[visiongallery set=72157638008124255]
Photos: Jack Western
Determined to pile the pressure onto James College ahead of next week’s title decider, Derwent put Langwith to the sword in a dominant performance on 22 Acres. It took them a good twenty-five minutes to break the deadlock, but when Josh Bew turned in a rebound from a Kris Cheshire save, Derwent never looked back. A double salvo from Tom Sherbourne and Josh Bew completing his hat-trick with two late goals saw off the Langwith resistance and grabbed Derwent three deserved points.
It was Derwent who started the brighter with some good possession play. Skilful winger Ollie Harrison terrorised Langwith right-back Alex Chaimo on a number of occasions- one of his crosses was inches from the head of Josh Bew on the break. In the twenty-fifth minute, it was that man Bew who would break the deadlock when a driving run from right-back Mark Askham drew a low save from Kris Cheshire, but Bew was alive to the danger and tucked away the rebound. 2-0 arrived just nine minutes later, when an inswinging cross from composed midfielder Alex D’Albertanson was flicked on by Andrew Naylor. Cheshire’s gloves proved oil-coated yet again, and as the ball squirted away from him, centre-half Tom Sherbourne stroked the ball into an empty net from close range.
There was a controversial moment shortly after the break as the referee gave Derwent a penalty, blowing his whistle and pointing to the spot- but was overheard saying ‘You’re already 2-0 up’ as he changed his mind and gave the decision the other way, inciting anger among the Derwent players and relief in the Langwith ranks. It proved to be largely inconsequential as Derwent were three to the good shortly after- and there was nothing Kris Cheshire could do about it this time as Sherbourne found himself in a pocket of space in the area yet again- controlling a cool volley past the goalkeeper with the side of his foot from just outside the six-yard box. Langwith would go on to defend determinedly after every goal they conceded- they cannot be condemned for capitulation, but such was Derwent’s capability on the attack the match felt somewhat like the Alamo at times.
As Langwith sat ever deeper, Derwent needed to pick their moments with precision, and it was an opportunistic finish from the ever threatening Josh Bew that made it four, angling a cute sidefoot past the scrambling ‘keeper from inside the box. Five was a formality as Bew ghosted his way into the box late on, outfoxing Kris Cheshire as he came out to make the block and flicking the ball past him to finish the job. There was still time for Langwith to gain a soft penalty in contentious circumstances, but defeated captain Marcus Campbell had no conviction on the spot, skewing his spot-kick harmlessly over the bar and allowing the largely untroubled Derwent ‘keeper Felix Aylett to comfortably procure a clean sheet.
VISION MOTM: Josh Bew
DERWENT (4-2-3-1): Aylett, Askham, Sherbourne, Tapper, Whittall, D’Albertanson, Naylor, Gwinnett, Harrison, Weighall, Bew
Subs: Delay
LANGWITH (4-2-3-1): Cheshire, Chaimo, Pickersgill, Jones, Benney, Campbell, Hemingway, Hazell, Hutt, Morton, Parsonson
Subs: Guy, Starling, Shonibare, Abubaker
Derwent captain Dave Belshaw: “We did what we had to do today. Great effort from Tom Sherbourne in scoring two goals from centre-half and Josh Bew for his hat-trick. Langwith played well, but we had too much quality in the final third, and I’m confident we’ll go and beat James. There was a couple of strange decisions from the referee, but we conduct ourselves professionally in these situations.”
Langwith captain Marcus Campbell: “They [Derwent] were a really good side. This was a poor way to end the season. I want to redeem myself for that penalty miss- I’ll definitely take the next one!”