In the final College Cup match of the week, Wentworth 3rds put up an admirable fight against a strong Halifax side. Effectively, the game turned into shooting practice, with the majority of play down the Halifax attacking end.
The first half contained reliable defending from the solid 3rds team, with noticeable efforts from Matt Taylor (who was later awarded man of the match) and Dan Horsfall at the back, which prevented the score from escalating dramatically. Taylor made some crucial defensive contributions in stopping Halifax midfielder Jack Beadle from taking shots on goal; Matt Mawdesley also came close to scoring after his powerful shot hit the crossbar. Neither Tom Day nor Tom Ragan could impact the score, yet there was good, intricate play from Halifax who dominated the first half.However, one goal was conceded after 20 minutes, and it was Conor Brennan who slotted the ball to the keeper’s right. Wentworth managed to keep the score down and when the whistle blew for half time, it was just 1-0 to Halifax.
The second half was more exciting and Halifax really picked up the pace. Tom Day had the first shot of the half but it went over the bar. Next came a great free kick from Alex Tringham that shot above the heads of the Wentworth wall, then sailed over the outstretched arms of the keeper into the back of the goal, making it 2-0 to Halifax. Wentworth’s Dan Horsfall then tried his luck with a free kick from his own half, but it was caught by the Halifax keeper. This was quite a crowd-pleaser, who interpreted it as Wentworth’s one and only shot at goal. Soon after, Halifax responded with a counter-attack but Ash Daly fired wide. Instead, the third goal was scored by Brennan with a low angled finish, then soon after, he scored a hat-trick with an amazing shot that powered past goal keeper. This made the score 4-0 to Halifax and secured his well-earned title as man of the match for the winning side.
There were more shots from the ‘Fax and another attempt from Ash Daly that narrowly went over the bar. It was in these closing minutes that Humberto Bezares Arango, the Wentworth keeper, made several stunning saves from the many long range shots that Halifax were firing. However, Tom Day produced an unstoppable shot into the top right corner, raising the score for the last time in the game. Halifax won 5-0, and while both teams played really well, the victors were simply in a different league to their opponents.