A show-stopping performance from captain Phil Taylor powered Vanbrugh to a 5-0 victory over Wentworth on 22 Acres last Sunday. In a hotly contested fixture, some great individual performances from Vanbrugh shone through, while Wentworth were left disappointed after a gutsy first half effort.
It was Vanbrugh’s forwards who set the tone of the match just minutes in, with pressure from Adam Lewis and Phil Taylor up front testing a Wentworth defence which initially seemed as though it could deal with the threat. In less than 5 minutes, however, a looped ball found the feet of striker Taylor, who, after a perfect touch, turned clinically to fire home from a seemingly impossible angle. A stunned Wentworth were able to recover and produce some attacking displays of their own, with Samik Datta linking well with Dom Green up front. Despite the constant Vanbrugh threat, the resilience from the men in purple subdued Vanbrugh to a mere 1-0 lead at the break.
Wentworth came out for the second half with real purpose, and took the game to a Vanbrugh side that seemed to have taken their foot off the gas. However, just as they appeared to be working a way forward, up stepped Vanbrugh captain Phil Taylor to take centre stage. The striker unleashed a thunderbolt from over 25 yards to double Vanbrugh’s lead, and just minutes later rounded off a hat-trick by firing in another strike from distance that the Wentworth keeper could only watch as it sailed into the bottom corner. With Taylor rampant, Vanbrugh were able to orchestrate attacks at ease, with Kevin O’Dwyer adding a fourth with a neat finish across goal. With just seconds to go, Taylor rounded off a terrific performance with a header from close range to make it 5-0.
After a promising first half Wentworth were simply blown away by the brilliance of Taylor, and with the striker in this kind of form, Vanbrugh will certainly take some beating. Captain Taylor commended his side rather than dwell on his own individual brilliance, stating that Vanbrugh had “played well, created chances and deserved the win.”