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Photos: Jack Western
Derwent bounced back from their 6-2 defeat against Langwith last week, with a spirited performance to grind out a dogged 1-0 victory over Goodricke this morning. Despite being a player short, Derwent played some pleasing hockey, with a single second half goal by Matt Leech being enough to secure a vital victory.
Goodricke battled hard throughout in what was a tense encounter, but they slipped to another defeat which dents their chances of closing in on the top of the table. However the team from Heslington East started promisingly, proving the livelier of the two sides in the early stages.
Tom Merriman and Ben Crawley were both asserting their dominance in midfield, but gradually as the first half progressed Derwent began to establish themselves as the stronger side in the contest. Clear chances were few and far between however, as both defences tended to prevail.
Derwent came close to opening the scoring midway through the half, but the best chance of the first half fell to Goodricke, as Max Fox found space in the area, but could only fire his effort wide. Phil Hammick was providing a constant threat down the right wing, whilst Chris Daniels was displaying some excellent touches in midfield.
Despite this the first half ended goalless, as both sides proved profligate when opportunities arose. However only five minutes into the second half Derwent opened the scoring, as Matt Leech netted what proved to be the only goal of the game. An excellent through ball by Daniels, picked the Derwent forward out in space, and he skilfully deceived his marker, before slotting Derwent into the lead.
Goodricke tried to immediately bounce back and enjoyed a sustained period of pressure as they pushed for an equaliser. They were rewarded with a series of short corners, but despite some threatening injections by Merriman they were unable to breach a tight Derwent defence marshalled by Simon Varley.
After weathering the storm, Derwent began to re-establish their control of the contest, passing the ball neatly, with Hammick and in particularly Daniels orchestrating the play. Their skilful play carved out a series of further opportunities, which they were unable to convert.
Goodricke were indebted to defender Aidan Pilgrim who proved a constant thorn for the Derwent side, by making numerous crucial tackles to avert serious danger. Nevertheless Derwent were not to be denied victory, and produced a stubborn defensive display to negate the Goodricke threat and claim an excellent 1-0 victory over resilient opposition.
Vision MOTM: Chris Daniels
Cheers Dave great report