Earley Gunners were soundly beaten by a strong Ruscombe Res side in the 1st round of the Cup.
This was Gunners first "official" defeat and the team decided to do this in style by conceding six goals.
Gunners got off to a poor start with Ruscombe scoring three goals before Kevin Rapley added one. Then Ruscombe added a fourth to give them a 4 - 1 half time lead.
There was even time for several comedy moments the best of which was when keeper Jon Allen collected the ball and went to take a quick kick up field. He side stepped the opposing forward ahead of him and gave the ball a mighty whack… what he didn’t realise was that Paul Ali when standing right in front of him and the ball bounced of his back side and just wide of the Gunners own goal!
In the second half, Ian Thornhill gave the team some hope when he rounded the keeper and slotted the ball home to make the score 4 - 2.
Gunners did have a lot more possession in the second half but failed to create many really good scoring opportunities. Ruscombe seemed to have the edge in midfield and cut through the team in numbers and overwhelmed the Gunners defence. Two late goals finished Gunners off, this defeat means that Gunners are now resigned to playing in the Eddie Titchener trophy this season.
Match Facts
Goals : K Rapley (1), I Thornhill (1)
Team
