Everybody who watched today’s Plate final was treated to a spectacle of free flowing, attacking football from both sides. For that much credit must go to both sets of players, who gave it their all representing their college.
Wentworth 2nds:
David Cook: 9
Cook was in superb form for Wentworth between the sticks, making one exceptional save, and a series of other good saves and claims from crosses. Beaten at the very end was a shame for a performance which deserved a clean sheet
Nick Townson: 7
Solid at the back, Townson made tackles and distributed play effectively down the right flank. His work rate was tremendous and he’s had a good tournament throughout.
Mladen Sormaz: 7
Like Townson, Sormaz was strong at the back, helping to quell any threat down the left flank. He was strong in the air, and good on the deck as well.
Mark Eslick: 7
Eslick gave his all for the cause, fighting from first whistle to the last. Aerially he was superb, and his work ethic epitomized Wentworth’s spirit.
Selahattin Kosunalp: 8
Throughout the tournament Kosunalp has been superb at the heart of the defence. Winning aerial battles despite his small stature, and showing good speed and awareness, he had another top notch game today.
Greg Kearney: 8
Kearney’s work rate was second to none on the pitch, putting in the hard yard over the pitch. He tackled well throughout, and his passing was superb, creating attacks.
Rich Rhodes: 9
Rhodes had arguably his best performance of the tournament, commanding the midifeld along with Kearney. He moved the ball excellently, and always supplied an option for his teammates, working tirelessly for the cause.
Mutlu Cukurova: 7
Popped up to score the third goal, and generally had a good game down the left flank. Cukurova used his size to worthwhile effect winning headers and causing trouble for the opposition.
Matt Beacham: 9
A superb performance for Beacham, who scored the first, and could have had more with slightly more luck. He caused chaos down the right, linking up with teammates excellently.
Samir Abdoulaye: 8
Abdoulaye added a creative touch to the Wentworth side, linking up with Murray superbly. He played a hand in the first, and was instrumental in other moves as well.
Lachlan Murray: 10
What to say? Absolutely outstanding. Murray caused havoc amongst the Vanbrugh defence, ripping it to shreds at times with his pace and power. Scored one, created the other two, and was superb throughout.
Substitutes:
Wataru Yamaguchi: 7
A lively cameo down the right flank. His touch was good and he added new impetus which threatened in the closing stages.
James Lomax: 6
Very little time to make an impact, but displayed some decent touches.
Vanbrugh 3rds
Kallum Taylor: 7
Perhaps at fault for the third goal, but kept his side in the game at times with a string of strong saves, particularly from Murray.
Mark Lajca: 6
The Vanbrugh skipper gave his all, but after a superb tournament struggled at times today. Nevertheless it was a solid and hard working performance.
George Barnard: 5
The Vanbrugh left back had a challenging day against Murray and Beacham, but emerged with credit, despite at times being caught out of position.
Charlie Frobisher: 6
Struggled to deal with the pace and power of Murray, but there’s no shame in that, as many others have also done over the course of the tournament. His work rate and effort can’t be faulted, and he won his fair share of headers.
Alex Habeck: 7
Excellent throughout the tournament, and despite not being at his best today, he was probably his side’s best defender. Good in the air, and calm on the ball himself, he helped to keep the scoreline down to 3-1.
James Robinson: 5
Largely anonymous in the first half, as he worked hard but couldn’t get on the ball a great deal. Substituted early in second half.
Tom Fisher: 6
The right midfielder was bright in the early stages for Vanbrugh but faded slightly as the game progressed. Almost opened the scoring only to be denied by a good stop by Cook.
Max Poynter Hall: 7
It was a hard task against the Wentworth duo of Rhodes and Kearney, but made a solid contribution, with some probing runs and cutting edge passes. One of his side’s better players on the day.
Seb Knight: 6
A decent if not spectacular display. Tried his best to break up play, but couldn’t get on the ball as much as he would have liked to.
Callum Priest: 5
Priest has had a good tournament but like others wasn’t at his best today. At times he lacked service, and despite giving his all, he lost too many aerial battles to Kosunalp and Eslick.
Adam Lewis: 7
Poor in the first half, Lewis picked it up in the second, showing his potential with some dangerous runs, and eventually bagging a goal, after he had earlier been denied by a superb Cook save.
Substitutes:
Chris Mason: 5
Came on for Robinson, but hobbled off injured minutes later, so no time to make a real impact.
Jack Coy: 5
Gave everything for the cause, but didn;t have any major impact on the game after replacing the injured Mason with 20 minutes to go.