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Photos: Julia Dalia
In a bizarre encounter on a windswept JLD, Vanbrugh recovered from one of the most controversial decisions in college cup history to record a 2-1 victory over their main rivals in Group 4, Derwent 1sts.
Derwent took the lead in the 12th minute when Tom Brandreth headed an Ollie Harrison goalbound, only for the ball to be cleared off the line by the sliding effort of Max Brewer. In the college cup sliding is prohibited and the Derwent players swarmed the beleaguered referee, who after almost five minutes of deliberation strangely awarded Derwent a goal.
The decision was made all the stranger by the fact that the ball appeared to have not crossed the line, and instead either a penalty should have been awarded or no action taken on the whole incident. The disputed goal seemed to inspire Vanbrugh though, as they battled back in the second half to claim a vital victory through goals from Brewer and Keiran O’Dwyer after a terrible mix up in the backline.
Before Derwent’s opener Vanbrugh had started the stronger of the two sides, with Phil Taylor almost opening the scoring with a 20 yard drive which clipped the outside of the post, after O’Dwyer’s initial attempt had been blocked, whilst a clearance by Derwent keeper Tom Mumford ricocheted wide of Elliot Ross.
The game descended into chaos though after the farcical opening goal, as tensions escalated and strong challenges flew in on both sides. Vanbrugh responded to falling behind by enjoying a period of pressure, with their best chances coming from set-pieces. Gill wasted one freekick by blasting wildly over the bar, whilst Taylor directed a header narrowly over the bar from another, as Vanbrugh searched for an equaliser.
Derwent were also playing some neat football and they opened up Vanbrugh with a beautiful one touch move down the left flank, which only ended when Vanbrugh ‘keeper James Wilson seized upon Trant’s cushioned pass into the path of Alex D’Albertanson. Former Captain David Kirk continued to lead the line, and he struck a dipping volley from 35 yards which whistled narrowly off target, whilst the series of strange refereeing decisions continued.
A resurgent Vanbrugh emerged in the second half, as Gill nodded a Rory Sharkey header wide at the back post, before O’Dwyer was denied by Mumford. From the resulting corner though last year’s college cup winners equalised, Max Brewer poking home a drilled delivery to spark ecstatic celebrations from the Vanbrugh faithful.
Derwent responded by creating a chance of their own, as a miscued shot by Sam Earle fell into the path of D’Albertanson, but his attempt was gratefully gathered by Wilson at his near post. Overall though Derwent were unable to replicate their impressive form from their first match, as Vanbrugh threatened through the long throws of Gill. Brewer had to be aware to stoop to clear a dangerous Earle delivery, but on large the Vanbrugh backline was rarely tested for long periods in the second half.
A long range shot by Taylor was comfortably gathered before Wilson claimed a looping Atherton cross. The ‘keeper then preceded to launch a thunderous kick upfield which was horrendously dealt with by the Derwent defence, and in the ensuing chaos the ball bounced over the head of the onrushing Mumford, allowing O’Dwyer the simplest of finishes into an empty net to hand Vanbrugh a deserved lead.
Devastated at falling behind for the first time, Derwent responded as Gwinnett fired narrowly wide from close range, before Joe Easter wasted a glorious opportunity to seize a point in the dying minutes as he nodded a free header over the bar from only two yards out. In truth though Derwent were far from their best, and Vanbrugh probably deserved to emerge from a strange clash with the three points.
After the game Vanbrugh captain Jonny Grout told Vision: “I’m ecstatic it was a great result. I thought the referee was pretty dubious to be honest and we were unlucky with goal. It’s a great result though for us against a really strong team.”
His counterpart Ollie Harrison was unsurprisingly disappointed by his side’s defeat, commenting: “We’re going through the inquest now and don’t really know what to say about it. It’s not a game of football that any of us have experienced before. The referee obviously had an impact but I don’t think we can argue about the result. The ref just didn’t know the rules of football, which is a shame as it detracted from a game which should have been nice and flowing.”
Vision MOTM: Keiran O’Dwyer
I think the ref was quality
I feel sorry for the ref. The Derwent players were big meanies.
Leave Tom Mumford alone, he’s always been good to me, the ball hit a bobble! A bobble i tell you!
I have to say, the refs don’t get much help in the College Cup – they are expected to enforce a set of rules that have never been codified and upon which there is seemingly no agreement. I have reffed quite a few CC games in the past and my interpretation of the slide rule has always been that once a player’s leg hits the astro (with the exception of the ‘keeper, who can slide however he wishes) it is a free kick, whether it is a 20 yard slide a la Sol Campbell or a simple stretch/lunge for the ball. It’s the only way to keep it straightforward and in reality, give the refs a sporting chance. It is much more realistic to expect consistency from refs if there is a ‘back and white’. It may be that should the CC migrate to the 3G, the sliding rule can be abolished, but on the JLD it is mandated by the sports centre and in the interests of simplicity, it should mean any (seemingly) intentional contact with the astro in an attempt to play the ball. Only where it is obvious to the referee that an overhead kick or dive header is being attempted should the rule not be enforced.
Interestingly, much like the pass-back rule, one interpretation of a goal-line sliding clearance such as that described in this report, is that the defender has transgressed a rule and in so doing, denied an obvious goal-scoring opportunity and in turn should be sent off. This was a scenario (back-pass) I was presented with in my qualifying course and was advised that it should indeed invoke dismissal. However, in the Premier League last year a yellow card was given and the ‘ask the ref’ column on the BBC reached the same conclusion. And, Law 12 clearly states that denying an obvious goalscoring opportunity by deliberately handling the ball does not apply to goalkeepers in their own penalty boxes. A specific provision is made for this transgression, implying that all other conceivable instances whereby an obvious goalscoring opportunity is denied must result in a red.
In short, had the goal not stood, Max would’ve had to walk. Having failed in his attempt to prevent the goal, he should’ve been cautioned for acting in an unsporting fashion (trying to subvert the rules to prevent a goal).
I bet nobody cares
^^^ Awful chat.
You forget one thing. The ball didn’t cross the line. It’s that simple! The ref even apologised for making such a grave error. Referees do have it tough, however, MANY decisions (not just the goal for Derwent) baffled many that watched yesterday.
What’s your point? The player slid to clear the ball off the line, and therefore a penalty should have been awarded and the player should have been sent off.. It really isn’t that difficult and appears pretty “black and white” to me..
Instead, the referee completely made a rule up and just gave the goal anyway, even though the ball clearly never crossed the line.