Shooting boots required for next game.
On a very hot and humid Saturday afternoon, the Crows went down 5-4 to host club, St. Francis Rangers. It seems whenever these two sides get together goals are guaranteed, especially when you think of our last game in the Sussex County Football League against them last season.
With a 5-4 scoreline you can tell defences were not on top, which from a Crows perspective was probably always going to be the case as they played with only one recognised defender throughout the game.
With 10 first team selection players missing it was down to Tom Boddy to hold a makeshift defence together as best he could and no one let the club or themselves down during this 90 minutes of action.
With a starting line up that had Czanner in goal, trialist Chris Knuckles at right back, Theo Cunningham, normally a wide midfield player, at left back and Archie Carey, an U18 County Youth player from last season, partnering Boddy.
The midfield consisted of Ridley, McMath, Butler and Junior-Gomez, so at there was some continuity there and up front Wayne Clarke had a free role supporting another trialist Emmanuel.
Even though it was a rather make-shift team, it was the Crows who started the better and should have gone 1-0 inside the first 5 minutes when Clarke ran through the home defence, rounded the goalkeeper, Gordon, but then put the ball wide of the post, which was a harder thing to do than score.
Further chances, most of them very good ones, came and went with Ridley, Clarke and Emmanuel the main culprits and it was just a matter of time it felt before a goal was scored, however, somewhat against the run of play, it was the hosts who went 1-0 up after 15 minutes through ex-Crow, Luke Leppard, who took his chance well after doing all the hard work himself.
The game was now going from end to end and after 30 minutes the home side made it 2-0, again after good work by the belligerent Leppard whose excellent cross was duly despatched at the back post.
Although hard on the Crows, if you don't take your chances you won't win the game and putting the ball in the net is after all, the object of the game.
Half time duly arrived and when the second half started the entertainment continued and goals by Ridley, a penalty and Junior-Gomez made it 2-2, which was no more than they deserved.
However, a defensive lapse made it 3-2 to the home side midway through the half but a neat finish from Clarke made it 3-3 practically straight away. Unfortunately, this is where an assistant referee decided to spoil the game by allowing the experienced Geoff Pitcher to be in an off-side position twice and therefore he was allowed to score two goals in quick succession to make it 5-3 to the home side with some 10 minutes to go.
Late substitute, Simon Colbran, made it 5-4 with minutes to go and even then the Crows missed some good chances to level the scores but Emmanuel, Pinnock and Colbran failed to take them.
The second half was more of an even affair and the home side, full of ex-Crows in Sam Saunders, Danny Lawrence, Luke Leppard, Nathan Millroy and Robert Gordon did have chances of their own, with Pitcher and Millroy being the biggest culprits in wasting those.
With the Crows substitutes consisting of trialists David Green, who did well when he came on in midfield, Steve Irvine, who played at the back, Aaron Leadbetter who was very affective during the second half, James Pinnock, who is trying to get his fitness back following his injury and Jamie Weller who came on as a replacement goalkeeper midway through the second half not letting himself down, one can see it was very much a scratch squad for us.
It was a good workout though and may be the management duo learnt a bit more about some of the players on show and what may be their best position and what may be the best formation for the current crop of players we have.