College football: James 2-0 Alcuin

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Photos: Zoe Bennell

A rather turgid affair on 22 acres ended with a late James victory thanks to attacking midfielder James Davies. Davies scored twice in the final ten minutes to bring the game to life after what had been a relatively dull encounter.

After opening the scoring courtesy of brilliant run and finish on the counter-attack, he added a second shortly before the whistle after a cool finish from the edge of the area.

The game was at times feisty, with a few big tackles flying in from both sides, some more fair-spirited than others.

While James certainly seemed to have more of the possession and more of the chances, they did not really test Alcuin goalkeeper Dave Marshall for the majority of the game, until Davies’ two late goals which sealed the victory.

The early moments saw chances for both sides, though very little gilt-edged for either. The best came in the 4^th minute as Davies met a cross at the back post, but his header was well saved by Marshall.

On the whole, James saw more of the ball, but Alcuin successfully applied pressure to their possession. As a result, James struggled to settle in the game.

In a half devoid of real quality, it was a moment of controversy which stuck in the memory. Josh Spurling for James and Jacob Burge for Alcuin went in for a loose ball. Burge got his toe to it first, and Spurling came through late and made contact, much to the chagrin of his opponent.

The referee correctly gave Alcuin the free-kick, but it could have been more as studs were on show and the foot came through over the ball.

Half-time came and went and so followed a second half which was, for long periods, just like the first in terms of quality. James did grow more into the game, and could claim to have had more territory and chances than their opponents.

But it was Alcuin who had the first chance, as Danny Matthews found himself one-on-one with Luke Bradley in the James goal. However the angle was very tight and, though Matthews got the ball past the keeper, he could not direct it into the goal.

After this James found themselves creating more chances. Both Ralph Gill and Spurling connected with corners but saw their headers go wide. It was from corners that James were most threatening, whereas Alcuin’s best moves seemed to come on the counter.

It was all the more ironic, then, that James opened the scoring thanks to a quick break. Alcuin’s Chris Boyd floated in a free kick from his own half, which was well cleared.

The ball fell to Davies, just inside his own half, and he beat both Boyd and Harry Billimore to be through on goal. He bared down on the onrushing keeper Marshall, but he coolly slotted the ball into the net for 1-0.

Though they did try to push for an equaliser, the goal did seem to have broken an Alcuin side who had been so resolute in the rest of the match. This allowed Davies to put the match to bed just before the full-time whistle.

The ball dropped nicely for Davies on the edge of the Alcuin box, inside left, and he rifled a low shot just inside Marshall’s right-hand post, the full stretch keeper unable to get a hand on it.

2-0 reflected James’ share of the play, but it was truly only down to the two late flashes of quality by Davies that they came away with the win.

Josh Spurling, James captain, said after the game: “It was a good performance. I can’t remember last time we got a clean sheet. I think we were on top throughout, but we needed a goal. I thought we were always going to grab a goal, it just felt that way. With the wind helping, we were in their half for the whole of the second half.”

Alcuin’s Chris Boyd told Vision: “I was really really proud of the performance. Every single player has played really well, I couldn’t fault anyone on the team. I think 0-0 would have been a fair result, the way the game was going, I think we were defending well, but at the end of the day they got two goals.”