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Photos: Oliver Todd
James 1sts claimed the plate and in doing so managed to salvage some form of pride after the embarrassment of the group stages, beating Derwent 2nds 2-1 in a fairly tight and scrappy affair.
Chances were limited in the first half, with both sides slightly hesitant to really go for it, as is often the case with cup finals. James’ first sniff of an opportunity came when the lively Josh Brownlow made a run down the right and crossed in, but Tom Clarke couldn’t get power on his header and it looped harmlessly into the arms of Krishna Yellappa.
Derwent’s first chance was also a headed one. Matt Jenkins launched a long throw into the area which Conor Scanlan got on the end of without much trouble but he flicked his header over the bar.
The majority of the rest of the half’s efforts came from long range. James’ Tom Clarke saw a few ambitious efforts miss the target and captain Simon Mole also blazed a 20 yard effort over the bar.
Attempts such as these were characteristic of James’ performance up until taking the lead. They were in control of the game and looked the better team but lacked patience. They were far too eager to play the final ball and get shots away meaning that they didn’t give themselves time to create much in the way of clear cut opportunities.
Derwent, who had had a penalty claim turned down after Will De Silva was bundled over in the area, had an excellent chance to take the lead when Matt Worsfold played a beautifully weighted ball over the top for Jon Garness. Garness latched on to it but took his shot too early, trying to half-volley a bouncing ball over Clitheroe in the James goal, and his effort went well over.
Suddenly, when it looked as if the sides would go in level at half time, James had the lead. Tom Clarke curled a corner into the area and Richard Baxter rose well and headed high into the top left hand corner to make it 1-0.
Derwent tried to level the scores but Jon Garness was toiling away up top without much luck. Sam Clitheroe punched a James Matthews free-kick straight to Scanlan but his effort went straight back into the hands of the James ‘keeper.
James almost doubled their lead with a goal identical to their first just after the break. Baxter once again rose to meet a Tom Clarke corner but this time his effort was cleared off the line by Will De Silva and Derwent survived.
James were far better after the break and were starting to play some decent football. A well worked move left Josh Brownlow free in the area but Yellappa rushed out to close him down and stop his shot.
Before long however, James were 2-0 up. James Offord found some space in the right side of the area and slotted his shot under the body of Yellappa and into the net, celebrating by pulling his shirt over his head in an Ian Wright-esque manner.
In the game’s longest period of action though, Derwent managed to pull a goal back, and it was no surprise that that goal came courtesy of the prolific Jon Garness. James Matthews played a searching ball in from deep on the right side which found the onrushing Garness. The striker made no mistake and headed past Clitheroe to make it 2-1 and give Derwent hope of a comeback.
Immediately after the goal however, it was James who were putting pressure on the Derwent defence and not the other way around. Clarke had a long range effort deflected behind for a corner and Sam Mellor played a beautiful deep ball in from the left which Clarke managed to get on the end of but headed just wide.
Derwent’s only real opportunity to level came from a corner after Oscar Lynch had headed a Matt Jenkins ball behind, but Jim Norton headed wide.
James saw a Baxter free-kick saved before the final whistle blew and they claimed plate victory. Derwent captain Rick Morris called his opponents ‘a very strong side’. ‘It was a very close game’, he said, ‘I’m a bit gutted we didn’t come out on the winning side’.
James captain Simon Mole looked relieved that his side had managed to partially redeem themselves with this win, saying ‘It was quite a scrappy affair. I’ve got to praise the lads for their attitude after going into the plate when they could have let their heads drop, but I would like to have seen how we would have got on in the cup.’
Vision MOTM: Oscar Lynch:- The James centre-back was solid throughout and managed to keep the prolific Jon Garness quiet for the majority of the game.