Derwent Seconds and Wentworth Firsts took to the astroturf underneath a rapidly ailing sky. Looking to improve on their draw with Alcuin Thirds last week, Derwent began strongly, stringing together fluid passing plays and flaunting a positive, attacking style. The opening minutes saw little leeway offered by either side, the injury ladened Wentworth appearing to have recovered from a shock 5-1 loss at the hands of James.
Despite the frenetic start from the boys in purple, Derwent twice found space in the opening third. The first, a quick break from Joe Eyles ended fruitlessly as a powerful shot narrowly skirted wide. Moments later, number 20 Ryan Gwinnett connected with Mirhire Overo-Tarimo who controlled the ball at the edge of the area before firing into the back of the net.
The subsequent half was, despite erratic moments of interest, somewhat depleted and saw neither side capitalise. Highlights came in the form of a great through ball to Derwent’s number 8, who narrowly failed in toeing the ball past an alert Wentworth goalkeeper. At the opposite end of the pitch, Wentworth Winger Dai Taira slinked past several blue shirts in a bout of play that saw him fire a volley agonisingly over the bar.
It was at this stage in the match that attention was turned towards Wentworth’s number 1, Jon Cook. Dressed in a violent combination of luminosity, the keeper seemed unfazed by Derwent’s earlier score and offered competent rebuttal to winger Nozaki’s testing shots. The half ended following a pounding attempt from John Gow that swerved achingly past the left post.
The interval was a tense affair, with rousing calls of “keep it up,” “subs keep warm,” “it’s not over” and “keep shooting” from the Derwent camp only matched in intensity by the rapidly swelling Yorkshire skies. Refreshed and reinvigorated, as much by the rest as the now broken clouds, the two teams commenced battle once more.
Derwent began looking keen to improve on their lead, with a couple of attacks coming close to breaking the opposition’s defence. Wentworth echoed these attempts, winning a free kick which, as evidenced by an American twanged cussing from the kicker, flew erratically wide.
Several tit-for-tat bouts of play later and Derwent found a way to stretch their lead; a nice passing move between pacey staple Gwinnett and the ever cool Garness resulting in the ball finding the the bottom right corner. In the words of the scorer, “eat my goal!”
Unfortunately for Wentworth, the goal set the mood for the remainder of the match. Aside from a searching freekick from Wentworth’s number 22 and a strong, saved header, the boys in purple struggled to find leeway. Their frustration was encapsulated by their flamboyant and energetic manager, whose cries of “keep it up boys” became increasingly irate as the match continued.
One could see why. Despite Cook’s scrambling display in front of net, denying Derwent three times in the space of a minute, the blue and blacks persevered and Matthew Elvin struck home to make the score 3-0.
Whether the Wentworth player’s were at this stage saturated or struggling due to their missing 14 players, the dying moments saw feet dragged along the ground; Derwent’s impressive Nozaki capitalising twice following strong runs.
With the kit in the laundry, balls in the store cupboard and a strong victory behind them, Derwent can carry on improving and progress in an open competition. For Wentworth, a wiping of the drawing board may be necessary. Despite today’s set back, one suspects they are capable of better things and the stage is set for improvement from their poor opening performances.