7

Man Of The Match: Chris Paine and Mark Stevens

Rushmere CFC                   3

Taverners Reserves           0

At Dumbarton Road

It was Reserve Cup Quarter Final day at the weekend with Division 5 championship chasers Rushmere CFC entertaining their Division 3 counterparts Taverners Reserves at Dumbarton.

Despite the gulf in league positions, this proved to be a very enjoyable tight affair between two sides playing good football; this was the reason that the first half finished goalless. Only a Chris Drewery header for the home side that seemingly crossed the line threatened to break the deadlock.

The second half started in much the same as the first with no real guilt edged chances for either side.

The action started half way through the second period when Rushmere striker Matt Wilson, celebrating his nineteenth birthday this week went close to grabbing his nineteenth goal for the season but his shot sailed just over.

Less than five minutes later, controversy threatened to overshadow this great game as Drewery asked the referee for a quick free kick. His request was accepted but when his shot sailed into the bottom corner, leaving the keeper stranded, a retake was awarded. Undeterred, Drewery then found Wilson with a neat pass and the rest was a formality as his beautifully struck shot flew into the roof of the net to put the underdogs 1-0 up.

The floodgates partially opened afterwards with the brilliant Guiler running through on goal only to lay the ball to Daniel Higdon who finished simply to send his team into ecstatics.

The third came soon afterwards with the always impressive Jake Miller who finished smartly with his natural confidence in front of goal there for all to see.

A truly enthralling match between two very good sides ended 3-0 with the only downside being that neither one deserved to go out of the competition.

Final Score: 3~0

Men Of The Match: Johnson, Drewery, Barr, Magill, Davey, Smith, Paine, Guiler, Miller, Higdon, Wilson, Potter & Page