By Alex Finnis
Goodricke continued their strong start to the season with an impressive 3-1 victory over College Cup champions Alcuin thanks to goals from Jon Sharpe, Ben Smith and Sam Astbury in a hard fought contest.
In a lively start, Goodricke dominated the early possession and put pressure on the Alcuin defence. With quarter of an hour gone, it looked as if Alcuin were finally beginning to settle into the game and find a bit of rhythm when they were knocked off balance by a fine strike from Goodricke forward Jon Sharpe, opening the scoring in style with a snapshot unleashed into the top corner from all of twenty yards.
The goal reasserted Goodricke’s first-half dominance, and they continued to control the game, keeping the ball well and warding off any potential Alcuin threat with a tight, well-drilled back four providing the foundations for what looks to be a very solid team unit.
It seemed to be only a matter of time before Goodricke added a second goal, and sure enough it came thanks to a Ben mith header towards the end of the half. Dan York and Danny Munroe linked well down the left before York whipped in a delightful cross, finding the head on the onrushing Smith who headed low past Chris Boyd to widen the gap and send his side into half-time with a two goal lead.
After the break a determined Alcuin side rallied, and Phil Bowers’ side began to stage an attempt at a comeback. First Simon Reiss came close with a long range effort, before Udy Onwudike, on as a half-time substitute, carried the ball brilliantly down the right and made space to slot the ball right to the feet of the composed Alex Brown, who placed his shot comfortably past Goodricke goalkeeper Lurch to make it 2-1.
The same player had two tough opportunities to level the scoring; narrowly missing the target on both occasions, and Chris Boyd had to make a smart save from a rasping Nick Dhier effort at the other end, before Alcuin were presented with the perfect chance to turn the game’s momentum in their favour in the form of a controversial penalty won by the impressive Onwudike. Striker Paul Desoisa stepped up to take the spot-kick but will be disappointed with his effort, placing it far to close to goalkeeper Lurch who dived low and made an important save.
Having come so close to losing their hard-earned lead, Goodricke began to step up their play again, with Jon Smith just missing from the tightest of angles having expertly rounded the Alcuin goalkeeper and then later heading wide from Niall Walsh’s long throw.
The game was one that always looked as if it had another goal in it, and the last of the four came late on through Goodricke centre-back Sam Astbury, who headed emphatically past Chris Boyd from a Ben Smith corner, making the score 3-1 and sealing an impressive and well deserved win for his side.
Goodricke’s Ben Smith, the stand-out performer in his team’s victory, labelled his side’s efforts as a “strong performance”, being particularly pleased with the first-half display and proud of the commitment and determination shown to ensure the victory. Alcuin captain Phil Bowers was unsurprisingly disappointed to see his side lose, but stressed the importance of taking positives from an improved second-half performance, and hoped his side “can move on next week.”
With two wins under their belt including the notable scalp of the College Cup champions, early form suggests this impressive Goodricke side could be the team to beat in this year’s competition.
Man of the match: Ben Smith
*Dan York, he gets mardy when the e is added