Treleaven grabs a hat trick.
The Crows participated last night in one of the most entertaining games of football I've seen this season as they took on Lancing FC at Culver Road in a Sussex County FA Senior Cup tie.
Both teams wanted to play attacking football from the kick off which led to chances galore for both sides and it was a question in the end as to who was going to make the most of those chances.
The Crows had the first effort of the game after 2 minutes and although it was high and wide, it indicated the type of match we were in for. The home side had the same intent from the off as well and after 3 minutes they got the first corner of the game, one of many that each side were to have over the 90 minutes.
The visiting fans did not have to wait long before they had something to cheer as Treleaven volleyed the away side in front from 10 yards out on the angle, following a free kick taken by Ridley which was headed back across the goal by Trotter, who won most of the headers he competed for.
For the next 18 minutes the match swung back and forth with the home side putting the Crows under tremendous pressure with the away side looking dangerous still on the break. The Lancers had a series of free kicks, corners and shots, one of which led to Hampson in the Crows goal making a good save from Williamson.
The defensive midfielders and defenders for the Crows continually repelled the advancing hordes from Lancing however, the pressure finally told in the 24th minute when their centre forward, Fair, took advantage of a fortunate rebound in the penalty area to fire in from 8 yards and although Hampson got his hand to the ball, he could only divert it into the top of the net.
For the rest of the half it was like a cosmetic surgeon's waiting room, plenty of nip and tuck on show, with both teams raining in shots and corners at each other's goals but the half time break was reached with the score at 1apiece.
The second half carried on exactly the same as the first and the game resembled a boxing match where two pugilists slug it out in the ring, trading punches with each other, one dominating the centre of the ring whilst the other uses their skill and staying power to counter from the ropes.
The pressure started to tell on the Crows and Trotter earned himself a yellow card in the 61st minute and the home side thought they had landed the killer punch in the 65th minute when Fair fired in his second of the game following a very good move down the right wing.
The lead was probably just deserved as the Lancers had the better chances during this period but the Crows never gave up and made a substitution in the 70th minute as Charlton, who had carried out his defensive midfield duties admirably during the game, was replaced by the more attack-minded Funnell.
This substitution enabled Barton to resume his more familiar midfield role as Funnell went up front to support the ever willing Treleaven as the Crows battled away, trying to get the equaliser.
In the 75th minute the home side made a double substitution, Fair being one of the players taken off and whether these changes affected the home side is down to conjecture but only 2 minutes later it was 2-2, as Treleaven made space for himself, some 20 odd yards out and unleashed a terrific shot into the bottom corner of the net, which just like an upper cut, the home 'keeper, Shaw, never saw coming.
It was now the home side who had to make their final substitution in an effort to score the winner and the game carried on with both teams having chances, the Lancers probably having the clearer of those chances, however, they didn't take them for various reasons and as it got to the final minutes, the crowd were preparing themselves for 30 minutes of extra time.
This is where that man Treleaven got involved again and as the final seconds of the round wound down and the timekeeper's hand was about to ring the bell, he latched on to a through ball, out stripped the defence and cooly slotted past Shaw as he advanced to narrow the angle.
The home side did not have time to pick themselves up off the floor and all that remained was for the referee to carry out the mandatory count and the match was over, 3-2 to the Crows and those away day blues we've had since the start of the season have now been banished and we move on to the next round in a happy mood.
In conclusion, the home side might feel aggrieved to have lost the contest as they threw more punches than we did but too many of them never landed correctly, whilst the Crows to a man defended themselves when they had to, countered to great effect and landed the most crucial punch when it really mattered the most.