SCC firsts were missing 8 players for this crucial cup game against casual which left manager Adam Bowden frantically calling and blackmailing all players to ensure their attendance. The result of that was a solid line up with a strong bench to face Casuals who we drew with 5-5 earlier in the season. The team talk was simple – “We haven’t lost a cup game since 2008, don’t let it be today”. Dempsey was dry and hard, making it very difficult to play the ball around. SCC had most of the position but failed to make it count in the final third. Mid-way through the half saw some clever work between Jahan and Ben which helped to unleash Antony who beat the Casuals defender and calmly slotted home to make it 1-1. Casuals started to gain some momentum and begun to control the ball across the back and in midfield but with Ivor, Jahan, Tim and Antho working tirelessly as a unit, casuals struggled to convert any of these efforts into opportunities. The second half was much of the same. Ivor helped SCC dictate play through the middle providing opportunities for Duric, Anthony and Hutch. We were unfortunate not to convert some of these opportunities and take advantage of the possession we had. 15 minutes from the end saw Leon get on the scoresheet as Hutch headed back a deep cross past the goalkeeper for an almost diving header finish to make it 2-0. Not the most entertaining games of football but they all count… I think. Big thanks to Casuals and for the officials who had a very good game. MOTM goes to Ivor for his work rate and creativity. TOTD goes to Norfolk, just because. Big shout out to Frazer Young who almost managed to finish an entire game.