The cup does not overflow with joy.
The Crows failed again to get passed the first game in a national cup competition and therefore, our interest in the FA Cup and the FA Vase has ended for the 2014/15 season. However, in reality, the Crows should have progressed at the expense of host club, Raynes Park Vale.
Overall the Crows had the better chances, played the better football and had better possession of the ball for long periods but the lack of a true cutting edge and the inability of the team to score the all important second goal when on top, came back to bite them yet again.
The team was changed slightly from the previous defeat to Beckenham Town as McMath was unavailable which meant Barton was restored to his preferred midfield birth and Boddy came in to fill the now vacant centre half position. Cameron was switched from right back to left back as Rich was also unavailable and this meant Tear returned to the team at right back.
The changes however, did seem to liven the team up from the unusual lack lustre performance they gave in their last game and the Crows looked busy and inventive from the start and went on the attack from the off.
The pitch at Raynes Park Vale is quite large and has a pronounced slope from one goal to the other, although it is not quite in the same league of gradient as the Caburn Ground at Ringmer FC but as in many cases, the team kicking up hill often plays the better of the two and the Crows chose to play up the hill for the first 45 minutes.
Vale started the game and set their style of play out straight away with a long ball forward which the forwards chase down and pressure the defence, which in this case earns them a corner but it came to nothing.
As seems to be the case in the SCEFL, as we are finding out, teams in the Combined Counties League play the same way, very direct, get the ball forward as quickly as possible to a rather large centre forward who, like the rest of the team, is very physical in their approach to the beautiful game.
The pleasing thing from the Crows perspective though was that the players rose to the challenge and withstood the barrage of long balls and arial challenges they were subjected to for the first 45 minutes.
The Crows took the lead on 9 minutes when a great cross from the right by Boddy, who had somehow found himself on the right wing, was headed goal wards by Treleaven but saved instinctively by the home keeper, however, Barton was on hand to volley the rebound into the net for a deserved lead.
Further chances came and went for the Crows, Butler firing just over following a corner, Ridley lobbing the keeper from the edge of the area after being put through by Waterman but the vital second goal did not arrive and half time was reached with the Crows 1-0 up.
The away side knew what to expect from the home side in the second half and they were not disappointed but the Crows defence held firm and the midfield and forwards were getting on top but the final ball, as is often the case when kicking down hill, was either too long or too short and didn't reach its intended target.
It really should have been 2-0 after 49 minutes, a long Treleaven throw in saw Trotter head the ball against the bar and the rebound fell to Funnell, six yards out, however, his shot was saved by the keeper, via the post and the ball was cleared by the defence.
The physicality of the home side had incurred the wrath of match referee, Nathan Briggs, during the first 45 minutes as three Vale players were booked, one of them being winger Ato Okai, and probably what turned out to be the turning point of the match occurred in the 57th minute when he gained his second yellow card for simulation in the penalty area and was summarily dismissed from the field of play by the flashing of the red card.
As is often the case, 10 men are harder to beat than 11 and the Vale players definitely raised their game and effort once Okai was no longer with them. The Vale management, up to the sending off, had been consistently berating their players for lack of effort and commitment and whilst their vocal words of wisdom looked to be ignored by the Vale players, the sending off seemed to do the job for them.
At the same time the Crows made a substitution with Ridley, who had been moved at half time from a wide left position to a more central midfield role, leaving the field of play and being replaced by debutant striker, Damarli Morrison. Whether this also contributed to the home side getting the upper hand for the first time is pure conjecture but it did change the shape of the team as the Crows were now playing with two forwards.
The match now became more nip and tuck and it was from a Crow's attack that the Vale equalised as Funnell lost the ball on the right wing and the home side broke on the defence, eventually the ball arrived at the feet of Roberts, some 20 yards out and his thunderous shot gave Czanner no chance as it flew in to the top corner after 71 minutes.
Roberts was then sent on after 77 minutes to replace Funnell but the game turned a bit sterile and it looked like extra time was going to be played, however, deep in to stoppage time a Crows attack was repelled and the home side attacked at speed which resulted in them having four players in our area unmarked and Moore had the easiest task in the world to put the ball in the net and knock the Crows out of the FA Vase.
Once again the Crows had snatched defeat from the jaws of victory after being 1-0 up and this time they were playing against 10 men. The Vale deserve some credit for the way they played after going down by a man but it was more about the away side not getting that second goal than anything the home side did.