Holy Cow - Bosham are no longer in the fold in the cup

Bosham's dreams of landing the Sussex Intermediate Cup for the first time in many years went up in smoke when Cowfold stunned their county league opponents at Walton Lane.

Three goals for the Blues in a bizarre four-minute spell just after the half-hour turned the game firmly towards the West Sussex League outfit, leaving the Reds with a mountain to climb if they were to salvage their cup hopes for a little longer.

Earlier, Nigel Smith had shown Bosham that Cowfold hadn’t come to make up the numbers by striking the crossbar with Bosham keeper Nathan Kohle well beaten.

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Bosham escaped then - but could not have imagined what was to follow.

First Smith was put through as the Blues cut a swathe through the Bosham back-line and slotted home.

Before Bosham had time to recover, they found themselves further behind when Smith turned provider with a searching cross from the right that found fellow striker James Wrigley unmarked at the back stick to fire home.

Bosham may have thought that things couldn’t get any worse but they were wrong - minutes later Cowfold bagged a third. Again the Reds were sliced open at the back and Smith rounded off the move with a simple finish to put the Blues and their management into dreamland.

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Bosham came out fighting in the second half and grabbed their first to give themselves a lifeline. Kieran Hartley crossed low from the right and captain Bradley Miles made sure he got to the ball first to poke home at the near post.

Bosham had their tails up but almost all hope was gone when, with a quarter of the match to go, and the Reds firmly on top, Cowfold were awarded a hotly-disputed free-kick just outside the area.

Wrigley stepped up and fired a majestic shot over the wall and past the despairing dive of Kohle to restore the Blues’ three-goal advantage.

Sub James Bracher beat the offside trap to net a second for Bosham a few minutes later but that was as good as it got for the hosts as Cowfold held their nerve to seal a famous victory and a spot in next month’s semi-finals.

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Bosham must now re-focus for the Division Three Cup this week and another quarter-final tie, this time against Broadbridge Heath.

BOSHAM: Kohle, Probee, Carrigher, Grantham, Blanshard, Miles, Hartley, Hounsome, Phillips, Butterfield, Dowden. Subs: Rehill, Laherty, Bracher.

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