CCK FC recorded their first victory of the league season, in their first game of the calender year. An incredible performance from the Badgers delighted their travelling supporters who were treated to a goal fest of epic proportions. The 7-1 victory eases CCK's immediate relegation fears and allows them to dream of new horizons further up the league table.
The away fans were in good voice with the return of a couple of fans favourites. Malcolm Gamon runs the clubs oversea's youth academy in South Africa, however, his visit back to the UK coincided with this vital fixture and he was eligible to play. Forward Nathan Wriglesworth also made a rare appearance back in the first team. The opening stages of the match failed to match the bustling atmosphere of the crowd. The ball was tied down in the midfield as it seemed the game would be a scrappy affair. That wasn't to be the case. A Southern Rangers corner was well caught by goalkeeper Rob Woodward who launched the ball forward to Nathan Wriglesworth who beat the last defender for pace before galloping through on goal. Wriglesworth then showed great composure rounding the advancing keeper and tapping the ball into the empty net. The goal was perhaps against the run of play, but it breathed confidence into the yellows and the football started to improve. Malcolm Gamon and Tim Rose started to dominate the midfield battle and provide good service to the attacking players. Wingers Ben Tucker and Dan Harnden started putting the full backs under pressure with their purposeful runs. The second goal came when another Old Boys corner ended up in the arms of Rob Woodward. The imposing goalkeeper again displayed his accurate distribution skills with a great throw to Dave Jones. The attacking midfielder held the ball up on the half way line before spotting the lung busting run of Dan Harnden. The long pass found its target and Harnden delicately lobbed the ball over the keeper and between the posts. It was a sublime finish from Harnden who scored his first of the season. CCK's defence continued to be as tight as Scrooge with Mike Spence and Jacob Fortescue dominating aerially, while Dan Shotton and Mike Preston weren't giving the wingers much joy either. It was inevitable that CCK would increase their lead as they were dominating the play. It was from a set piece that the third goal came. Dave Jones whipped the ball into the danger area, where Ben Tucker met the ball on the volley and struck the ball past the keeper. CCK went in at half time fully deserving their half time lead.
The second half continued to see dominant play from the visiting side who played the ball around with great confidence. It wasn't long before that dominance resulted into another goal. Dan Harnden did some brilliant work down the right and supplied a fantastic cross. The ball found Malcolm Gamon who smashed it past the keeper emphatically, making it 4-0. The attacking play of CCK was creating the Old Boys back line an avalanche of worries, with both Nathan Wriglesworth and Dave Jones looking sharp. It was the latter that added to the Badgers tally. A poor goalkick only reached Jones, and he was able to bear down on goal, shrugging off a late challenge before rounding the keeper and tucking the ball in the net. The Rangers grabbed themselves a consolation goal when a goalmouth scramble saw the ball cannon off the crossbar before the defenders all simultaniously got their feet stuck in the turf before the striker smashed the ball into the top corner, via the fingertips of Rob Woodward. The goal was a reminder to the yellows that they musn't get complacent. Mark Edwards was introduced for Dan Shotton, and CCK went looking for more goals. It was Nathan Wriglesworth who found the net next. He received the ball from Dave Jones and then spectacularly found the top corner with a curled effort, leaving the goalkeeper motionless. The poetic beauty of the effort had the pundits salivating as they scribbled the details down as a goal of the season contender. The final goal was scored by substitute Mark Edwards whose emphusiasm and tenacity came good. Another scintilating cross from Dan Harnden found the winger at the back post and when his first effort was saved, he was there to tap in the rebound. It was Edwards' first goal in a CCK shirt sparking scenes of mass celebration. The home support had long trudged back to their cars when scenes of jubilation from the away fans greeted the final whistle. A first win of the season gives CCK hope of a brighter 2010.
Manager Tim Rose was pleased to remind the gathered media of their previous comments, when he spoke with them after the match, "It's great to notch up the first win, and shut a few people up. The result has been coming and to win with so much to spare was brilliant. We'll hopefully take this into our next few games, and get some momentum. We've won but we can't get carried away, we need to keep this level of effort up and look to build on it." Captain for the day Dave Jones felt the whole side played brilliantly when he spoke with BBC Sport, "All over the park we were fantastic today, defensively we were solid, and we looked good going forward. Long may that continue. If we can get a run going now, then we can really shoot up the league but we'll take each game as it comes." Brace scorer Nathan Wriglesworth was handed the Man of the Match champagne, but felt that all 11 players deserved credit for the emphatic win, "All the boys deserve a bottle of this stuff, it was just great to be part of such a good performance." The media was also keen to speak with Malcolm Gamon who was frank about his teams performance so far, "To be in the position the club is in, isn't great and we should have won more games. This result will hopefully give the players more confidence and I'm sure more wins will follow." CCK will be looking to make it 2 in 2 when they host Ovingdean at Wish Park next week.
