FOOTBALL: Wick beat Rustington in John O'Hara Cup

AFTER a coolly-converted Scott Murfin penalty, Lee Barnard sealed the game late at Crabtree Park to send Wick past local rivals Rustington and through to a third-round tie at either St Francis or Peacehaven.
By The Newsroom
Published 29th Oct 2008, 16:16 BST
Updated 8th Jun 2018, 01:04 BST

It was third time lucky on Tuesday evening after the match was abandoned in September when the floodlights failed, and postponed from its rearranged date three weeks ago.

There was, however, no shortage of spark and bright play on Tuesday night, and Wick's assistant manger Vic Short was delighted with the result. He said: "I thought we thoroughly deserved the win. We got our foot in the game and hurt them more than they hurt us. We managed to play the better football and the lights even stayed on, so we're happy."

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The game started at a high pace with both teams creating chances but, in a scoreless first half, it was the best chance that fell to Wick late on, when Lee Barnard's low shot was kept out by Blues keeper Andy McCarthy.

Both teams looked to go forward with urgency in the second half, and Wick had the better of the chances. An action packed couple of minutes midway through the half saw Wick take the lead, when they could easily have been one down.

A Duncan Barnes header from Simon Clayton's free kick was parried by Wick keeper Anthony Ender, and Brett Neal's follow-up header hit the post.

Within seconds, Wick broke into Rustington's penalty area, Phil Turner was brought down, and referee Barrie Small pointed to the spot. Scott Murfin stepped up and converted the spot-kick straight down the middle, sending McCarthy to his right.

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Nine minutes later, Wick thought they had gone 2-0 up but Ben Torode's effort was ruled out for offside.

Rustington pressed for an equaliser but lacked a cutting edge in front of goal, and Wick sealed their place in the next round with two minutes left when Barnard drilled home.

Rustington boss Gareth Davies said: "I'm disappointed because I didn't think there was much between us. But I'm proud of the players. They came out and gave their all and that's all I can ask.

"I'm pleased we've come to a Divison 1 side and managed to hold our own. We did have seven of our squad out for tonight's game but I'm not hiding behind excuses.

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"It's all about taking your chances, we didn't and they did. Good luck to them. I hope they go on to win it."

WICK: Ender; Torode, Bricknell, Moss, Curnow, Sharman; Barnard, N.Murfin, Pearce; Turner, S.Murfin. Subs: Briggs (Pearce 75), Davies (Murfin 85), Sutcliffe, Boniface.

RUSTINGTON: McCarthy; Barnes, Pickford, Neal, Bibb, Green; Clayton, Morton, Duffy; Hatch, Gibbs. Subs: Cox (Duffy 45), C.Kirkham (Hatch 70), Tribe, Askew. Att: 107.

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