On some days it appears as though Derwent are managed by a certain Arsene Wenger. Granted the pitch at the Emirates is a thousand times more playable than those at the 22 acres, which are at times infuriatingly poor, but both Derwent and the Arsenal team of the past few years have had the same problem; despite being accomplished footballing sides they lack a killer instinct and despite managing to grind out a 1-0 victory last time out there was no late winner this time.
In reality it was hard to fault the players for the way the game developed. The wind swirled and took hold of every high ball and the potholed pitch was unforgiving in the extreme. Given Halifax’s draw with Goodricke, a win for Derwent in this fixture would have given them breathing space at the top of the table, but they found chances hard to come by, and Paul Taylor in the Vanbrugh net was rarely troubled in the first half. Attempts to concentrate efforts on Vanbrugh’s left flank met only with the solid resistance of Vanbrugh right back Dan Hewitt, who let nothing past him.
Derwent then found themselves slightly on the back foot for the second half as their defence, which an onlooker from Wentworth rightly described as ‘excellent’, were made to prove their worth. The alarms bells first sounded when Dan Hewitt blasted just wide from an acute angle and hearts were in mouths again ten minutes later when a shot from Vanbrugh forward Liam Regan was saved, only to rebound onto Derwent defender Sam Walwyn, who managed to just recover in time to hack the ball off the line after it had ricocheted off the post.
Walwyn then went close at the right end. His free kick on the edge of the area was heading towards the bottom right hand corner before Paul Taylor got a hand to it and it was again action man Walwyn who met the resultant corner, only to head wide.
Despite Vanbrugh being reduced to ten men through injury for the last ten minutes, both sides seemed to have settled for a draw. Maybe Mother’s day was just not the place for a blood and thunder fight to the end. Whatever the case it was a match where Vanbrugh clearly demonstrated that they belong higher up the table whilst Derwent may live to regret a missed opportunity.