Vanbrugh 1sts 3 Halifax 1sts 0
Vanbrugh caused one of the tournament’s major upsets today, defeating highly-tipped favourites Halifax.
Two late goals added gloss to the result of a match in which Vanbrugh surprised everyone with their determination and skill. Although finalists last year, Vanbrugh had been ignored by observers when it came to predicting this year’s winners, with teams such as Halifax, Alcuin and Derwent deemed more likely champions.
Vanbrugh thoroughly deserved the win though in a game that was low on genuine chances but high on quality. Both teams started well, with Halifax’s smooth play easy on the eye. Vanbrugh were unwilling to lie down for their vaunted opponents though, proving themselves more than capable in defence to deal with any potential danger. Chances were sparse though, with both sides cancelling each other out. Vanbrugh’s main source of goal threat came from the Delap-esque throws of players such as James Carr into the penalty area, whilst Halifax couldn’t break past a strong Vanbrugh backline. It wasn’t until fifteen minutes in when Vanbrugh’s striker found himself clean through on goal, only to be hacked down by Halifax’s last man. An immediate free-kick was given, although the referee balked at the prospect of dishing out the red card that seemed justified.
With only seconds to go before half time Vanbrugh opened the scoring, courtesy of an absolute howler from Halifax goalkeeper Eddie Kris. Diving to catch a seemingly harmless shot, he somehow contrived to let the ball slip between his hands and dribble into the goal. Vanbrugh couldn’t believe it, and as the half-time whistle blew a clearly stunned Halifax couldn’t either.
Affected by the goal, Halifax began the second half with a string of errors, almost letting in Vanbrugh straight from the kick-off with a careless pass. Halifax were almost in on goal themselves only moments later, with a superb through ball only foiled by the impressive Vanbrugh goalkeeper Paul Taylor, who anticipated the danger and was off his line in a flash to scoop up the loose ball.
Much as in the first half, chances were almost non-existent, despite the high standard of play. As time started to run out Halifax pushed forward in search of an equaliser, but with five minutes to go Vanbrugh capitalised on their opponents’ desperation. Inside a crowded penalty area Vanbrugh player Phil Taylor instinctively stuck his leg out to guide a shot into the net and make it 2-0, and then with just a minute left striker Ali Prince finished from close-range, his shot parried by Kris into the goal.
Halifax can take comfort from the fact that this was only a group match, but will look for more potency in attack for their next game. They didn’t do much wrong, but should be worried at how few chances they created today. Last year’s finalists looked every bit potential College Cup champions, and after claiming Halifax’s scalp Vanbrugh should be confident of going one further this year.
James 2nds 1 Goodricke 3rds 0
By Rebecca O’Dwyer
In a lack-lustre game with few chances, a solid James 2nds secured a win over a Goodricke 3rds team that lacked commitment.
A climbing header set for the left hand corner from James’ Richard Baxter materialised during the third minute to put James a goal ahead from the off. The first half continued with combined positive play from James’ O’Brien and Cooke, but any real chances on goal were rare.
Goodricke prevented James from capitalising on their early goal with a committed defensive display by Tommy Saint and Joshua Savage, each displaying admirable determination.
The second half commenced with a renewed vigour from James’s 2nds team, with a few well placed crosses coming frustratingly close to breaking Goodricke’s defensive line. The final phase of the game continued without Goodricke making any inroads into James half, and the two free kicks they were awarded at the end of the game flew wide of the goal posts, with James’ man between the sticks Sam Clitheroe never being in any danger.
At the final whistle the score remained 1-0 to James. James’ captain James Worthington commented that he, “would have liked a few more goals, however a win is a win and so bring on Halifax 1sts.” This is a clearly ambitious James side that have yet to produce their best performance on the pitch in this competition so far.
I did not balk at giving a red, which could only have be given in this situation if I believed that the foul denied an obvious goalscoring opportunity, represented serious foul play, or I felt the player was guilty of using excessive force.
With regards the second and third points, the lad made a genuine attempt to get the ball with the right amount of force and was in control of his actions. I just felt that he connected with the Vanbrugh lad before he touched the ball. I was pretty close to play and feel I got it right, but at that speed there is of course a chance I didn’t.
Once given though I have to assess whether it is an obvious goal scoring opportunity, however I felt that the Vanbrugh striker’s first touch had actually taken him quite wide and pushed the ball possibly beyond the point where a shot would’ve been easy for him to take. I felt it had entered the realm of half-chance rather than obvious goalscoring opportunity and as such didn’t show the red.
Obviously could’ve been wrong, but I didn’t balk, I just had my reasons not to issue the red.