Today Worcester were away for the third round of the Nerf Cup, and made the long trip to Dartford on a cold but Sunny January morning.
The initial stages of the game were a very open affair with both sides playing attractive football. The first goal of the game came for Worcester who took the lead on the 20 minute mark. An initial shot from Joe Palmer fell to Tom Mills who was on hand to beat the keeper from close range. 1-0
Two goals followed quickly for Worcester which were both scored by Tristan Webby. The first was a long shot over the keepers head following good work in midfield by Finn Syson, the second directly into the top of the next from a free kick on the edge of the box, 3-0.
Worcester were now cruising although an unfortunate own goal put Dartford back into the game, 3-1. They reduced the deficit to 3-2 with a well taken goal and then drew level with a header from a corner. The game was now being fiercely contested and it was difficult to predict who would be the eventual winner. There were further chances for both sides although Worcester were being frustrated by an excellent performance by the Dartford keeper who made a number of excellent saves. Against the run of play, Dartford took the lead with only seven minutes left to play although Worcester did not panic and continued to play attractive football.
Worcester found an equaliser shortly before the full-time whistle and the goal came from a really good passage of play. Jacob Titheridge played a small reverse pass to Tristan Webby out on the wing, Tristan delivered a pin-point cross to Prince Henry who placed a great header into the corner of the net, 4-4.
With everyone anticipating extra time Joe Palmer was fed on the wing by Tom Mills and Joe drove into the box, his cross was inadvertently deflected by the Dartford defender past his keeper and into the net which sparked manic scenes from the Worcester players, 5-4 full time!
This was a great game played by two really strong sides. It was a fantastic performance by the Worcester lads who found the strength to continue playing football when things were not going their way.
Gold - Prince Henry, Silver - Tom Griffin, Bronze - Joe Palmer