Langwith showed great spirit to fight back from two goals down to secure a point against Alcuin in horrific conditions at the 3G. An uninspiring encounter – in no way helped by the weather – saw an Andy Fernando double take Alcuin into the break with a two goal lead before Langwith’s Matt Morton hit back with a second half double of his own.
It was a game which was expected to be tight, with both teams sitting at the lower end of the table. Langwith came on strong in the opening stages, before Fernando scored the game’s opener against the run of play. He managed to double his team’s lead and bag himself a brace with a sweet strike just before half time, making Langwith’s task even harder. They rose to the challenge however, and a beautiful team goal finished off by Matt Morton in the first few minutes of the second half buoyed the men in yellow, and they managed to secure a point through Morton’s second of the match.
The opening few minutes were relatively even, with much of the play situated in the middle of the park. Langwith slowly began to take control of the midfield and found themselves on the front foot.
Dyaus Gohil-Patel forced Neil Lawrence into a decent stop at the near post with a well-taken effort before Marcus Campbell failed to bring down a free kick right in front of goal. Alcuin were looking shaky at the back and Gohil-Patel managed to fashion another decent opening but only managed to shoot straight at the keeper.
Alcuin’s first decent sight of goal came when they were awarded a free kick within shooting range. Fernando stepped up and his curling strike was brilliantly tipped onto the bar by Langwith keeper Le Cornu.
Seconds later Alcuin were given another free kick in a dangerous position, this time out wide. The ball was whipped into a threatening area and a goalmouth scramble ensued, eventually being dispatched into the net by Fernando. It was a scrappy goal to say the least, but Alcuin now found themselves ahead against the run of play, with Langwith dejected.
Alcuin seemed encouraged by their opener and were now in the ascendancy, looking for that important second goal. They nearly found it when Matt Barrie headed goalwards from a corner, but Le Cornu was equal to it. Some great passing between Jeremy Nestor and Michael Garn led to a chance for striker McLarty, but his shot cleared the crossbar.
They eventually found their second, and it was a very different goal to their first. Some slick passing on the edge of the box found Fernando on the right edge of the area. The ball bounced up nicely for him and he had no hesitation in swinging his foot through it, striking a rasping low drive into the far corner.
Carrying a 2-0 advantage into the second half, it was Alcuin who looked likely to push on and take the three points. However, Langwith had other ideas and immediately pulled one back through winger Morton.
A flowing move from midfield found its way into the Alcuin box and Morton was on hand to place the ball past Lawrence and bring the men in yellow back into the game.
Alcuin then had a chance to restore their two-goal lead when Langwith substitute Shonibare miscued his clearance but centre back Sean Perera was unable to convert from close range.
Both teams had subsequent chances to score but none were able to find the back of the net. It looked like the game was fizzling out before Langwith were able to draw level with Morton’s second.
Ben Grindell made an enterprising run down the left, exchanging passes with Gohil-Patel before unselfishly lifting the ball to the back post for Morton to tap in and secure Langwith a deserved point.
Alcuin skipper Peter Kennick bemoaned his team’s second half performance: “It was a game of two halves, we dominated the first half and should have put the game to bed. Our second half performance was woeful so we deserved nothing from that half. Overall should have won but we can only blame ourselves for failing to do so”.
Langwith captain Tom Benney thought his team deserved to come away with a point: “Despite going 2-0 down again we battled hard, with Steve making some good saves to keep the score down throughout. Our first goal was one of the best team goals I’ve seen in college football, and overall I think we deserved a point”.
Vision MotM: Le Cornu (Langwith)
Langwith 1sts: Le Cornu, Grindell, Campbell, Pickersgil, Benney (c); Vidal, Parsonson, Pegg, Morton, Abubaker; Gohil-Patel. Subs: Teffy, Shonibare
Alcuin 1sts: Lawrence, Farrant, Toumazou, Perera, Kennick (c); Barrie, McConnell, Nestor, Fernando, Garn, McLarty. Subs: Carver, Houlgate.