A Brief History by Manager Medders
Season 1
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.
East Court are now half-way through their fourth season and have gone from strength to strength. They have gained promotion each season and are now playing division 4 football having started in division 7 and have won the Malins Challenge Cup twice, the Liverpool Arms Cup once and have been losing finalists in the Stratford Challenge Cup as well. Throughout this time the club have had only two managers, the first of which, Jim Seeds, lasted only seven games before being replaced by current player-manager Daniel Medcalf. Over the years Jack Bishop, Ross Kelly and Simon Nickols have ably supported Medcalf in his role.
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 ofthe 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
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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 the league 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
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The 2004/5 season was the club's least successful 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.
Season 4
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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 that 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.
And so to this season. East Court have dropped too many silly points already this year to feel confident about catching AFC Ringmer for the title but if they can inflict Ringmer's first Mid Sussex League defeat in January next year it will pull them back into contention. They will have to look over their shoulder though as Dormansland Rockets head a pack of teams not too far behind them aiming for that second spot.
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 last 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 2-2 draw at home to bottom of the table Old Varndeanians III was a disappointment as despite being the better side we 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 has paid dividends. Since then East Court have recorded five straight wins, have looked more dangerous in front of goal and have tightened up considerable at the back - 30 goals for and only 2 against tells its own story. The all-new front pairing of Denyer and Kelly have 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) have all been swept aside. The three teams that have taken points off East Court in the league this year have all been comprehensively beaten since which shows how poor the first results against those sides were.
Looking ahead to the rest of the season we are in second behind AFC Ringmer and can finish the year top of the table should we beat Nutley II on New Years Eve, albeit one point clear having played two games more than Ringmer. East Court still have many difficult games to come in the league: home and away against both AFC Ringmer and Dormansland Rockets, home to Lewes Bridgeview II and away to Chailey among them. The Court are in the quarter finals of both the Stubbins Cup (home to Scaynes Hill) and the Somerville Cup (home to Fletching) and, should they make it that far, they will have home ties in the semi finals as well. It is a very big start to 2006 with home games against Scaynes Hill (who knocked out third placed Dormansland Rockets 6-1 in the last round) and AFC Ringmer so it is important that East Court come out all guns blazing after the Christmas break..........
Medders is in the process of composing a roundup of the 2nd half of the 2005/06 season.
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