Cuckfield Cosmos 1 - 5 Lindfield Vulcans

⚽️ Lindfield Vulcanss Kick Off with Derby Delight!

 Match Report by Elliott Butler

A packed Beach Field Farm set the stage for a local derby league opener, with Coach Dan making headlines before kickoff by boldly parking his truck on the rugby pitch. This was a sign of things to come as Lindfield Vulcans were ready for action! 🚛💨

🧠 Training Pays Off

After a high-intensity training session, Manager Elliott was confident—and rightly so. Despite losing 4-2 to Cosmos in our final preseason game, Lindfield came prepared. With a full squad available, we were able to utilise the rolling subs, which kept energy high on the larger 9v9 pitch.

Harrison's pace and crunching tackles, combined with Jacob defending like a seasoned pro, formed a rock-solid defensive duo.  Seb (captain for the day) was once again not only helping out, but excelling in goal, sweeping up danger like a young Ederson!

⚡️ Midfield Magic

Alex J anchored the midfield with a strong presence.  He is as cool as a cucumber & his composure on the ball was a huge factor in enabling the Vulcans to maintain possession. While James and Matty dominated the wings, with tireless runs (those track sessions are paying off James!) & delivering dangerous crosses. Matty impressed across multiple positions, showing great versatility and determination.

Theo and Ronnie worked tirelessly and pulled strings in midfield by using clever footwork to create space & feeding Brodie, who kept Cosmos defenders on edge with clever movement and link-up play.

🔄 Game Changers

Noah and Theo M came off the bench and made instant impact. Noah was composed and combative, while Theo M. brought chaos—pressing relentlessly and rattling the Cosmos back line with fearless energy.  In 4 years I have never seen this boy jog, he seems to only have 2 speeds, walk or full on sprint, and is like Sonic the Hedgehog playing football, an absolute nightmare for the opposition!

🚀 Goals Galore

Theo B opened the scoring with a long-range strike, which was well deserved after an impressive first half, both with and without the ball. Vulcans were delighted to get to half time with a 1-0 lead and now with the wind behind them, they surged forward in the second half. Brodie returned to the action feeling fresh, which paid off as he netted twice in quick succession, James lobbed the keeper from distance, and Brodie then sealed his hat-trick with a cool finish to round of an excellent performance.

Cosmos grabbed a consolation goal, which came when Lindfield were doing as their coaches had asked, by trying to play out from the back.  It is inevitable that sometimes we will concede goals in trying to play this way, but as we have always said, the focus is about devleoping players and trying to play the right way.  Whilst it will not guarantee success, in the long run the players will benefit from having more touches of the ball and becoming confident footballers.  The performance at this age will always be more important than the result and this display was about teamwork, intensity, and passing football.

Player of the match:  This could honestly have gone to anyone of the 11 players involved but after a match wining hattrick it goes to Brodie D - clinical finishing and worked hard all game.

🏆 Final Thoughts

From Coach Dan’s parking antics to Brodie’s hat-trick heroics, it was a memorable start to the season. The boys have been fantastic in training and have very quickly adapted to their new teammates.  The attitude and listening has been first class and they have taken on the messages that the coaches have been trying to get across.  There are some very strong teams in our league and at times, could find ourselves on the end of a few heavy score lines, but the togetherness and desire to work hard will take this team a long way.  Credit to Cuckfield Cosmos who never gave up and looked dangerous until the end with Seb making some crucial saves and the crossbar coming to our rescue.  If we can maintain the commitment and intensity, it will be fun season ahead... 

Special mention to Alex F, who was unavailable for our kick off but played for the Typhoons in their 3–2 win. When we have everyone available, we will have to leave players out but with dual registration across the Vulcans and Typhoons, we will hopefully still be able to offer game time to everybody and at the same time keep a close connection between the different squads.