Alcuin 2 Langwith 1

In a match where the wind dictated much of the day’s play, Alcuin were forced to dig deep for the victory as they grinded out a 2-1 against a Langwith team which played the whole of the second half with 9 men.

The presence of Udy Onwudike once again proved the difference, as the striker continued his impressive form from the previous weekend with both the goals for Alcuin. However, a Danny Cullen goal between Onwudike’s strikes made for a nervy finish, as Alcuin looked to make ground on those colleges at the summit of the table.

Both sides struggled to excert a rhythm in the match, but it was Alcuin who were able to get on top of the difficult conditions, when, in the opening 25 minutes, man of the match, Onwudike was left unmarked from a corner and latched onto a loose ball to give Alcuin the lead.

Alcuin’s players could have been forgiven for thinking this was to settle into a walk in the park. Yet, even with a team which was to be forced to play key striker Bruce Starkey in goal, Langwith somehow got themselves an equaliser. The onus was on Danny Cullen to deliver, and he made little mistake as he pounced on a ball which was parried into his path to tap home to make it 1-1 at half time.

The next 45 minutes were to prove more a test of physical ability for Langwith as they were forced down to nine men, following late first half injuries. Still, the yellows gave as good as they had, and for the majority, looked to be restricting their opoonents to little more than half chances. Christie Cormac found his shot on goal comfortably saved, and Miles McDermott was denied from a decent wide move, as Starkey prevented his opponents from scoring the kind of goals he so often does in his usual position.

Needless to say, Langwith’s tiredness soon began to tell, with Alcuin beginning to get on top of their opponens. So it proved 10 minutes from time, when Starkey, who was now playing in his favoured advanced role, could only watch Cormac skip past a weary Langwith defence, and place an inch-perfect cross onto the head of Onwudike, who placed it with ease between the sticks. The goal, coming ten minutes from time, enabled Alcuin to match Derwent at the summit of the table, who could only play out a goalless draw in their match.

Photos by Siobhan Crittenden and Daniel Gilks