The History of East Court FC

A Brief History by Daniel Medcalf

From Playground To Pitch

East Court FC were founded in 2002 by a group of school friends who used to spend their lunchtimes playing football together on the playground. As chairman Billy Denyer once said "This is one of the principle reasons for the club's outstanding team spirit and morale". After their time at Sackville School in East Grinstead had finished they all moved away to go to university but still found time to meet up and play football during the holidays. From this a proper football club was formed so that on their return they could play competitive football in the Mid Sussex Football League from season 2002/3 onwards.

Although the idea had previously been discussed informally it was an April night in Pals where the club took their first official steps. Due to the hard work of various people such as Paul Bishop and Billy Denyer the club were able to find sponsorship, purchase a kit and meet all the leagues requirements so that come September 2002 the club would be starting their first season together based at Imberhorne School .

Original Squad:

Paul Bishop, Carl Buckler, Nick Dawson, Billy Denyer, Tom Greig, Ross Kelly, Daniel Medcalf, James Nickols, Simon Nickols, Dave Nolan, Mark Nolan, Nick Palmer, James Salter, Andrew Seeds, Richard Seeds, Ben Sunderland, Chris Whiting, Andy Wright, Ollie Wright

Manager:

Jim Seeds

Roll Of Honour

Season 1: 2002/03 – Mid Sussex Football League Division 7

Season Summary

Jim Seeds was the manager as East Court started their first league campaign after mixed results, and performances, in pre-season. East Court started brightly and won their first 4 matches under Seeds as they stormed to the top of the division 7 table and progressed to the second round of the Malins Challenge Cup. October was to be a very different month for him and the club as the winning run came to an abrupt stop against a team from 5 divisions above them in a 4-3 thriller. It was back to winning ways the following week with a 3-0 away victory but this was followed by a 2-2 against the same opposition after Seeds made some unnecessary changes. He combined this with making baffling substitutions when the Court were chasing games by throwing on players unsuited to the attacking role that was needed and so making it even harder for them to make a breakthrough. In less than two months Seeds had lost the dressing room and despite his impressive record as manager he was sacked seven games into the
season.

Medcalf's first game in charge saw a change in formation to a 3-5-2 that has only been replaced this season. It also bought a club record victory of 12-0 over Hartfield II that lasted just over two years before being bettered by an 18-0 victory over Barcombe II. It is still our record home win. This was to be followed by a disappointing 5-4 reverse at Maresfield Village III before a new club record was set for a run of 10 consecutive wins in all competitions (another mark that has since been beaten). The run saw the club record 5 league victories and progress to the Malins Cup Final and the Stratford Cup Semi-Final, beating four teams from higher divisions as well as knocking out Chailey in the first match of what has become a fierce rivalry. It was the Stratford Cup Semi-Final that ended that run as Lingfield III gained revenge for the Court's Malins Cup victory over them by winning 2-1 at Imberhorne. Nevertheless East Court bounced back to record back-to-back victories ahead of the Malins Cup final against Wisdom Sports III. At half-time the Court looked dead and buried, trailing 2-0 to their division 6 opponents but Ross Kelly scored early in the second half before Andy Wright tied up the scores. Wisdom began to dominate again without troubling the East Court goal but with minutes to go Dan Medcalf broke down the right and squared the ball for Billy Denyer to fire home the winner.

The following Saturday East Court suffered their last setback of the season as they lost 2-0 at title challengers Jarvis Brook II in a game where they woefully under performed after their cup efforts. It didn't matter though as East Court recorded five straight wins to end the season on top of division 7 and secure a league and cup double at their first attempt.

Season 2: 2003/04 – Mid Sussex Football League Division 6

Season Summary

East Court began preparing for their second season in the league knowing that they would be missing several key players for long stretches of the season. Billy Denyer, Ross Kelly and Simon Nickols would all be in Australia after the first few games until Christmas, Nick Palmer would leave for the majority of the season after the first month. Losing any one of these would be a blow in itself but to lose last season's two highest scorers, the club captain and last year's player of the year all at the same time would really test the remaining players.

Despite the imminent upheaval East Court started the season strongly with three consecutive victories before Denyer, Kelly and Nickols all departed. The following week the wheels started to come off as East Court crashed out of the Somerville Cup first round at home to local rivals Dormansland Rockets. Then Nick Palmer left and the club stumbled to a 2-2 draw at home to Jarvis Brook II. East Court began to fall behind Chailey in the hunt for the league title and at one stage were languishing as low as fifth as they won only one league game between October and December - a 6-1 thrashing of East Grinstead Utd IV. This run included a demoralising 4-2 home defeat to a Chailey team reduced to ten men for most of the game. In the cups it was a different story completely, East Court won all three cup games in this time including a 3-2 victory over Lewes Bridgeview II from division 4 and two Malins Cup victories over teams that had been beaten in division 7 the previous year. The year ended with a 2-0 away defeat to Keymer & Hassocks, a game that is only notable as it is the second and last time that the club have failed to score.

The new year saw the return of Denyer, Kelly and Nickols and they were thrust straight back into action as East Court beat St Francis Rangers III 5-3 to progress to the semi-final of the Malins Cup. In only his second game back Denyer scored a club record six goals in one match as East Grinstead Utd IV were beaten 11-2 at Imberhorne. Old Varndeanians III, another division 4 side, were knocked out of the Junior Charity Cup 2-1 at Imberhorne although that cup run was to end three weeks later at the hands of Crawley Down III who won 3-1 at the Haven Centre. The following week East Court showed remarkable strength of character to beat a loaded Wivelsfield Green II 3-1 in the Malins Cup Semi-Final to set up a clash with Chailey in the Final.

East Court lost at Scaynes Hill II the weekend before the final to make it all but impossible to claim the title but in front of a huge crowd East Court made sure it wasn't a completely fruitless season with a 2-0 victory over Chailey to retain the Malins Cup. A solid defensive display coupled to strikes from Kelly and Nickols ensured victory over their rivals. East Court then won 8 more league games on the trot to gain second place in the league. Along the way they beat Scaynes Hill II, local rivals Ashurst Wood II, Keymer & Hassocks before rounding the season off with away victories at Jarvis Brook II (8-1), to secure promotion at their expense, and Chailey (3-2).

Season 3: 2004/05 – Mid Sussex Football League Division 5

Season Summary

The 2004/5 season was the club's least successful season so far with the only trophy coming for being the highest scoring first team in the whole league. Defeat in the Stratford Cup final and a runners-up spot behind the almost unstoppable AFC Ringmer, who dropped two points all season, were as close as the Court got to winning a proper competition.

The season started promisingly with four consecutive victories before a 6-5 extra time defeat in the Sussex County FA Junior Cup at Harbour View (Brighton & District League Division 1). This was followed by the first clash between the two teams expected to slug it out at the top of the table - East Court and AFC Ringmer. The match at Imberhorne was to end 2-2 but both teams could point to chances they had to win the game. Following that East Court chalked up three consecutive league victories to keep pace with AFC Ringmer at the top of the table before more cup heartbreak. Chailey were the team to hurt the club this time as they knocked the Court out of the second round of the Somerville Cup 3-1 on penalties after the match had finished 4-4 after extra time. Again East Court bounced back well with four consecutive league victories where they managed to keep a clean sheet in each. 32 goals were scored in this run although 18 of them came in that record-breaking game at Barcombe II. But then AFC Ringmer got their gap at the top of the table. East Court travelled to Chailey for their last league game of the year and could only return with a point despite dominating the game. It was a deficit that the club could not pull back over the rest of the season due to AFC Ringmer's consistency - they would win every single league game until the end of the season.

As 2005 began East Court chalked up another five victories, including two Stratford Cup victories to put them into a semi-final match at home to Chailey. The run was to end when the team visited league leaders AFC Ringmer in a game that would prove crucial to one side's title hopes. Both sides were looking for the win but it was AFC Ringmer who claimed all three points after a controversial offside decision ruled out Nick Palmer's equaliser left the visitors fuming. Matters weren't helped by the fact that the referee, the AFC Ringmer manager, was very lenient on some dangerous tackles from Ringmer that other referees may have punished.

Despite this setback East Court beat Chailey 2-0 in the Stratford Cup Semi-Final the following week before victories over Dormansland Rockets in a dress rehearsal for the final and Chailey (again) in the league. The weekend before the Stratford Cup Final East Court entertained Lingfield III in a hard fought game that took a lot out of the home team. The Court had to battle back to claim a 2-2 draw and it ended any faint title chances they had. Lingfield had put out a side that was strengthened by the fact that their second team had withdrawn from their league at the start of the season and had proved good enough to stop the East Court in its tracks. Worse was to follow as Dormansland Rockets then picked up their second victory over East Court (the first club to manage this) as they lifted the Stratford Cup after a 3-1 victory in the final. Billy Denyer had put East Court in front but that was as good as it got. Rockets had pulled it back to 1-1 by half-time and scored seconds into the second half. The win was completed when a dubious handball decision was given on the edge of the area and the free-kick was dispatched into the top corner. With nothing left to play for the rest of the season East Court took out their frustration on Village of Ditchling II (15-2) and Turners Hill II (6-1) to finish the season with 18 wins, 3 draws and only 1 defeat in the league. Having scored 107 goals the Court claimed the Liverpool Arms Cup ahead of AFC Ringmer.

Season 4: 2005/06 – Mid Sussex Football League Division 4

Season Summary

East Court opened with three wins from their first four, including victory over Chailey, but dropped points at home to struggling Crowborough Athletic III. One of the victories was a Stubbins Cup tie at Turners Hill II that resulted in an 8-1 victory, the joint-highest of the season so far. But for the fourth season in a row East Court failed to win in their first match in October. They only have themselves to blame though as they shot themselves in the foot repeatedly in the 4-3 defeat at Burfield Tyres in the first round of the Sussex County FA Junior Cup.

Having been relatively solid defensively the previous season it was a surprise that it took until game 6 to record a clean sheet with a 6-0 Somerville Cup win over Village of Ditchling II before hitting eight past Danehill (Stubbins Cup) and Ardingly II (league). A trip to Lewes Bridgeview saw possibly the hardest game of the season so far but East Court managed to come through 3-0. The following week saw Fletching outplay the Court to record a 4-3 victory, it was the worst performance of the season but Fletching made it hard for the visitors and stopped them playing. A home game against bottom of the table Old Varndeanians III was an immediate chance to bounce back but East Court could only manage a 2-2 draw despite being the better side and Court struggled to break down a determined defence for the second week running.

A slight tactical change ahead of the Somerville Cup match at Old Varndeanians the following week paid dividends. East Court recorded five straight wins and were looking dangerous in front of goal once again and had tightened up considerably at the back - 30 goals for and only 2 against in five games before Christmas tells its own story. The all-new front pairing of Denyer and Kelly notched up 19 of those 30 goals as Old Varndeanians II (8-1), Wealden III (6-0), Old Varndeanians III (5-0), Fletching (5-1) and Crowborough Athletic III (6-0) were all swept aside. The three teams that had taken points off East Court in the league at this point had all been comprehensively beaten since which shows how poorly East Court had played first time round.

The new year began with East Court second in the table behind AFC Ringmer and still in both the Somerville and Stubbins Cups. The first game of the year was to be played at Imberhorne against the league leaders and Ringmer took advantage of Court's rustiness to rack up a 4-1 victory and extend their lead over their rivals to 8 points with both teams having played 11 games. The result also left Court out of the promotion spots as Wealden III took the place but Court did have three games in hand. The following week they struggled to a 3-1 win at Nutley II and moved back into second spot. A trip to local rivals Dormansland Rockets resulted in a 5-2 victory which gave Court a bit of breathing space in the top two as they took two weeks off from the league to concentrate on the cups.

One of the top division 3 sides travelled to Imberhorne for the third round of the Stubbins Cup and East Court were left to rue a host of missed chances as Scaynes Hill triumphed by three goals to two. Dan Medcalf became the first East Court player to reach 100 appearances in this game. The following week Court welcomed Fletching and this time won out in a five goal thriller thanks to goals from the strike pairing of Billy Denyer (2) and Ross Kelly.

As they resumed league action they were only one point clear of Fletching and Lewes Bridgeview II but they had games in hand over both their opponents. Indeed, Lewes Bridgeview were the next visitors to Imberhorne but were easily dispatched 11-0 to end their hopes of promotion. Then Nutley were swept aside 12-1 with Billy Denyer scoring ten times in the two matches.

Court had the following week off with AFC Ringmer travelling to Imberhorne for the Semi Final of the Somerville Cup for one of the most exciting matches of the season. Court led 1-0 through Ben Sunderland before AFC Ringmer equalised in the second half to force the game into extra time. Both teams had chances throughout the 90 minutes but neither side could capitalise. Court bossed the first period of extra time without scoring but they took the lead through Ross Kelly at the start of the second period. Ringmer pushed on but seemed to be on the verge of going out when Lee Champion gave the ball away on the edge of the East Court box and was punished as Ringmer grabbed a late equaliser. The match went to penalties. After the first ten penalties had been taken the score was locked at 3-3 and it took another eight penalties to separate the sides with Ringmer winning out 7-6. Court would have to concentrate on the league from now on.

The following week Court, possibly still suffering from that penalty shootout heartbreak, went down 6-4 at home to Dormansland Rockets. This meant that, at the end of March, Court were in third place, five points behind Fletching with two games in hand but one of those was a trip to AFC Ringmer. The pressure was on. Wealden III were brushed aside 4-2 at Imberhorne before Court went down to a 3-1 loss at Ringmer. With two games to play the pressure was well and truly on.

On a sunny Bank Holiday Monday they travelled to Uckfield Town III, a team lying in eighth in the table. When Uckfield took a two goal lead on an awful pitch it looked as though East Court 's promotion bid had run out of steam but with ten minutes to go of the first half they start to hit their stride. Ross Kelly grabbed Court's first goal of the afternoon before Billy Denyer took advantage of the pitch conditions to beat the keeper to a throughball and make it 2-2. Paul Brice made it 3-2 after half-time but Uckfield came back to equalise and they would've scored again had Dan Medcalf not hacked one off the line. The match was turning into a cup game with East Court throwing everyone forward at every opportunity as they went after the goal that would leave their future in their own hands. It came in the last minute from an unexpected source. Denyer played in centreback Medcalf who went past his man before firing low into the bottom corner. That meant a nervous last day at Ardingly.

Before kick-off news had filtered through to the East Court camp that Fletching had won 4-1 at Dormansland so only a win would be good enough for promotion. When Court took the lead midway through the first half it looked as though it was going to be a good day for Court but Ardingly grabbed a quick equaliser and took the lead from the penalty spot at the start of the second half. With the pressure on, Court's usual passing game disappeared to be replaced by sheer grit and determination. It wasn't pretty but Court threw everyone forward and dominated the remaining time. Nick Palmer levelled the scores before strikes from Ross Kelly and Lee Champion sealed a fourth consecutive promotion.

Season 5: 2006/07 – Mid Sussex Football League Division 3

Season Summary

After four seasons at Imberhorne East Court upped sticks and moved to Notre Dame in Lingfield. It was all change in the summer as they replaced their sponsors and changed their kits. A number of players came into the squad and as Court prepared for their first season in division 3 their squad looked better than ever but, despite a good start, the season was to end in disappointment.

Court's first game at their new home was a pre-season match against newcomers Cowden Mavericks who included former player James Salter in their side. The result was a formality as the new look East Court swept to a 9-0 victory with Ross Kelly topping the scoring charts with a hattrick. The season proper began with three consecutive league wins at Notre Dame as Lindfield II, Cuckfield Town II and Fletching were all hit for six on the new playing surface. Court then travelled to division 4 side Ardingly II, the team they had beaten on the last day of the previous season to secure their division 3 status, for a Stubbins Cup First Round match. Court fell behind early on but then went into a 3-1 lead before Ardingly stormed back to lead 5-3. Court pulled one back but could not overhaul the deficit despite dominating the remainder of the match. Court had better luck the following week in the First Round of the Edgar German Cup when they travelled to East Court to play East Grinstead Town III. Court won 6-0 on the County pitch to end September on a high.

October started in a similar fashion. Court, playing in the Surrey County FA Sunday Lower Junior Cup due to an administrative error by the FA, won their First Round match 6-3 before returning to normal Saturday service with an 8-1 home win over West Hoathly the following week. Roffey were the next to visit Notre Dame and the first to avoid defeat, they took a 2-0 lead before Court pulled one back with 10 minutes to play, equalised with a minute left on the clock and then had an injury time winner ruled out for offside. It was the first of four consecutive league draws as East Grinstead Mariners (away), Horley Athletico (home in an 8 goal thriller where Court briefly led 4-1) and East Grinstead Town III (away) saw Court drop to fourth place at the end of 2006. Court were also knocked out of the Second Round of the Edgar German Cup 4-3 after extra time by division 2 side Franklands Village in this period but progressed to Round 4 of the Surrey Cup after winning 6-2 away to Knaphill Village and 4-0 away to Rose Hill Utd

At the start of 2007 Court returned to winning ways as they dispatched Cuckfield Town II 6-1 away from home but were then dumped out of the Surrey Cup. On an early Sunday morning Court had problems trying to find the right pitch and only got to the ground minutes before kick-off. A well-organised Dynamo Molesey side took advantage to knock them out by three goals to one. Court then racked up back to back wins against Fletching (away) and Maresfield Village II (home) before losing 2-1 in a bad tempered game at Scaynes Hill. Then the decision came to split the league.

Court were put in Group B and it seemed to be the easier group as they had avoided AFC Ringmer and Scaynes Hill but it turned out to be anything but easy for them. Court started a point behind a Horley Athletico side they should have beaten comfortably earlier in the season but dropped bad points at home to East Grinstead Mariners (2-2) and West Hoathly (1-1 in a game they dominated and should have had won by the time West Hoathly recorded their only shot on target to equalise with time running out) that more or less ruined any hopes of claiming top spot in the group. Court then travelled to Fletching for a must win game against a side they had put ten past in their previous two meetings. This time it was a much closer affair with Court hanging on for a 1-0 victory without a number of important players including top scorer Billy Denyer and midfield mastermind Carl Zimmatore. Cuckfield Town II were easily brushed aside for the third time that season before a last day clash at Horley Athletico. Horley had already confirmed their place at the top of the group and won the match 2-0. The game was goalless with 15 minutes to go when Simon Nickols was forced off the pitch injured. Court had used all their subs by this point and to finish the match with only 10 men. Within a minute Court were behind as they tried to reshuffle their defence before Horley made it 2-0 in the last minute. A huge drop kick from Horley's keeper bounced over Paul Bishop's head and landed in the back of the net. It was to be yet another Jim Seeds Award for East Court 's number one. The Horley game was also notable as Dan Medcalf became the first Court player to appear in 100 league games for the club.

Season 6: 2007/08 – Mid Sussex Football League Division 3

Season Summary

It was a season of two halves for East Court as they faded after Christmas to a disappointing sixth place finish. In truth, despite a large squad Court were decimated by injuries in the second half of the season and struggled to put out a full strength team.

It was a dismal start to the season for Court as Keymer & Hassocks travelled to Notre Dame on the opening day of the season and returned home having inflicted a new record defeat on the home side. Court bounced back from this poor start to record five straight wins in all competitions. Fletching, East Grinstead Mariners, Cuckfield Town II (twice) and Peacehaven Utd were all swept aside as Court climbed up the league table. Court scored 24 times in this run while only conceding 3 with Billy Denyer in great form as he netted 10 times. It was the start of an eight game run when he scored in each game, netting 13 in total. Unfortunately AFC Grinstead won a close game 3-1 to end the sequence of victories before LM Utd compounded their misery by knocking them out of the First Round of the Surrey County FA Lower Junior Cup. Peacehaven Utd were beaten 4-2 after they went 2-0 ahead on an afternoon ruined when a Peacehaven defender broke his leg. Two weeks later Court were out of both other cups, first Lindfield II won a seven goal thriller to knock Court out of the Edgar German Cup Second Round and then Fletching recorded their first victory over Court in seven attempts in the First Round of the Stubbins Cup.

Court recorded a morale boosting win over whipping boys Cuckfield Town II (11-2) before beating both Scaynes Hill and Maresfield Village II by four goals to two. The Scaynes Hill match was a bad tempered affair and Chris Butler had his leg broken in a late tackle and was ruled out for the rest of the season. Scaynes Hill were later withdrawn from the league due to their poor disciplinary record rendering the result null and void.

The last game before Christmas saw an understrength team fall to a 4-1 defeat at Dormansland Rockets. It was the start of a poor run of form for Court as they picked up one point from eighteen. Maresfield Village II gained a point in a 1-1 draw in Court's first game of 2008 before Fletching, Dormansland, Keymer & Hassocks and East Grinstead Town III all picked up victories against Court. During this period Court were short of defenders and central midfielders and five players (Billy Pinder, Roy Brown and Phil Rogers joined from East Grinstead Mariners, Adam Shillibeer re-signed from Cowden Mavericks and Steve Melbourne, a summer signing) made their debuts as Court were forced into numerous changes from one week to the next. Court were unlucky to fall to a 1-0 defeat at Keymer after a much-improved performance but Court failed to build on this and were humiliated 7-1 by East Grinstead in their next match. The last thing you want after a day like that is the visit of the league leaders Roffey, a team who had only conceded two goals all season and had failed to win only once in all competitions. As it happened Court were finally able to put out a full strength team as numerous players were available again after injury and goals from Carl Buckler and Billy Denyer capped a fine display as Court recorded a 2-0 win.