Bearsted
Crowborough Athletic
R Croucher (45', 74' Sent Off)
Full time
J Walder (74' Sent Off)
BEARS END THE CROWS PROMOTION HOPES.
By Malcolm Boyes
Defeat at Honey Lane and a win for Whitstable Town on Wednesday ends promotion hopes.
Not quite good enough in the end.
Similar to last season, the Crows dip in form has occurred at the wrong time for them and has cost them any chance of finishing in the top two of the SCEFL Premier Division. There's no doubt that for the Crows the number of games towards the end of March and throughout April has cost them dear, as tiredness, injuries and suspensions have hampered team selection.
This match was a point in case as the Crows started the game well and created some good chances which we unfortunately missed and as last season, missed chances in key end of season games, ended costing the Crows their promotion hopes.
Overall, the first half was an entertaining affair with both teams trying to keep the ball on the deck and the match became an end to end encounter whilst being keenly contested all over the pitch. The only thing that spoilt the flow of the first half was the break for too many free kicks, awarded, in my opinion, by an over-fussy referee who could have played advantage more and not treated every tackle made as a foul.
In the end it took a wonder strike from the edge of the area by Ryan Croucher to get what proved to be the only goal of the half and game in the 46th minute. Controlling the ball on his thigh some twenty yards out, he hit a fierce and well directed shot in to the corner of the Crows goal. Burbridge was left standing as still as a statue as the ball passed him and in to the net, 1-0 Bears.
The second half wasn't quite as free-flowing as even more free kicks and yellow cards were dished out to both sides. Eventually, the frustration of the players got the better of them and the goalscorer, Croucher, and Walder for the Crows saw straight red cards for a coming together in the 75th minute. The final total of yellow cards at the end of the game was five to the Crows and four to the Bears, in a match that didn't have a bad tackle in it from either side, although the bookings for dissent can and should be avoided and are not necessary.
Overall, the Bears deserved their win and are a good side, well drilled, strong at the back, have some skilful players but also work incredibly hard for each other, something the aching limbs and tired minds of the Crow players would not allow them to do in the second half.
In the end it's Sevenoaks Town who guarantee promotion first and will probably win the title, so we have to congratulate them and Whitstable Town who finish as runners-up and may be promoted as well if their points per game value is better than most. The Oystermen have been on a fantastic run since before Christmas, being unbeaten now in some 27 games, and they've handled the pile-up of fixtures better than most.
Key moments
44:59
Goal
Ryan Croucher scores for Bearsted
74:00
Red Card
Jack Walder is sent off for Crowborough Athletic
74:00
Red Card
Ryan Croucher is sent off for Bearsted
Highlights
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90:00 +3:00
Yellow Card
Dan Perry is yellow carded for Crowborough Athletic
87:00
Yellow Card
David Baranowski is yellow carded for Bearsted
86:00
Sub On
Andy Hart is substituted on for Bearsted
86:00
Sub Off
Reece Collins is substituted off for Bearsted
85:00
Missed Shot
Zac Attwood misses a shot for Crowborough Athletic
83:00
Sub Off
Sam Cole is substituted off for Crowborough Athletic
83:00
Sub On
Sam Carrington is substituted on for Crowborough Athletic
83:00
Sub Off
James White is substituted off for Crowborough Athletic
83:00
Sub On
Zac Attwood is substituted on for Crowborough Athletic
74:00
Yellow Card
Sam Cole is yellow carded for Crowborough Athletic
74:00
Red Card
1 - 0
Jack Walder is sent off for Crowborough Athletic
74:00
Red Card
1 - 0
Ryan Croucher is sent off for Bearsted
67:00
Sub Off
Tom Vickers is substituted off for Crowborough Athletic
67:00
Sub On
Dan Perry is substituted on for Crowborough Athletic
63:00
Saved Shot
Adrian Stone has a shot saved for Crowborough Athletic
56:00
Yellow Card
Tom Vickers is yellow carded for Crowborough Athletic
54:00
Missed Shot
Henry Muggeridge misses a shot for Crowborough Athletic
53:00
Saved Shot
Tom Boddy has a shot saved for Crowborough Athletic
52:00
Yellow Card
Jack Turner is yellow carded for Crowborough Athletic
48:00
Blocked Shot
Tom Vickers has a shot blocked for Crowborough Athletic
End of period 1
44:59
Goal
1 - 0
Ryan Croucher scores for Bearsted
44:59
Missed Shot
Tom Phipp misses a shot for Crowborough Athletic
44:00
Yellow Card
Tom Phipp is yellow carded for Crowborough Athletic
40:00
Blocked Shot
Henry Muggeridge has a shot blocked for Crowborough Athletic
38:00
Yellow Card
Reece Collins is yellow carded for Bearsted
30:00
Yellow Card
Cameron Croucher is yellow carded for Bearsted
27:00
Sub Off
Rob Lyall is substituted off for Bearsted
27:00
Sub On
Edas Valionis is substituted on for Bearsted
15:00
Missed Shot
Sam Cole misses a shot for Crowborough Athletic
9:00
Missed Shot
Tom Phipp misses a shot for Crowborough Athletic
7:00
Missed Shot
Henry Muggeridge misses a shot for Crowborough Athletic
4:00
Missed Shot
Rob Lyall misses a shot for Bearsted
Start of the game
Replay game
As it happened
- Bearsted
- Crowborough Athletic
- 0
-
Rob Lyall Sub Off 27:00'
-
Edas Valionis Sub On 27:00'
-
Cameron Croucher Yellow Card 30:00'
-
Reece Collins Yellow Card 38:00'
-
Tom Phipp Yellow Card 44:00'
-
Ryan Croucher Goal 44:59'
-
Jack Turner Yellow Card 52:00'
-
Tom Vickers Yellow Card 56:00'
-
Tom Vickers Sub Off 67:00'
-
Dan Perry Sub On 67:00'
-
Sam Cole Yellow Card 74:00'
-
Jack Walder Red Card 74:00'
-
Ryan Croucher Red Card 74:00'
-
Sam Cole Sub Off 83:00'
-
Sam Carrington Sub On 83:00'
-
James White Sub Off 83:00'
-
Zac Attwood Sub On 83:00'
-
Reece Collins Sub Off 86:00'
-
Andy Hart Sub On 86:00'
-
David Baranowski Yellow Card 87:00'
-
Dan Perry Yellow Card 90:00 +3:00'
Team selection
- Bearsted
- Crowborough Athletic
Burbridge, Ryan
Boddy, Tom
Turner, Jack
Cole, Sam
White, James
Barton, Jason
Muggeridge, Henry
Vickers, Tom
Phipp, Tom
Stone, Adrian
Walder, Jack
Crowborough Athletic
Bearsted
League round up
Other Premier Division results
Comments
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Standings
| # | Team | Pl | Pts |
| 1. | Sevenoaks Town | 38 | 88 |
| 2. | Whitstable Town | 38 | 82 |
| 3. | Crowborough Athletic | 38 | 72 |
| 4. | Beckenham Town | 38 | 69 |
| 5. | Croydon | 39 | 65 |
| 6. | Cray Valley PM | 38 | 63 |
| 7. | Deal Town | 38 | 60 |
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