Goals shared around the field.
Goals from Attwood (2), Treleaven (2), Turner and Phipp earn the Crows the points and condemn the visitors, Rochester United, to another SCEFL Premier Division defeat which means they are second from bottom in the table and facing a tough battle to avoid relegation.
The result also saw the Crows move up from fourth to second place in the SCEFL Premier Division table on goal difference from Beckenham Town and Croydon. As the Crows have two tough away games to come on the next two Saturday's it was handy that most other results went the way of the home side, although things are hotting up nicely at the top with as many as eight or nine clubs battling away to get the promotion places.
The first half was a bit scrappy to say the least and as you would expect from a team who are second from bottom, United defended in depth and numbers which allowed the Crows to have plenty of possession of the ball however, the movement and passing was not as good as it has been of late.
Rochester as a team worked hard during the half to hustle and bustle the Crows, challenging for everything and keeping the home side away from their goal as much as possible, whilst relying on their two quick wingers, Ufuah and Merrick Simms, to get them up the field and a possible breakaway goal.
Muggeridge, Attwood, Crabb and Carrington all had efforts at goal within the first 10 minutes but then the game became a bit of a midfield tussle, although Muggeridge and Phipp both had good chances to break the deadlock midway through the half.
With the home supporters becoming a bit worried about the 0-0 scoreline, Attwood popped the first goal in after 32 minutes to make it 1-0, following a great run and neat hold up play by his strike partner, Treleaven.
The rest of the half carried on along the same lines as prior to the goal for the Crows, the only thing of note that happened was Whittaker received a yellow card for dissent from referee Charles who did have a bad game overall.
The second half was far more exciting than the first, not just because of the goals, but because the Crows started to play the football their supporters are more used to seeing them play. It became 2-0 in the 51st minute, Attwood returning the assist for his goal by passing the ball to Treleaven, centrally inside the United area, the forward controlling the ball well before swiftly rifling the ball in to the net on the turn.
It was only at this point that the United heads started to drop and their discipline as a side seemed to disappear and it did seem that referee Charles was about to lose control of the game at this point. However, what probably helped the situation was that a third goal for the Crows arrived in the 60th minute, Turner powering in a Muggeridge corner into the net close in, giving Coxall in the United goal no chance.
Unwin replaced Muggeridge in the 63rd minute and Phipp made it 4-0 in the 65th minute with another powerful header at the nearpost from a Crabb corner, the United marking leaving a lot to be desired from a defensive point of view.
As usual for the second period, substitutions started to happen, Whittaker off and Price on for Rochester, Barton on for Phipp for the Crows. However, nothing really changed for either side, the Crows still went forward, the away side still tried to defend, although with less vigour than they did in the first half.
The fifth goal arrived in the 72nd minute following a neat move from the Crows, Treleaven eventually chesting the ball in to the path of Attwood some 12 yards out on the angle and the striker drilled the ball home with Coxall well beaten.
Crows made their final substitution with Goldsmith coming on for Crabb in the 73rd minute before it became 6-0 in the 78th minute when Attwood put a superb low cross in to the United penalty area and Treleaven put the chance away with a good diving header. The biggest aspect of the Crows performance on the day was the link up play between Attwood and Treleaven who dovetailed well with each other and worked their socks off upfront on behalf of the team.
Rochester scored a consolation goal in the 83rd minute, the Crows failing to clear a corner properly and McKinlay was able to bundle the ball over the line. There was still time for Pearson to have a good effort well saved by Coxall for a corner and Ufuah to hit a speculative effort for United which went high and wide.
Joint manager Gross then came on in the 90th minute for United, McKinlay going off before the final whistle blew on a 6-1 home win for the Crows in front of 125 spectators. The Crows Man of the Match went to Sam Carrington for his all-round effort throughout the match, whether in defence, in midfield or up front and he wore the mantle of the suspended Walder well and played in the same vein throughout.
The Crows now face two tough away fixtures on successive Saturdays, away to Lordswood FC on the 16th and to Whitstable Town on the 23rd.