Jon Garness stole the show when Alcuin and Derwent met in Tuesday’s College Cup match. Both Steve Walwyn and Garness pushed for an early goal for Derwent but they couldn’t put the ball past Alcuin’s keeper Damian Pickard. Walwyn was a crucial player during the first half, acting as a pivot on the left wing and providing beautifully timed passes to his team mates.
Ben Cresswell began to cause problem for the Alcuin defence with some skillful footwork, and eventually Garness made it 1-0 to Derwent; dribbling past several Alcuin players to slip it behind the keeper after 20 minutes of play. This was a blow to Alcuin’s confidence who played a strong defensive game for the rest of the half.
Derwent’s Will De Silva had a powerful shot on goal during the opening minutes of the second half but Alcuin responded by picking up the pace, causing their opposition to panic under the pressure. They finally made their attack after Chris Boyd’s great delivery from a free kick caused Derwent keeper Krishna Yellappa to make his first diving save of the match. He then made a second fantastic save as the Alcuin attack continued to push for a goal. However, they weren’t successful, and ten minutes into the second half, Garness scored his second for Derwent, tapping the ball into the back of the net.
Excitement grew as the possibility of a hat-trick looked likely during the closing stages of the match, but Garness sent the ball wide. Alcuin had an opportunity to claw their way back into the game with a consolation goal, when captain David Ambrozejczyk passed a free kick from just outside the area to Johnny Lane. But the shot went over the bar.
The winners performed well under the direction of Rick Morris, who captained the squad for the first time. He commented that it was a “very strong performance throughout the team. A great start to this year’s college cup for us. We want to keep grounded though and continue to play well”.