Storrington Reserves were deservedly knocked out of the Centenary Cup by local rivals Watersfield.
The Swans made multiple changes to the side that had started the league campaign strongly, with Dylan Tennant and Dan Geere coming in for their first starts, and Adam Bardouleaou, Joe Warner and Luke Jearum all dropping down from the first team in order to gain some much needed minutes.
Swans started well and looked dangerous from the kick-off, moving the ball quickly and starving our hosts of any possession. This pattern continued for the first 30 minutes of the game with a mixture of a poor end product and some good defending from Watersfield keeping the Swans from opening the scoring.
Just after the half-hour mark the game changed as Watersfield danger man and former Storrington youth team player, Josh Kilner broke free leaving himself 1on1 with Elliott in the Swans goal, before finishing well. Watersfield 1-0 Storrington.
This goal changed the game completely, with Watersfield now winning the individual battles and having the better of the play until Half-Time. And it stayed this way into the second half, our hosts were really up for this and showed real desire to win the individual battles all around the pitch.
They doubled the lead midway through the second half, as their central midfielder tried his luck from distance, catching Elliott out and finding its way into the back of the net. Watersfield 2-0 Storrington. A frustrating scoreline for the Swans, but a deserved one for the hard working Watersfield side.
The Swans huffed and puffed for the rest of the half, as subs were introduced and a change of shape applied, but the final product was still not there, and Watersfield defended brilliantly until full-time to deservedly progress 2-0.
A frustrating day for the Swans Reserve side, but a valuable lesson learnt. You have to take your chances when in the ascendancy. Watersfield did and we didn’t. Good luck to Watersfield in the next round, we look forward to the two league fixtures we have against them later in the season
