By George Liley
A dominant Derwent were comfortable 7-0 winners on 22 acres this morning against a Langwith side struggling for players as well as points. In a fixture racked with rivalry, Derwent proved their dominance and heaped more pain on a struggling Langwith side, despite the Yellow and Black resistance in the first half.
The first half witnessed complete dominance from Derwent as Langwith struggled to formulate any form of attack. With striker Bruce Starkey forced to assume position as goalkeeper, Langwith struggled to utilise forward Matt Derry effectively and found themselves defending in their own half for the majority of the game. Derwent’s midfield dominated comfortably and were unlucky not to make a breakthrough early on with an effort from Jacob Tupper flashing wide and a poor clearance from goalkeeper Starkey falling to the feet of Derwent forward David Kirk, who couldn’t make use of the chance.
Langwith soon found themselves down to nine men early on in the half, with no subs and two injuries. Derwent easily dominated however wasted chances from Kirk and Tupper suggested that Langwith could possibly hold on to half time. However, this was not to be; a moment of madness from Langwith right back Luke Gardener just before half time gifted Derwent a breakthrough. Gardener’s clear hand ball in the area led to a penalty that was comfortably converted by Chris Barnett, delivering a harsh blow to a valiant Langwith side. Some incredible defending from Langwith’s Liam Condron kept his side in the game before the stroke of half time, the first a goal line clearance after a mistake from goalkeeper Starkey, the second an athletic header off the line.
The opening 10 minutes of the second half hinted at a possible upset. Matt Derry found space going forward and troubled the Derwent defence on occasions, however the game was seemingly put out of reach by Andy Jeffries, who hammered the ball home after a latching on to a loose corner early in the half to double the lead. Derwent found clinical finishing with Josh Baines linking well with Xander Brinkworth, whose shot across goal was tapped in by Don Henney to put Derwent 3-0 up. Brinkworth continued to link well with Baines, and the two forced saves from the Langwith keeper; however Baines eventually got in on the act with a powerful header into the top left hand corner to add a fourth. Langwith desperately sought to find a goal, with David Starkey back up front and midfielder Patrick Khosravi assuming position in goal.
More goal line heroics from Langwith defender Condron saw a Derwent effort headed over the bar, however another dangerous Derwent corner found the head of Baines whose effort was turned in by Brinkworth for Derwent’s fifth. A controversial sixth goal was tucked away by Baines after the initial through ball clearly rendered him offside; however decisions went against Langwith, plunging a dagger into their season further. A mistake by Khosravi in goal gifted Henney his second of the match, rounding off a convincing 7-0 win for a rampant Derwent.
Derwent remain one of the teams to beat this year, with an impressive scoring record and a seemingly impenetrable defence. The scoreline on the other hand reflected only Langwith’s misfortunes after playing the majority of the match with only nine players. The Langwith spirit however cannot be questioned, and Langwith’s Condron commented on this, saying: “You can’t fault the effort of the players today”. At times Langwith showed grit and determination with well timed tackles and last ditch defending. Derwent however were always the favourites, and after a rocky opening half an hour ended up comfortable winners over a Langwith side that need to avoid make-shift line-ups if they are to stand any chance of competing in college football this year.