Photos: Oliver Todd
| Team | Pld | Pts | GD |
| Halifax 1sts | 5 | 15 | +15 |
| Alcuin 1sts | 5 | 10 | +12 |
| Vanbrugh 2nds | 5 | 10 | +4 |
| Derwent 3rds | 5 | 6 | -7 |
| James 2nds | 5 | 3 | -4 |
| Wentworth 3rds | 5 | 0 | -20 |
As the whistle blew on James 2nds’ final group game – a 2-1 loss to Alcuin – a window of opportunity opened for Derwent 3rds to leapfrog them and gain plate qualification.
Making the task easier was the fact their final game was against Wentworth 3rds; a team who have failed to get a point on the board so far.
Derwent applied pressure early on and were rewarded through a Jon Garness goal after ten minutes; John Gow’s shot across the area had already sent Wentworth goalkeeper Humberto Bezares Arango one way, and then Garness’ touch took the ball the other.
Wentworth were struggling to create many chances, and the first time Derwent’s goalkeeper Stu Bruce was called into action was to catch a Matt Tyler throw-in. Bruce could only stand and stare minutes later when James L0mas’ free-kick rattled the bracket behind the crossbar, and it was clear that Derwent’s qualification was not yet guaranteed.
The half-time words of injured captain Yaw Frempong Koduah-Sarpong inspired a good second-half performance from Derwent, who grabbed the second half by the scruff of the neck. Garness tested Arango from range, and a routine save was turned into an erratic flapping scoop by the Mexican stopper.
Garness was then presented with a trio of chances. The first one he calmly slotted home to double his side’s advantage. He then fired one just past the post, and dragged a decent chance well wide of goal.
Wentworth struggled to alleviate the pressure on themselves, only coming close when a Lomas corner was deflected just over the bar by a combination of Dan Horsfall and Derwent defender.
Derwent added a third from a curling Alex Nock free-kick, fumbled in by Arango. Nock then had another free-kick goal ruled out, as the goalkeeper was still at his post aligning the wall. The retake flew over the bar.
Garness then added a fourth after dribbling around the goalkeeper to slot into an open net. Mark Eslick was moved from centre-back in centre-forward in an attempt to shake things up, and soon made a nuisance of himself, getting in between defender and goalkeeper and causing confusion from which Wentworth were able to pull one back.
John Garness dribbled past Dan Horsfall and finish confidently to add Derwent’s fifth to put the result beyond question.
Vision’s MOTM: John Garness – crossed over from Derwent 2nds to make sure the match was won, and more than played his part in scoring four goals.