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Photos: Vivan Jayant
After going in at half-time with a one goal lead, James turned on the style in the second half putting six goals past Goodricke.
It was James who made the brighter start; a free-hit by Declan Hall was almost deflected in to the Goodricke net.
However, Goodricke quickly responded, Ben Crawley went marauding down the wing and Captain Tom Merriman asserted his dominance in the centre of the pitch.
Yet a few minutes later, James were 1-0 up, Cameron Lane-Ley slotted the ball home after Katherine Bramwell’s utilised some skilful stickwork on the right wing.
Not long later, Goodricke had an opportunity to level the score. Tom Wilkinson broke down the right wing but his attempted pass to Crawley in the centre hit a foot meaning a free hit was awarded. This came to nothing.
James recovered, piling on the pressure in an attempt to extend their advantage. Kathy Cox was twice denied on the goal line by last-ditch Goodricke defending.
Goodricke then caught James napping, quickly breaking down the left wing. However, Crawley’s run was halted by a superb tackle from sweeper James Hope.
In the second half, James were again the quicker side out of the blocks and were 2-0 up after only a few minutes courtesy of a tidy finish from Hall.
However, Goodricke soon had a chance to get themselves back in the game, Merriman sailed through tackles with ease to find Tom Wilkinson, who put the ball agonisingly wide of the left post.
James made him pay for this error, Lane-Ley slapping the ball into the net after thoughtful build-up from Jambo Talbot and Charlie Tyler.
At 3-0, the game looked like it was in the bag and James spent the latter half of the second period virtually encamped in the Goodricke half.
Bramwell then had two chances to further extend their lead but squandered them both. She missed an open goal after breaking down the wing before failing to make contact with a superb cross from Hall. However, it was soon 4-0, Cox netting the ball after some more impressive play from Jambo and Tyler. Not long after this, Hall fizzed another ball across the D but Cox could not provide required contact required.
Nevertheless James quickly made it five, Hall, who had been weaving his way around the Goodricke defence for the whole game, converted coolly following sustained pressure on the Goodricke D.
Rohit Kishor then managed his get his name on the score sheet before the match was rounded off in style by multi-sportsman Chris Butters who finished off a slick on- two from a free hit after turning up from a badminton match halfway through the second half.
Despite the fact James scored four goals in a twenty minute period, Goodricke did not defend badly. Lizzie Baxter was particularly impressive, clearing the ball from off the line on one occasion. Yet, James had outplayed their opponents and in truth could have scored many more goals. Perhaps one criticism of the play in general would be that many players were too close together, desperate to get their stick on the ball. A substitute likened this to “bees to a hive”. Maybe the quality of the play would improve if the players spread out a little from the honeypot.
The victory leaves James in a strong position; however it is likely that they will need to score as many goals as possible in their upcoming matches to triumph over Halifax in the title race.
Vision MOTM: Declan Hall
Please spot the mistake ^^ xD