Sussex County FA Under-16s Representative Squad gave a five-star performance on the road as they put their Essex hosts to the sword.

The opening exchanges were fairly even, but it was Sussex who asserted their dominance with two quick-fire goals.

With just ten minutes played, the ball was collected on the left hand side by Jake Hutchinson who dropped his shoulder and let fly at goal. His effort deflected off an Essex defender and wrong footed the goalkeeper on its way in.

Only a minute later the advantage was doubled. Tom Collins delivered a cross from the left and Hutchinson met it to head powerfully into the back of the net as grabbed his and Sussex’s second.

Essex created a couple of half chances as they tried to find a way back into the game. The ball was squared across the Sussex goal but the shot that proceeded flew wide of the goal.

Sussex then proceeded to apply pressure on the Essex back line and their pressure payed off as they pulled even further ahead. A delightfully weighted ball behind the backline was met by Hutchinson and he squared to Liam Brady who easily tapped in.

For the remainder of the half Essex tried to take something into half-time. They were only able to create half chances as Sussex took their 0-3 l lead into the interval.

The second-half started very much like the first, but it was the visitors, once again, who put the game out of reach early into the half. A defensive mix-up from Essex saw them lose possession in a dangerous area and Leo Weedon was teed-up and duly buried the ball in to the back of the net. 

The hosts had the stuffing knocked out of them as it appeared to be no way back for them. However, a glimmer of hope came after confusion from the Sussex backline allowed Essex in as Jack Renwick chased a long ball and stabbed past Henry Lester to pull a goal back.

Sussex were happy to protect their lead as they limited Essex to very few chances. The host’s final chance for another consolation came as Joshua Junaid’s header sailed just over the bar after good work down the left hand side by Tayeeb Elegushi. 

Sussex capped off a great performance by grabbing their fifth of the match a minute into added time. Jamie Buchanan picked up the ball just outside the box and curled a beautiful effort into the top corner.

Assistant manager Ian Browne took charge for this encounter and he was pleased as his side achieved the result their performance deserved. He said: “It was a great performance but it was a lot like our other matches. Our first match we played well and lost, our second, again, we played well and drew. What impressed me most was being able to be aggressive to take the game away from our opponents. All the lads were excellent and that’s a very pleasing aspect.”

(A selection of photographs can be found on Facebook - courtesy of Simon Roe Photography)

Stats: (Essex-Sussex)
Goals: 1-5; Shots: 8-12; Shots-on-target: 3-8; Corners: 5-4; Fouls 4-2; Offside 2-1; Yellow cards: 0-0; Red cards: 0-0. 

Essex: Cattini, Duffy, Humbles, Renwick, Hossack, Hassan, Elegushi, Oyunjimi, Chioro, Owen, Stratford. 
Subs: Ofori, Lima, Junaid, Hauser, Dosad.

Sussex: Lester, Jelley, Harper, Langford, Cororacchio, Collins, Santos, Langan, Hutchinson, Bitton, Brady. 
Subs: Buchanan, Carrick, Chalaye, Weedon, Neathy.

Match report by Sam Cox