Mcleod the difference in heated encounter between James and Vanbrugh
VANBRUGH FIRSTS 1 – 3 JAMES FIRSTS
Images: Justyn Hardcastle
A bad tempered encounter between two of the sides fancied to lift this year’s College Cup trophy was won by James, thanks in no small part to a sterling display from Mark Mcleod and two goals from James Offord.
A large crowd on the JLD witnessed perhaps the stand out match of the opening week and it was chaotic from the off. Offord opened the scoring with an excellent slid finish inside ten minutes but the real drama of the first half was yet to come. Vanbrugh were certain that they had equalised shortly after through a Jon Gill header but referee Sam Lewis ruled that the ball had been cleared off the line. The angry Vanbrugh complaints were justified but Lewis had a thankless task in being able to say for certain whether it was a goal from his position.
Eventually Phil Taylor’s side levelled it up and had another dead ball situation to thank for their goal. They were lucky not be 2-0 down after Offord had been sent through again and when Ziggy Heath rose to head home and make it 1-1 from a Gill throw it looked as though they had rode their luck, especially given that James made a full throated appeal for offside.
Vanbrugh Captain Taylor had a good chance to put his side 2-1 up before half time but UYAFC President and James keeper Sam Clitheroe made a superb save as the onrushing striker tried to flick the ball over him.
As the game entered the second half the atmosphere became increasingly fractious, with only a speculative effort from Angus O’Brien to speak of in the way of chances. Mcleod eventually struck a decisive blow for his side, slotting home a brilliant freekick after a Ben Stanier foul. The central midfielder was the heartbeat of his side and invariably started their attacks with a mixture of equally accurate short and long passing.
Substitute Kieran O’Dwyer nearly made it 2-2 with a good shot from distance but that was about as close as Vanbrugh came. Offord eventually settled the encounter with a nice turn and finish from the left hand edge of the penalty area.
Naturally James Captain Simon Mole was pleased with his team’s performance saying that he felt his side “played the better football and deserved to win”. His opposite number Taylor was more despondant saying that Vanbrugh had suffered a; “steep learning curve. Tactically I probably got it wrong but hopefully we’ll pick ourselves up and make it out of the group.”
James Firsts: Sam Clitheroe, Simon Kreienbaum, Oscar Lynch, George Clarke, Nick St. George, Simon Mole, Mark Mcleod, Richard Baxter, Angus O’Brien (Alex Sharp), Josh Brownlow, James Offord
Man of the Match: Mark Mcleod
Vanbrugh Firsts: James Wilson, Ben Lowe, Ziggy Heath, Tom Spring, Matt Scaysbrook, Phil Taylor, Johnny Grout (Kieran O’Dwyer), Ben Stanier, John Gill (Rob Rix), Jamie Clarke (Rory Sharkey), Ali Prince
Man of the Match: Ziggy Heath
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Anyone know how the kid that banged his head is (was it Spring)? He looked out of it for a while
How tall is Andrew Yates? Does anyone know?