fixtures and results | home page
Nicky English's Chipstead won through to the next round of this competition with a straightforward victory against a Whyteleafe side who looked to be suffering from the cold as much as anything. All three goals came from set-pieces taken by former 'Leafe full-back Chris Head and Whyteleafe will need to defend a great deal better than this when they return to league action on Saturday.
The home side started off positively enough with Asher Hudson playing down the right seeing a lot of the ball but his eighth minute long range shot did not trouble James Wastell in the visitors' goal.
At the other end, it was Jamel York who was creating difficulties in the 'Leafe defence and left-back Michael Harney had his job cut out dealing with the pacey Chips forward. On 13 minutes York beat his marker, ran in on goal and struck the ball well but beyond the far post. Five minutes later York won a free-kick near the by-line and Chris Head's cross was punched away by 'Leafe keeper Matthew Mann. Just a minute later Mann was forced to snatch the ball away from the feet of York when a forward pass eluded Adam Broomhead.
In-form Whyteleafe striker Andrew Martin had the opportunity to gain a lead on 20 minutes. A clever clipped ball played into the box by Paul Scott found Martin on-side and in space inside the box, he tried to flick it over Wastell but he put a fraction too much on it and the ball hit the bar and away.
Chipstead took the lead in the 25th minute. Head took a corner from the right which was headed in at close range by Kofi Quartey leaving the Whyteleafe defenders to claim in vain that Mann had been impeded.
'Leafe had the opportunity to get back into the game just two minutes later. Asher Hudson ran at the Chipstead defence, he was tackled but the ball fell to Denva McKenzie who shot narrowly wide.
But the visitors were celebrating again on 29 minutes with a goal almost identical to the first: a Chris Head corner knocked in at close range by Quartey.
Whyteleafe seemed to completely lose their way at this point and two minutes after the goal, York was clattered outside the box, Head's free-kick was poorly dealt with and Chipstead had the ball in the net for the third time. This time though, the referee decided Mann had been impeded and disallowed the goal.
Thing went from bad to worse though in the dying minutes of the half. Callum Maclean, returning to the Whyteleafe side after a long spell out with injury was adjudged to have committed a foul 30 yards out. Head once again took the free-kick and again 'Leafe completely failed to deal with the situation. This time Fred Fleming was on hand to put the ball past Mann at the far post.
At three-nil the tie was effectively over and the second half failed to create more than a handful of half chances with most spectators longing to get out of the freezing conditions. Whyteleafe had a couple of chances late in the second half, but once again Chipstead came closest to scoring when Liam Oxley hit a stranded Matthew Mann's crossbar.
Whyteleafe: Mann, Hudson (Jabbie), McNamara (Green), Reeve, Broomhead, Maclean, McKenzie (Murray-Price), Patterson-Bohner, Martin, Scott, Harney. Unused subs: Dilley, Kempster