Goodricke overcame their first half complacency to beat an under-strength Vanbrugh and consolidate their position at the top of the table.
After soaking up Goodricke pressure in the first five minutes, Vanbrugh pushed forward. The Lurch was tested twice from range; firstly collecting a looping O’Dwyer shot, and then palming away a Phil Taylor free kick with great agility.
However, Taylor did not have to wait long to put Vanbrugh 1-0 up; finding space in the box as Rory Sharkey engineered a crossing opportunity, then cooly volleying into the bottom corner to score the only goal in a flat first half.
Goodricke have swept aside every team they’ve played in this year’s College Cup, but after forty-five minutes of relatively unimaginitive football it was looking that they could be in danger of, like Chelsea, falling victim to their own success.
But their Captain, Sam Lewis, must’ve provided the kind of team-talk that Carlo Ancelotti couldn’t on Saturday; Goodricke came out for the second half looking like the side of previous weeks, and they equalised in the first five minutes. Jon Sharpe rose the highest to meet Lewis’ cross, and found the top corner of the net with his header.
Contrary to the old cliché, Vanbrugh seemed to have conceded at the worst possible time. Whatever was said at half time was no longer relevant and they didn’t look like a team focussed on either defending or attacking as their midfield pushed up the pitch and centre-forward Phil Taylor dropped into a defensive role.
After kicking off for the restart Vanbrugh were quickly knocked onto the back foot again and soon trailed 2-1. Another cross was swung in from the left and centre-back Sam Astbury headed the ball past James Wilson.
Goodricke were on top for most of the second half, with Sam Lewis and Ben Smith going close, but Vanbrugh managed to force a corner in the last five minutes. Jon Gill’s cross found Rory Sharkey, who diverted the ball towards the Goodricke goal where it was cleared off the line. Sharkey and his teammates were adamant that it had crossed the line, but the goal wasn’t given, and the final whistle saw Goodricke victorious.
Vanbrugh captain Phil Taylor pointed out that his team was five first team players short, and yet still managed to create enough opportunities to win the game. Goodricke’s Sam Lewis lauded his team’s ‘excellent’ performance, dismissing the poor first half as a lack of luck in front of goal.
Neither captain was disapproving of the referee’s decision regarding the goal that wasn’t, but surely the incident does raise the debate over the lack of goal-line technology in college football.
Man of the Match: Sam Lewis