Derwent avenged their loss in last year’s College Cup final with a dramatic victory over Halifax; their fresh faced side coming away with a 4-3 win over their far more experienced opponents.
It was a game that shimmered with promise from the very outset, with the sides looking well matched and up for a battle in a game that not only had college pride at stake, but also the all important three points.
Derwent’s Tom Brandreth and Halifax captain Jack Beadle both saw their efforts miss the target before Halifax produced the best move of the game so far with about ten minutes gone. The combative Matt Mawdesley chipped the ball through to Jones down the right. He crossed the ball with pace and found the head of Hamish Denham, whose effort was too close to Seb Treasure in the Derwent goal.
Not long after, Halifax were made to pay for the miss as Derwent took the lead. David Kirk slipped Bradshaw in behind the Halifax defence. His shot was saved but the rebound fell to Alex d’Albertanson, who tucked the ball into an empty net to make it 1-0.
The goal scorer then denied Halifax an equaliser with some excellent defending, getting to Hamish Denham’s whipped ball from the right just ahead of the onrushing Eliot Ragan and heading behind when any contact from the Halifax forward would surely have levelled the scores.
Halifax were starting to play some nice football in their search for an equaliser, with Jones, Mawdesley and Beadle all combining well, but when they did get their goal, it was through an altogether different style of play.
‘Keeper Jonny Simm booted the ball long from the goal kick and the flick on found the impressive Dan Jones on the right. He deftly chipped Treasure, much to the joy of his team mates, and made it 1-1.
The chances kept coming for both teams, as Derwent’s Ollie Harrison forced Simm to produce a full stretch save to deny his powerful strike and Halifax’s Pilides headed wide from a very tight angle after an excellent ball from Mawdesley.
The game seemed to be going in waves, with the momentum switching frequently between these well-matched sides, and at this point, it was Halifax who were in the ascendency.
Jones saw his tricky turn-and-shot go wide of the upright and Denham had an effort saved after a frantic Halifax attack, but it was centre-back Dom Patrickson who had the best chance to send his side into the break with a 2-1 lead. Mawdesley whipped another inviting ball in from the fruitful right hand side and found the centre back unmarked, but he agonisingly send his header wide when he really should have scored, leaving it 1-1 at half-time.
Halifax continued to be the better side in the opening moments of the second period too, with substitute Craig Dean having an audacious long range strike tipped over, but it was Derwent who were to score next.
Ollie Harrison, who was excellent down the left all game, found David Kirk in acres of space in the area, and his header back across goal beat Simm and nestled in the bottom left corner to regain the lead.
Harrison continued to trouble the Halifax defence, and it was through him that Derwent now took control of the game once again. He had a corner headed just over by Bradshaw and then paced down the wing himself, unleashing a cross-cum-shot which sailed just wide of the upright.
It was then also down to Harrison that the game was lifted out of a rare quiet patch, as he exploded the game back into the life and had Halifax hearts racing with worry. He robbed ‘Fax right back John Ward and broke down the left, cutting inside but unleashing his effort just across the face of goal, denying himself what would have been a superb solo effort.
Derwent had already seen a goal turn the game in their favour, and now it was the turn of Halifax to see the same. Dean’s ball across goal somehow evaded everyone in a crowded penalty area and made its way to Ragan on the left. He crossed in and Patrickson was there to make up for his earlier miss, thumping his header home to make it 2-2.
This goal turned the game in ‘Fax’s favour. Hamish Denham did well to turn and fire a powerful shot just wide under pressure and then didn’t do so well with a much easier chance, ballooning an effort over the bar from the edge of the area.
Dean was then denied by Treasure, as was Matt Mawdesley, who had been put through thanks to a skilful Denham flick on, and just as Halifax looked like they might be the team to snatch victory, a goal once again came against the run of play.
Brandreth rose highest in the box to meet Harrison’s corner and Derwent had a 3-2 lead with not long to go.
You felt that Halifax would have to reply almost immediately, and that’s exactly what they did. The men in white were awarded a controversial penalty after Harrison was adjudged to have pulled down Patrickson in the area, and Mawdesley made no mistake from the spot, putting the ball out of Treasure’s reach into the top right to level things up once again.
After Halifax’s Meckin clipped the top of the bar with an effort, it looked like the spoils would be shared, but the game had once final twist in store. Derwent’s Harry Bradshaw burst way on the break down the centre and found himself with men over and options to choose from. He chose to feed Jake Farrell on the left, and the choice proved an exquisite one, as the midfielder slammed his shot low into the bottom corner to make it 4-3 and give his side an heroic victory.
‘The performance was amazing’, said delighted Derwent captain Joe Boughtflower after the final whistle, ‘we played the game how it was meant to be done. We stopped them playing and scored four really good goals. For a team with five or six freshers we’re looking really, really good’.
A disappointed Jack Beadle rued his side’s wastefulness. ‘We were unlucky, we battled hard’, he said. ‘If we’d have taken a few more chances we’d be looking at a different score line’.
As it is, Derwent avenged last year’s cup final loss and have started the season with two wins, whilst the College Cup champions are yet to register a point.
Vision MOTM: Ollie Harrison