Goodricke firsts took charge of Group C and all but guaranteed their place in the knockout stages of the College Cup with a 2-0 win over Alcuin.
Goals from Mizan Ally and Dave Bullock gave the men from Hes East a deserved victory, against an Alcuin side who failed to create enough clear cut chances to warrant a win that would have taken them above their opponents.
Goodricke were robbed of captain Joe Mann through a broken rib, but still managed to exert their influence in the centre of the park to claim a comfortable, if scrappy, win.
A nervy first-half of few chances saw Alcuin getting the better of their opponents in a vastly improved performance to their last game against Halifax 2nds, where they faded out after taking a tenth minute lead.
Ally and Chadwick both had shots from range early on, with little success, before an excellent pass from midfield opened up the Goodricke defence for the best chance of the half.
James Homer was at the heart of many of Alcuin’s better moves, and set up that chance after 13 minutes. His first-time lofted through ball found Chadwick through on goal, after the striker had fought off the challenge of a Goodricke defender. Chadwick was thwarted though by ‘keeper John Thompson, who bravely stopped the Alcuin man in his path before the ball was cleared off the line by the recovering defender.
Goodricke’s defence – yet to concede a goal in the tournament, stood firm throughout the rest of the half though, and at the other end of the pitch, Ally opened the scoring just before half-time. A cross from the right-hand side found the diminutive forward who sent a diving header into the bottom corner of Lawrence’s net.
Alcuin’s players protested strongly for offside but, with the College Cup operating without any linesman, their claims were rejected and the goal stood. It was a lead that Goodricke just about deserved on the balance of play, having enjoyed the better of a poor first-half.
The second-half was much improved though, and Goodricke were unlucky not to double their lead inside the first couple of minutes. Dave Bullock, who was beginning to impose himself on the game out wide, beat his man before sending a cross to the back post which was met by Dan Gorringe – his header, though, simply sent the ball back across goal to be cleared by Harry Billimore.
Two minutes later though, Goodricke did double their lead. The ball again found itself at Bullock’s feet on the left-wing and after cutting between two defenders he fired in a shot that Neil Lawrence saved with his feet, the ball fell back to Bullock though, who sent his scuffed effort into the bottom corner to effectively guarantee a Goodricke victory with 24 minutes remaining.
Goodricke went on to squander further chances to extend their lead, with Chris Osborne and Luke Inness both guilty of wasteful efforts from moves that Bullock played a part in.
Alcuin’s Chadwick could have pulled one back with 10 minutes to go but was denied by an excellent save from Thompson, tipping Chadwick’s point blank header over the crossbar, before Chadwick headed over another chance minutes later.
By that time though, Goodricke were closing down a game that was long finished, and as the referee blew for full-time, the men in green had stepped down into second gear, with victory and top spot in the group at the end of the day guaranteed.
Following Halifax 2nds’ 9-0 win over Langwith 2nds, they sit two points clear at the summit with a top-of-the-table clash with ‘Fax up next on Tuesday Week 6.
Goodricke captain Mann was delighted with his side’s performance, and told Vision: “It was fantastic, we were well in control – I think I’ll drop myself more often! We controlled the game from start to finish, it was excellent.
“I think it’s in our hands now. Hopefully we’ll get a result against Halifax next week to see us top the group and move onto the quarters.”
Alcuin captain Boyd remained positive despite the defeat, saying: “I think this was the game that we always thought would be our toughest game. We’re in exactly the same place as we were when we started the game.
“We know what we need to do which is to win both of our remaining games which we’re all ready and raring to do.”
Looking back at the proceedings of the past two weeks, Boyd added: “Last week we were poor but this week every player played really well and we were unlucky to lose.”
Monday saw College Cup Group C begin to take shape, as Goodricke 1sts forced their way past Alcuin 1sts to top the group and put themselves in pole position to reach the knockout stages.
Dave Bullock was the star of the show, grabbing the second goal in a deserved 2-0 victory.
Halifax 2nds find themselves in second place after they took apart Langwith’s second string side. Connor McCoy and Hamish Denham both grabbed hat-tricks in an embarrassing thumping, where their opponents barely made it into their half from first whistle to last.
Meanwhile, Ben Huckle inspired Vanbrugh 3rds to a 4-2 victory over Wentworth 3rds with two goals and two assists to move his side off the bottom of the table, and into the Plate qualifying places.
As the Cup moves into its third week, a number of sides will be looking to assert their authority in each of the four groups.