Charlwood village 6 vs 3 Furngate vets

Charlwood Village 6–3 Furngate Today was a day where we had 17 players in the squad, giving us a great opportunity to manage minutes and give some players the rest they needed. It was also the first outing for our new training tops, so a big thank you to S T Construction for their input and support. We started the game strongly and looked the far better side in the early stages. However, it was Charlwood who broke the deadlock after a 50/50 challenge between their player and Michael Joy. Unfortunately, Joy came second best and Charlwood made it 1–0. Both teams continued to battle, with chances at either end, but we soon found our equaliser. Michael Joy made up for his earlier mistake with a bullet header from the back, finding Jeorgi Haynes, who then picked out Tom Westpfel. Tom made no mistake, slotting it home to make it 1–1. Game on! Or so we thought… Moments later Charlwood scored again to make it 2–1. It looked miles offside, but unfortunately our linesman was distracted and didn't spot it — although we still love the job he does for us! Charlwood then added another. We should have simply cleared the danger, but we didn't, and suddenly it was 3–1. Despite the scoreline, the football we were playing was good. There were some excellent passages of play, with Arron Morton and Dicky both showing their sharpness despite a lack of minutes over the last few months. There was also a brilliant cross from Danny Bishop that somehow ended up in Peacehaven — and just to remind everyone, we were playing in Horley! Charlwood made it 4–1, another goal that looked offside but unfortunately wasn't given. That brought us to half-time. Half-Time We had the oranges, we had the chat, and on came the Big Dog — Pistol. Within moments he was sprinting to keep the ball in, producing several silky stepovers before pinging the ball into a dangerous area for Tommy Johnson, who smashed home a cracker. 4–2! We continued to play some really good football. Rory was making his debut and showing that he can certainly play, while Martyn Bishop was also making his debut and put in a fantastic performance. Morton then went one-on-one with the keeper, who pulled off a great save to deny him. From the resulting corner, Rory delivered the ball into the box and a Charlwood player handled it. Penalty! Up stepped Tommy Johnson, who calmly slotted it home. 4–3! For good periods of the game, we genuinely looked like we could go on and win it. Unfortunately, we switched off for another spell and Charlwood punished us with two late goals to make it 6–3. And, you guessed it… one of them looked offside again! Full-Time: Charlwood Village 6–3 Furngate Man of the Match: Tommy Johnson ?? Today was a real test for us. There were two spells — around 15 minutes in each half — where we fell asleep and allowed Charlwood to punish us. Against a good side, you simply can't afford those lapses. But overall, there were plenty of positives. Tom Westpfel looked sharp until his injury, Lee Henderson put in a good performance, the two debutants showed plenty of promise, and everyone gave absolutely everything. There was some really good football played today and, most importantly, progress was made. The scoreline doesn't tell the full story of the performance. We competed, created chances and showed plenty of character to fight our way back from 4–1 to 4–3. We'll learn from the mistakes, take the positives and move forward. UP THE GATE! ???