CSKA II suffered a narrow 4-3 defeat away at Desford in Division Four, but the performance offered plenty of encouragement and underlined how quickly the side is developing under caretaker manager Dave Thompson.
The visitors started strongly, looking to play their possession-based style and build from the back. That approach was rewarded early when Mark Bell’s free-kick found Thompson on the edge of the box, who laid the ball off for Ruben Capp to fire a clean right-footed strike into the Desford net.
CSKA briefly lost their rhythm before half-time, with Desford’s attacking threat finding gaps in the back line on three occasions to lead 3-1 at the break. One of those goals appeared clearly offside and was scored while CSKA were temporarily down to ten men.
Thompson’s half-time message focused on keeping the game alive and avoiding being overwhelmed, as had happened in the previous meeting with Sileby. The response was positive, with the back four of Sat Thandi, Mark Bell, Raj Bhanji and Luke Hall dealing much more effectively with Desford’s attacks in the second period.
Harry Pitchford pulled one back at 3-2 after pouncing on a defensive mistake, firing a low shot from 25 yards into the bottom right corner. Desford restored their two-goal cushion with a header against the run of play, but CSKA showed real character to respond once more.
The pick of the goals came from another moment of individual quality. Bell, picking up the ball at centre-back, glided past two Desford players before splitting the defence with a precise through-ball to Pitchford, who took it in stride and slotted coolly past the on-rushing keeper. It was a goal of real quality that would not have looked out of place at a higher level.
Despite the late push, CSKA could not find an equaliser, but the performance showed clear signs of progress for a group that had only played two matches together before this game and had no pre-season.
With the Stokes Cup still to come later in the season, the management group will take confidence from the growing cohesion and quality on display, believing the side has significant potential to develop further.
