Saturday, February 06, 2010

Game 40: Whitehawk 1.1 Marske United (aet) (FA Vase) 06.02.10

For this round of the Vase I decided to head down to Brighton and watch the match between Whitehawk and Marske United from the Northern League. Due to engineering works I took the train up to Clapham Junction and then down to Brighton which took a couple of hours thanks to a quick dash across the platforms to get a connection.


After a wander around the shops I met up with Paul in the Lord Nelson pub for a spot of lunch. We decided that the best option would be to take a number 7 bus and jump off before the Marina to walk the rest of the way. This was the bus I used to catch on a regular basis when I lived in Brighton but the route has changed as it no longer terminates at the hospital, so I didn't get to see my old flat. While trying to work out where we were on the map and where the ground was, a guy behind us asked if we were heading to Whitehawk's ground. It turned out that he was a Brentford fan who gets out to non-league grounds and thought that he'd asked me for directions in the past. We decided the best option was to team up and try and work out the way to the ground.


When we got off the bus we spotted some playing fields where a couple of local league games were taking place. We crossed over the road and followed a long road / track for about 5 minutes before arriving at the aptly named Enclosed Ground. After buying a programme and grabbing some drinks we had a wander around the ground before finding a spot with the sun behind us so I could take some photos during the match.


We had heard reports of some of the Marske supporters travelling down on Friday while others had been on the road on a coach since 4am. When their coaches arrived at the ground they congregated in the terraced cover just behind us and soon had it decorated with their flags of support. There was a good turnout of away fans and they made a lot of noise throughout the match to encourage their team.


The first half started with a few strong tackles and a couple of yellow cards. Marske took control of the game and were unlucky not to take the lead after a great dribble from their no 7 wasn't matched by a finish when he hit his shot directly at the Whitehawk keeper. Whitehawk struggled to get their passing game going and it took until the 23rd minute for a clear opportunity when a mistimed shot was dragged wide of the post.


Marske came close to breaking the deadlock in the 28th minute. A long kick from the goalkeeper bounced all the way through the Whitehawk defence and into the penalty area. Marske's 10 tried to deflect the ball past the Whitehawk keeper who had come towards the edge of the box but the keeper managed to grab the ball. There was then a delay of several minutes as the keeper was injured in the process but he was alright to continue. As the game approached half time I was expecting Marske to break the deadlock but it was Whitehawk who scored first against the run of play. After the Whitehawk keeper tipped a shot wide, they broke away from the resulting corner and the ball ended up on the right side of the Marske area. A great low cross found Davis unmarked in the area and he smashed the ball into the net as the keeper dived the opposite way.


The locals celebrated loudly and some of them took the opportunity to goad the away supporters who fell silent for the first time in the match. They didn't stay silent for long. From the restart they moved the ball down the left wing and it was played out for a corner. A great cross high into the 6 yard box found defender Taylor's head and he powered the ball into the top of the net. The away support now found their voice and a few deserved comments were aimed at the Whitehawk supporters who now fell quiet.


The second half felt like an anticlimax after the two late goals in the first half. The game degenerated into a melee of players and handbags early on which the referee and assistant had to be quick to deal with. Whitehawk were giving the ball away in midfield on a regular basis but Marske were guilty of holding onto the ball too long, allowing their opponents to recover it.


In the 66th minute it looked like Whitehawk should have had a penalty. The number 9 who had been impressive at Bristol Manor Farm ran with the ball into the area and as he was about to shoot found his standing leg barged off balance by a defender. This allowed the goalkeeper to gather the ball but the referee decided that it was a lack of control rather than a foul, so waved play on. The general consensus from the home fans around us was that the player should have gone to ground and made the referee's decision for him.


The best chance for the visitors during this period was a fantastic shot from distance in the 82nd minute that looked to be dipping under the bar until the Whitehawk keeper made a spectacular diving save to push the ball over. Both teams now pressed for a winner to avoid extra time and Whitehawk came very close to scoring it in the last few minutes. The first opportunity fell to the 9 who took the ball round four Marske players but decided to pass the ball when he reached the edge of the area instead of taking a shot himself. In the last minute,the Marske keeper had to be alert to make a good save from a low shot.


With the sun finally setting, the referee blew to start the first period of extra time. Whitehawk started to dominate as Marske tired and again came close to scoring in the 100th minute. The ball was played high into the Marske box and the keeper came off his line to try and win it. He didn't manage to get it under control and a Whitehawk player got in front of him and cleverly passed the ball to the edge of the area for a team mate to take a shot on goal. There were several Marske players in the way so his shot had to be precise.He didn't quite manage to get the accuracy needed as the ball hit the edge of the post and went wide.


Whitehawk had another appeal for a penalty turned down in the second period of extra time. Paul and I had wandered around the ground to watch extra time from on top of the hill behind the dugouts and had a great view of the incident. Whitehawk broke down the right side closest to us and one of their subs took the ball past a defender and into the area. As the Marske goalkeeper came racing off his line and before he dived at the Whitehawk player's feet, the Whitehawk player started to go down as if he was expecting this challenge. The referee was well placed and booked the Whitehawk player for the dive. The Marske defenders were not amused and one called him a disgrace for trying to win the game by cheating.


Whitehawk's final chance came in the 110th minute when a shot from another good through ball was well saved by the Marske goalkeeper. With five minutes to go they were reduced to ten men as Fisk was shown a second yellow card for a late challenge in the middle of the pitch. Marske had run out of steam and were unable to take advantage of the extra man so the game will go to a replay next Saturday.


We departed swiftly and joined our new friend from Brentford and another non-league enthusiast for a taxi ride back to the train station. The journey was filled with talk about grounds and teams around the country and it was a pleasure to meet these fellow travellers. The journey back wasn't so smooth - the signals for the Brighton - London line failed so we took a punt on the train to Chichester, only for that line to be shut down temporarily to allow the police onto the track. We were lucky to get the last Cardiff train from Fareham to get us home.

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