Shootout decides Gardner & Scardifield friendly
We took part in our annual friendly fixture against long-standing partners Gardner & Scardifield at Culver Road on Thursday evening.
Gardner & Scardifield continue to proudly support sport in Sussex and came to win in a hard-fought contest. Sussex looked to establish and control possession early on in the game playing some lovely football from the back, and it wasn’t long before those efforts paid off when Tom Price was played clean through and slotted coolly into the far corner to give Sussex the lead.
Gardner & Scardifield proved to be very strong and physical opponents, and used this to their advantage, with several darting runs through the Sussex defence which they couldn’t factor a clean opportunity from.
The home side were wasting opportunities of their own with several first-half attempts failing to test the Gardner & Scardfield ‘keeper.
The second-half was far more evenly contested, and midway through the second-half Sussex were made to pay for those missed chances, as Gardner & Scardifield were correctly awarded a penalty. Dave Neal stepped up for the visitors and calmly tucked the ball in sending the goalkeeper the wrong way.
However, the drama was far from over, with 10 minutes to go, our Football Development Officer, Sean Lofting, found space in the area and slotted into the far corner to restore the lead.
But, in what was a drama-filled second-half, it would have been naïve to think it was done there, with seconds remaining Gardner & Scardifield equalised with a thunderous strike from the outside of the box that flew in and set us up for the drama of penalties.
After two missed attempts from Gardner & Scardifield, three perfect penalties gave Sussex the chance to win it with a fourth. Following on from his display against Heartbeat United on Bank Holiday Monday, Referee Development Administrator, Ciaran Kane, had the opportunity to go from zero to hero. Of course he did so in emphatic fashion, placing the penalty into the corner to win the shield for Sussex!
Gardner & Scardifield provide a wide range of services. Whether you need power tools repairing, keys cut, paint mixing or help with lighting schemes, they are there to help you get your project underway, with stores located across Sussex.
(A selection of photographs can be found on Facebook - courtesy of Kyle Hemsley Photography)
To find out more about Gardner & Scardifield please contact:
Gardner & Scardifield
T: 01903 755774
E: office@gardnerandscardifield.co.uk