College Cup Final: Halifax 1sts 2-0 Derwent 1sts

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Photos: Oliver Todd

Halifax were crowned College Cup champions after sinking Derwent with two second-half goals from Conor Brennan and Alex Tringham set-pieces.

Derwent’s defensive organisation and concentration in defence succeeded in keeping out the favourites’ front line in the first half, but waned in the second as Brennan scored from the spot and Tringham sealed the win with a powerful free-kick.

A lively start to the match saw Matt Mawdesley get stuck in straight away for Halifax, while Tom Day and Ash Daly struggled at first to get their passing accurate enough to maintain possession on a crowded pitch.

Derwent’s centre-backs Josh Baines and Dom Henney were assigned the tough task of marking Tom Ragan and Conor Brennan, and succeeded in denying them any space or time on the ball in the opening exchanges. Jack Beadle’s diligent running almost presented him with a goalscoring opportunity, as he closed down Derwent goalkeeper Seb Treasure, but Treasure was fast out of his area to clear his lines.

The first half-chance fell to Derwent’s Dan Atherton, who blazed wide from well outside the box. Halifax goalkeeper Jonny Sim was then called into action to collect Matt Hallam’s drifted corner. Atherton then swung a free kick high and wide as Derwent’s attacking spell subsided.

With Halifax back in the ascendancy, Daly’s searching through ball was cleared only as far as Ragan, whose shot tested the reactions of Treasure in goal. Ragan then managed to turn Dom Henney, but found himself short of space in behind the deep-lying Derwent defence.

Halifax enjoyed a better spell towards the end of the first half. Alex Tringham’s driven effort was turned behind by Treasure, and a last-gasp Joe Boughtflower intervention was required from the resulting corner, when Brennan’s long-range strike was parried into the path of Beadle.

Boughtflower’s half-time words appeared to inspire a brief second-half resurgence from his team. Matt Hallam’s surge forward was stopped by a Dan Turley foul, but Atherton’s free-kick was again swung high and wide. Atherton believed he had a real chance to open his account for the game when put through by a Jake Farrell through ball, but his run was deemed offside by the referee.

Sim was then seriously panicked by a Matt Worsfold cross-cum-shot brushed the top of the bar, after the full-back raced on to a Hallam pass.

Halfway through the second half, Halifax’s effort to justify their favourites tag began to gather momentum. Daly rattled the bar with a superb 30-yard free-kick, and then Brennan shot on target after a neat Cruyff-turn outside the area.

The reward for the pressure came ten minutes from full-time, when Tom Ragan’s jostling presented an opportunity for Tom Day, who shot powerfully from range. Treasure spilled the ball, and brought down Beadle in his efforts to collect it. Derwent players were furious with referee Chris Lyons as he pointed to the spot but their protestations fell on deaf ears. University 1sts captain Conor Brennan, who missed a penalty in last month’s Roses tournament, stepped up and confidently lashed the ball into the bottom corner. 1-0.

Derwent had a speculative penalty claim turned down at the other end, before their misery was compounded after Brennan was fouled by Josh Baines. Alex Tringham stepped up to rifle home a 25-yard free-kick, almost directly over the head of a despairing Seb Treasure.

Tom Ragan chose to replace himself with his younger brother Elliot, and Mark Lund with Tom Patrickson, as Halifax set about protecting their lead for the final minutes. With Halifax set up to contain, Derwent took the initiative, and Jon Garness hit the target with a tame effort. Hopes of a comeback were all-but-extinguished when Atherton curled another free-kick high and wide.

Jonny Sim collapsed in a heap on the floor after diving to punch the ball away from a cross. The cynics in the crowd suspected simulation. Brennan then missed two audacious efforts from range as he tried to put the icing on the cake, and the whistle blew on a 2-0 Halifax victory.

Dejected Derwent captain Joe Boughtflower said: “I’m obviously gutted. We matched them and were undone by set pieces”, but was more upbeat about how the year had taken course for his team: “we’ve had a really good year, we’ve only lost two games – one at the start and one at the end”, adding “we can hold our heads high”.

Halifax captain Tom Ragan was quick to credit the opposition: “it was a good final – the two best teams, and the only two undefeated teams [in the cup]. We had all the same hype last year and it made things difficult, but we’ve pulled together this year and justified it”.

Vision MOTM: Dom Petschak – the Halifax centre-back was influential in a defence that counteracted the Derwent threat almost entirely. His aerial dominance in particular was outstanding.