After the earlier excitement from the Group 1 matches, Group 2 continued to thrill the spectators, with Vanburgh 1sts particularly impressing as they overcame Derwent 2nds. In the other games, James 1sts and Langwith 1sts also tasted victory, as the first round of the competition was a spectacular success.
Vanburgh 1sts stormed to victory over Derwent 2nds, in a game dominated by the skill of university calibre players such as Jon Waghorne, Max Fleming and Mylo Scurr. The scoreline eventually read 8-3 in Vanburgh’s favour, with Captain Mike Ward finding himself on the scoresheet four times. Derwent battled valiantly though, mixing strength and determination with skill, but it wasn’t enough to cope with their strong opposition, who could go a long way in the tournament.
Derwent started positively, scoring through Callum Douglas and a penalty goal, but Vanburgh’s firepower was evident as they found the back of the net five times in the first half, with the creativity of Fleming creating numerous chances. Scurr was a rock at the back, distributing the ball seemingly effortlessly, and helping Vanburgh to enjoy a large proportion of possession. There were three further goals in the second half for Vanburgh, with Waghorne and Jess Winnan both ending with two a piece. Derwent scored a consolation through a clever Dan Perry finish, but their credible performance was not enough to counter the technical ability of Vanburgh.
Halifax 2nds met James 1sts, and eventually James College secured a narrow victory. Halifax started well, academic officer Graeme Osborn scoring a hattrick in as many minutes. His positioning near the goal mouth, allowed him to receive through balls and slot home the goals. James however, bit back on this particular tactic, marking Osborn out of the game. James then put away four goals to come back and overtake the ‘fax at halftime.
It was two very different styles of play on a third of the normal sized pitch. Halifax found goals through consistent attack and James through breakaways. Three of these breaks produced great goals from Rohit Rana, including one that left a Halifax defender sprawling on his back. With the score at 7-3 Halifax needed four goals in the remaining four minutes, instead they got a very respectable two, Osborn snatching his fourth and Isaac Barker the other. The final score was 7- 5, both teams performed brilliantly. Individual performances to be marked out were James McNeill for Halifax and Katherine Bramwell for James.
Meanwhile, Langwith 1sts completely outplayed the Goodricke 2nds as they defeated them 8-2. Sam Dower and captain Doug Jayatilaka were the stars as Dower scored five and Jayatilaka three. Langwith started off brightly, and found themselves two ahead in the first five minutes, Dower getting both the goals. It was soon three as Jayatilaka scored as well. Goodricke pulled one back when captain Tom Merriman scored after a melee in the Langwith goal. There were times when the game seemed to be crowded out in the midfield and went into half-time with the score 3-1 to Langwith.
The second half continued just like the first one as Langwith dominated, striking thrice within the space of 6 minutes to end Goodricke’s challenge. Hayden Watson got a consolation goal for Goodricke but Langwith completed the rout as Jayatilaka completed his hattrick, and then Dower added the 8th towards the end. Langwith captain Jayatilaka was very pleased with the result, and said he was very proud of the performance. Goodricke captain Tom Merriman’s comments were indicative of the good spirit between the two sides and he said, “All four of the Langwith and Goodricke sides played well and the honours were shared at one apiece.”
Vision MOTD: Sam Dower