Two long standing club records were broken on the same day when Icklesham Casuals defeated Parkfield 20-2 at home in their East Sussex League Division Four fixture last Saturday.
Firstly, it was the biggest ever win by any of the club’s teams beating the 18-1 victory by the 3rd XI over Westfield II in Division Four of the Hastings League on the March 22 1958 and the nine goals scored by Phil Badrock broke the individual scoring record for a single game. The feat of scoring eight goals in one match has been achieved on four occasions for the club – the last being in the 1963-64 season.
Parkfield started the match with only 10 players and it took Badrock just three minutes to open the scoring when he finished off a cross from the right wing. Michael Benton doubled the lead on 11 minutes with his first goal for the club when he fired home from Leon Pettit’s cross and it was Pettit who also set up Badrock for his second of the game in the 14th minute. Parkfield reduced the deficit from the penalty spot in the 20th minute but were reduced to nine men just two minutes later through injury. Two goals from Pettit on 22 and 28 minutes, finding the net after his initial shot was blocked and then converting a Benton pass and a Sam Garner cross shot from the left which found its way into the net at the near post in the 36th minute made the score 6-1 at half-time.
Paul Crane netted his first goal of the game and first for the club in the 49th minute, Garner scored his second on 54 minutes and Badrock took the ball round the Parkfield keeper just after the hour mark to complete his hat-trick before Parkfield pulled a goal back.
Badrock netted twice more with Adam Sully, Garner and Benton also scoring before six goals in the last ten minutes took the final result to 20-2 with Badrock netting four of these and Crane two to complete his hat-trick with Badrock’s final and record breaking goal coming in the final minute.
The match was played in a good spirit in the absence of an officially appointed referee and thank you to Eliott Upton for carrying out this role. Much credit to Parkfield who kept going to the end in such difficult circumstances.
Icklesham Casuals veterans played their first match in the Hastings FA Veterans League against Battle Baptist on Sunday afternoon on the all-weather pitch at Bexhill College going down by three goals to one with Emmanuel McDonald scoring the Casuals goal.
Image Credits: Icklesham Casuals .