Orpington Robbed

Orpington Athletic saw in the start of a new year with a cruel loss in the Ted Holder Trophy. A last minute goal, off the back of an incorrectly awarded corner kick, was enough to see Duke of Clarence progress to the quarter final at the expense of a disheartened Orpington.

Having not played a competitive fixture in over a month, there may have been a feeling that Orpington would need to dust off a fair few cobwebs, however the team started brightly and any lack of previous game time was quickly forgotten.

The first half played out with chances being created at both ends. Clarence attempted more speculative efforts from long range, whilst Orpington tried to work their way towards goal with some neat interchanges.

In the second half it was much more of the same. Orpington gave a debut to new signing, Nick Adamou who performed well in the middle of the park. Orpington's defence was solid throughout and in the event of a breach, Matt Utton was unbeatable between the sticks.

In the final minutes of the game, Austin Facer was adjudged to have handled the ball and, after consulting the linesman, the referee awarded a free kick to Clarence right on the edge of the penalty area. The resulting free kick was shanked wildly wide.

The impetus appeared to be with Orpington in the last moments, but after a wishful shot from Clarence whistled past skipper, Rob Utton, the referee pointed to the corner flag. Video replays showed that the ball made no contact with the captain, however Clarence took the gifted set piece and the towering Charlie Hook headed the ball into the back of the net.

The celebrations by Clarence suggested relief from a team that are a whole division and 13 places above Orpington. The away team had played their part in a great contest and it was a shame to bring proceedings to a close with a poor refereeing decision.

The result and the performance will give Orpington heart for the second half of their league campaign and with 3 games in hand, they can begin to power towards the top of division 3.

Orpington's next fixture will see them travel to Inter Cross on 20th January, where they will hope to avenge their earlier league defeat at the start of the season.