Common dig in for another cup victory

Little Common’s footballers continued their fine record in the cup competitions so far this season with a narrow victory on Tuesday night.
Jamie Crone marked his return to Little Common's starting line-up following an ankle injury by scoring the only goal against Seaford TownJamie Crone marked his return to Little Common's starting line-up following an ankle injury by scoring the only goal against Seaford Town
Jamie Crone marked his return to Little Common's starting line-up following an ankle injury by scoring the only goal against Seaford Town

A first half goal from Jamie Crone gave Common a 1-0 success away to Seaford Town in round one of the Parafix Sussex Senior Challenge Cup - their fourth win in five cup ties this term.

Common player-manager Russell Eldridge said: “It was a good win considering the number of players that were missing. Especially in the cup competitions, it doesn’t really matter how you win; it’s just about getting into the next round and that’s what we did.

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“We didn’t play well, but sometimes that’s the sign of a good team, not playing well and still managing to win. The lack of experience on the pitch at the end shows how well everyone did and we dug in as a group to achieve the result.”

On a miserable autumn night, Common had almost as many players missing as were actually on the pitch and their line-up had a very youthful look about it.

Byron Nichol made an accomplished senior debut at full-back, while fellow teenagers Luke Curteis and Simon Tomlinson featured as substitutes. Ricky Mote returned to the side at full-back.

Crone came back into the starting line-up perhaps a bit sooner than Common ideally would’ve liked following injury and scored the only goal after nine minutes. He latched on to an Eldridge throughball and rounded the goalkeeper before calmly slotting home.

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Common were 7-0 winners over fellow Macron Store Southern Combination Football League Division One side Seaford at the corresponding stage of last season’s competition, but it wasn’t so straight-forward this time around.

Away goalkeeper Matt Cruttwell made a couple of good saves in the first half and a few more in the second to preserve Common’s narrow advantage.

At the other end, Jake Sherwood missed a late one-on-one opportunity and Common - who lost Will Spice after half-an-hour because of a cut eye - also felt they should’ve been awarded a penalty.

“We’re doing really well in the cups this year and that’s something I’m pleased about,” continued Eldridge. “It’s something that can keep the momentum going or give you a chance to bounce back if you’ve not done well at the weekend.”

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Common: Cruttwell; R. Mote, Ammoun, Eldridge, Nichol; Spice (Curteis), Brown, Sherwood, Lusted; Hole, Crone (Tomlinson). Sub not used: Wells.

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