Badshot Lea 3, Redhill 1

(aet: 90 minutes 1-1)

SOMEONE once said that a week is a long time in football – in the case of Badshot Lea, it’s more like four days.

Having watched his charges capitulate to a shock league defeat at home to rock-bottom Banstead Athletic on Saturday, boss Gavin Smith saw his charges move into the second round of the Premier Challenge Cup with a battling display against Redhill at wet and windy Westfield Lane on Tuesday night.

Extra-time goals from Zac Hawker and youngster Louis Russell secured the win for the Baggies after Met Police loanee Tom Cursons’ first-half opener had been cancelled out by Evan Lopes.

But Lea, who were dominant for the opening half an hour and could have scored a hatful, certainly rode their luck at times and were indebted to a post in the dying moments of the 90 and a superb reflex save from Lea goalkeeper Kallum Lunn who somehow deflected one goalbound effort onto the crossbar.

But once Hawker smacked in a beauty into the top corner with a touch of swerve in the first half of extra time, the game was essentially up. And Russell made sure as he belied his years with a composed finish after rounding the Redhill goalkeeper.

It was the perfect response to Saturday’s shock defeat against Banstead at Westfield Lane, where Lea found themselves two goals down before Reece Connolly pulled a goal back from the spot, only for Banstead to seal the points with a late third.

“The less said about Saturday the better,” he said. “We had to make three changes but we saw it as a good opportunity, not because they were bottom of the leaguem but to give people minutes who haven’t played with that game and the Redhill game in mind.

“We believe in the players we’ve got and we said if we want to be where we are we should win that game of football at home.

“I was disappointed because we went 2-0 down from two mistakes, but these things happen and we still fought because we’ve come from behind to win games before, and we got the goal back and I thought ‘we are going to win this’ but we lost our discipline which was really disappointing because we’ve been drumming it into them about how important discipline is and we picked up five bookings in the second half from people getting frustrated because it wasn’t going their way.

“We equalised with the last kick of the game to get a draw against Ascot, we came from behind to beat Christchurch, we did it again in the cup replay against Ascot by keeping our discipline but the lads lost it, got frustrated and ended up doing silly tackles, needless foul, picking up bookings. I was disappointed with that.”

But Tuesday night under the lights against Redhill was a different story, with no quarter asked and none given on a wet surface and in a strengthening wind, and the younger players in the squad having a chance to shine.

“It was an entertaining game and we were quite relaxed. We always want to win games but the competition itself is not our top priority,” said Smith.

“George Headley grew into the game last night and did really well and Tom (Cursons) caused Redhill all sorts of problems to start with and we could have been four or five up within 20 minutes and then the game is put to bed.”

Tomorrow, the Baggies are back in league action when they host Raynes Park Vale at Westfield Lane (kick-off 3pm).

Badshot Lea: Lunn, Pound, Roberts, Headley, Flanaghan, Lloyd, Matthews (Cadete 95), Hawker, Connolly (Medcraft 46), Carter (Ciardini 82), Cursons (Russell 71). Subs (not used): Blake.