Vanbrugh 1s 4 – 1 Wentworth 1s
Joe Lund Ben Keane
Andriy Tabas
Joe Watkins
Oli Vvyan
Wentworth were relegated after losing to 4-1 to Vanbrugh in the Revolution Premier League’s last game of the season.
Goodricke’s defeat to Langwith meant that Wentworth would only need a point from their last game to stay up. Would they be able to bounce back from their 15-0 loss to Halifax to avoid the drop????
They started off well and the game was fairly even for the first fifteen minutes. However, a Joe Lund header from a Watkins corner put Wentworth behind and made their mission even harder.
Not too long after Lund’s goal the ball dropped to Vanbrugh left back Andriy Tabas who smashed it from 30 yards on the half volley into the top right hand corner. This was arguably the best goal I’ve seen all season and the only thing missing from it was Martin Tyler in the background screaming ‘GERRAAAAAARD’ as he smashed it. *Andy Gray voice* Take a bow son.
2-0 down at half time, Wentworth had a steep mountain to climb and they would really need to step it up in the second half to have a chance of staying in the league. They did just that, scoring soon after the break when Ben Keane out jumped his man from a Wentworth free kick to make it 2-1.
Wentworth were now growing into the game and using their physical presence to assert themselves and create a few chances. Was the comeback on? Would they manage to get the point they needed to stay up? Why am I asking so many questions?
Unfortunately for Wentworth they gave away a penalty through a Du Toit handball which Joe Watkins scored and essentially confirmed their relegation.
Vanbrugh still weren’t satisfied and scored again late in the half through MOTM Oli Vvyan who finished off a Barca-style Vanbrugh move with a neat first time finish into the bottom left corner from inside the box.
The game ended 4-1 and despite Wentworth’s strong performance and passion they couldn’t manage to avoid relegation. They finished bottom of the league with 3 points (Goodricke also had 3 points but avoided relegation as they had a better goal difference than Wentworth).
Wentworth’s captain thought that they got relegated due to their poor defence, however their team was still in high spirits after the game and they will probably enjoy playing with more equal competition in the 2s league.
I caught up with Vanbrugh midfielder/right back/sideman Tom Siddle after the game who said that ‘We were sloppy today and this was because we had nothing to play for and so didn’t show enough passion and intensity. He was pleased with the Vanbrugh’s 1s season and said that ‘we did well to finish 3rd this season considering that we were missing so many players throughout the season’.
Vanbrugh have done particularly well this season finishing third in the 1s league, 2nd in the 2s league and 2nd in the 3s league. Maybe the 1s could push on next season to finish in the top two and put an end to the Derwent-James dominance of the Revolution Premier League.
Key performers: Gerard Ekembe was strong at right back for Wentworth and was their best player. Matt Polts was dangerous on the right wing for Vanbrugh throughout due to his pace. However, MOTM goes to Vanbrugh centre mid Oli Vvyan who scored a nice goal, was strong in the air and dominated the midfield from start to finish.
Vanbrugh 1sts XI (4-3-3) – Callum Lennox; Tom Siddle, Kyle Picknell, Brad Dunkley, Andriy Tabas; Oli Vvyan, Troy Carruthers, Matt Potts; Joe Watkins, Joe Lund, Andy Miller.
Subs: Callum Long, Eliot Glanvill.
Wentworth 1sts XI (4-4-2) – Matt Taylor; Ben Keane, Erasmus Du Toit, Aiden Collins, Chris Clemo, Muttu Cukurova, Niklas Muhlack, Samuel Nedley, Rocky O-Finlay, Carl Hodgson.
Subs: Stefan Nikolic, Kevin Kennedy, Gerard Ekembe.
The Revolution Premier League Final Day as it happened: http://www.yorkvision.co.uk/sport/revolution-premier-league-live-blog-231114/23/11/2014