Classy Goodricke end Alcuin's treble dreams

After the contest billed as the ‘dream’ final, it is Goodricke who will sleep easy tonight as Alcuin suffered a nightmare. Two early goals caught Alcuin napping before a late Oatridge strike put the game to bed.

There was controversy before the match even began as it emerged that Alcuin skipper Myles Preston had not selected himself. He explained that “last year I played every minute of every match but got dropped for the final and I didn’t want to do the same to Jack Crane.” Preston also gave what will surely be his final incendiary comment as Alcuin captain when he described Lewis' decision to play himself as "madness".

Goodricke were forced into making defensive changes as Joyce and Remington left for America after the semi-final. This meant a recall for Simon Oatridge who filled Remington’s boots at left back. With both teams ready to go, the only thing missing was the referee. An attention seeking spectator, Andrew Emmerson, had offered to take charge but fortunately the designated referee turned up seconds before kick off.

Predictions for the match had been flying round with Jo Carter favouring Goodricke by two goals to one, a view that was echoed by the Goodricke bench. Dave Coupland had the same score line and even had the tenacity to name scorers; High, Grafham and Delaney.

The game, as expected, started scrappily with high balls and passes going astray. However this was merely the opening exchanges and the game soon came to life. After ten minutes, Murrills managed to find acres of space on the edge of the Goodricke box only for Taylor to produce a good save. After this spurned opportunity, Goodricke had a three minute double salvo to shock their opponents.

The first goal came from a throw in as Ramsden flicked on to High whose deflected shot left Wynd stranded. The second was created by man of the match Oatridge who was given space after an overlapping run. He drilled the ball diagonally across the box for O’Shea to prod home.

Captain Lewis (left) celebrates the cup win with veteran Ramsden

This double burst would have been the end of many lesser teams but Alcuin struck back straight away through a header from Smith. A quick throw in from Cox caught the Goodricke defence out of position and Taylor came out for a ball he was never realistically going to be able to claim. Smith guided the ball over Taylor and into the net to leave the game delicately poised going into half time.

It appeared as if Webb was playing a holding role in midfield to combat the fact that O’Shea was dropping into the hole behind Goodricke striker Silson. This tactic meant that O’Shea was not afforded as much time or room as he may have liked and thus was often rushed into getting the ball wide where hopeful balls forward would often be produced. Alcuin’s midfield was not faring much better down the middle as holding players Leadbeater and Ramsden snuffed out most of Alcuin’s attacks. The game had goals, but was not full of flowing football.

The second half was to produce more football, on the floor, through the middle and out wide. In truth, it was a much better half to watch but lacked the goals of the first half. A move that emphasised the improvement of passing was a Goodricke move that ended with Leadbeater curling in an undefendable ball that O’Shea just failed to connect with.

O'Shea (centre) tended to be followed by Webb (left) but O'Shea got the better of him to score the second goal

Alcuin came back into the game and pinned Goodricke into their own box for a period of the second half producing chances for Murrills and Webb. The Murrills chance came from a Williams flick on before Murrils attempted to lob Taylor, who smothered his attempt in Schmeichal-esque fashion. Minutes before, Delaney had lost Grayland from a free kick and managed to pull the ball back for Webb on the edge of the box only for Webb to blaze over. Webb was appearing more and more frustrated and was warned by the referee for dissent before Preston eventually withdrew him to be replaced by Stratton.

The longer the game went on, the less it looked like Alcuin would equalize. As they threw men forward, they were always susceptible to the counter attack which eventually produced Goodricke’s third goal. First Silson found Wilson who made an immediate impact and would have scored were it not for a good save from Wynd. Minutes later Silson was again involved as he showed his pace of past years in pressuring Swan and Wynd into a defensive mix up after a ball over the top. This took Silson wide who found an unmarked Oatridge marauding forward from left back. With enough time to have a cup of tea and a biscuit, Oatridge took a touch before unleashing a blistering drive into the onion bag from 20 yards out.

I fancied a goal
Simon Oatridge

Commenting on the goal, Oatridge said that he “fancied a goal” and “was too tired to take it into the corner so just pinged it.” Overall he felt that Goodricke had “deserved it” for playing better and that "a large part of it was down to Ramsden who looked after Smith."

There was a large support for both teams as well as a large neutral support making for a good atmosphere and Oatridge, as well as Lewis and Preston, paid tribute to the support for making the game a more enjoyable spectacle.

Winning captain Lewis thought that his players had “performed to their potential at the right time” and was especially pleased for third years who had given so much to Goodricke football in their time.

With many third years leaving from both teams, it will be interesting to see if both of these teams are as dominant next year or if another college can break into the ‘big’ two.

Teams

Goodricke - Taylor; Lewis (Smith), Grayland, York, Oatridge; Ramsden, Leadbeater, High (Wilson), Grafham; O'Shea, Silson (Coupland).

Alcuin - Wynd; Crane, Swan, Delaney; Wakeford, Hyde, Smith, Webb (Stratton), Murrills; Cox, Williams.

Goals

Goodricke - High (12), O'Shea (15), Oatridge (55).

Alcuin - Smith (19).

The Yorker's man of the match - Simon Oatridge

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