FOOTBALL is passion and theatre.
This tempestuous cup tie had it all and the crowd lapped it up.
Jersey Bulls made it through to the second round of the FA Vase in a game they were in complete control of once they equalised, even if some of the players were not in control of themselves.
They finished the game with nine men but were still too strong for their opponents, some of whom seemed to pay more attention to provoking their hosts than trying to win the football match.
This was particularly true of the number five in the Bearsted rearguard. Colby Wait sounds like a character from an old Western movie and he was the protagonist in both sending-offs. Neither Jake Prince nor Jonny Le Quesne could have too much complaint when they were given their marching orders, despite the bait they were offered.
Thankfully, their dismissals did not have any effect on the end result.
Gary Freeman welcomed back top scorer Lorne Bickley to the starting line-up after a brief spell out with injury, and the sharp shooter revelled in his role of Clint Eastwood to Wait’s Lee Van Cleef to bring Bearsted to justice.
He has really stepped up leading the line this season and is showing the kind of promise that once attracted Hartlepool United to take a chance on him. Like the recently departed Sol Solomon, bigger things may await him. For now, though, Freeman will be hoping he stays right where he is.
He unselfishly laid on the equaliser and scored Bulls’ second, while his sheer physical presence was too much for the guests to handle.
To be fair to Bearsted, at least they came out fighting rather than sitting back and trying to frustrate Bulls like so many visitors to Springfield.
They took the lead too, when Phil Headley’s free-kick found the back of the net from all of 30 yards, with Euan van der Vliet rooted to the ground, seemingly surprised it even made it in his direction.
Bulls could have been two up by that point, with Bickley missing a couple of half-chances. But he made amends when he picked up a loose ball that spilled out of goalkeeper Tom Benham’s hands and laid the ball to his fellow gunslinger Prince to fire home.
Bearsted continued to be proactive in their approach but the goal settled Bulls and they started to show slick movement. Then, on the stroke of half time, Prince saw red (for a second yellow card) when he kicked out at Wait’s flying lunge for a drop-ball.
At the break, Freeman replaced Francis Lekimamati and brought on Ruben Mendes to take control of the midfield and it was a tactical masterstroke.
Although a man light, Bulls were even more dominant in the second half.
Three minutes in, the flailing limbs of player-of-the-match Adam Trotter bore down on goal. His effort was well saved by substitute goalkeeper James Savage but the ball fell kindly to Bickley who trickled in the rebound.
Bickley could have made it three when he was put through by a long ball from Le Quesne but his shot crashed against the crossbar.
The match started to get a little more heated thereafter, with referee Patrick Jolliffe struggling to keep the peace. Le Quesne had enough of Wait’s antics and, after an off-the-ball incident where he seemed to catch Wait with an arm, he joined Prince for the proverbial early bath.
There was still ten minutes left to play but not only did Bulls hang on, they put Bearsted to bed when Trotter again found his way through the middle but this time cleverly dinked the ball over Savage to run the Kent-based posse out of town.
