In a contest between the two sides who were battling to avoid the wooden spoon in Group A, Wentworth 2nds defeated Alcuin 2nds 4-1, and consigned Alcuin to their third defeat of the tournament and bottom place in the group.
In contrast it is an excellent finish to the campaign for Wentworth, who have progressed through to the plate competition after this win. In truth 4-1 flattered Wentworth, as three goals in the space of ten second half minutes proved the difference between the two sides, in what was largely a close contest.
Alcuin started the game brightly, with George Brough and George Hesselgren both threatening in the early stages. At the other end Wentworth thought they had opened the scoring as the ball found its way into the back of the net, but the goal was correctly disallowed by Max Brewer for offside.
Minutes later though Wentworth did open the scoring, courtesy of a goalkeeping error by Neil Lawrence. Vasileios Kourvelos squared the ball to David Clinton and the later turned and unleashed his shot straight at Lawrence. The ‘keeper then tried to stop the ball with his foot rather than hands, and it bobbled past him and into the net.
Alcuin though probed for an equaliser, with Brough unable to convert a chance after getting on the end of an excellent set piece delivery from Stephen Harget. Alcuin though did equalise midway through the half, and the goal was arguably the strike of the tournament. The ball broke to James Homer, and the midfielder unleashed a rasping drive which curled into the top corner, with Mat Taylor rooted to the spot.
Alcuin then looked to build on their momentum, as they slightly edged the first half, with Ben Bugeja and Ben Carver both coming close. Wentworth though came closest to retaking the lead, as Nick Townson swung in a corner from the right which beat everyone and struck the post.
Alcuin knew that they had to win the game to avoid finishing bottom of the group, and in the second half they pushed more men forward, leaving gaps open for Wentworth to exploit. Indeed it was the postgraduates who started the second period more brightly, Townson curling a freekick narrowly over, and Alcuin relying on strong defending from the likes of Ben Rigby and Chris Houlgate.
Defensively Wentworth remained solid, with midfielders Eamann O’Connor and Chris McGuire affording excellent protection to their back four, which was well marshalled by the experienced Selahattin Kosunalp.
George Brough appeared to be Alcuin’s most likely scorer, as he tested Taylor twice, the second with a first time volley after an excellent delivery from substitute Tom Armstrong. Alcuin continued to battle in search of a second goal, but with 15 minutes remaining they fell behind.
The goal came when Iain Parker hooked the ball into the path of Clinton, who stooped at the back post to nod his header back across goal and into the back of the net. Minutes later the game was all but over, as Wentworth added a third, Kourvelos flicking the ball into the path of Parker who prodded past Lawrence and into the gaping goal.
Alcuin’s misery was compounded in the closing minutes, as Wentworth added a fourth this time courtesy of an own goal from the hapless Lawrence. Kourvelos fed James Lomas and from the right he drilled a cross in, which Lawrence diverted into his own net to add to his woes on what was a miserable day for the Alcuin shot stopper.
After the game a delighted Wentworth manager Dan Howden told Vision: “Out of this group we targeted 12 points, and believed we had a realistic chance of getting nine points and qualifying for the cup. I’m really pleased that we finished the groups well, and qualified for the plate, whilst I’m glad we avoided James 1sts in the cup, who would have hammered us.”
Alcuin Captain Chris Houlgate was disappointed by his side’s defeat and commented: “I thought the performance today was good for the most part, and for the first 45 minutes it was the best we have played and I think we were the better team. We had to go for it and win, and left ourselves open at the back for the three goals. We knew when we saw the group that we had as much of a chance of finishing second as sixth, as all the sides apart from Halifax were well matched.”
Vision MOTM: Chris McGuire