Nick Wright previews this weekend's clash between York City Knights and Hull FC
Alex Reid looks at whether the once ever-present appearance of English clubs in the later stages of the Champions League is set to become a thing of the past
Craig Dobson looks at QPR's decision to sack Neil Warnock and replace him with Mark Hughes
James Tompkinson reviews an excellent pre-season victory for the York City Knights against Yorkshire rivals Leeds Rhinos
Goodricke sported a new formation with Coupland playing as a wide left forward and Vanbrugh failed to handle him early on. Vanbrugh right-back Hewitt was run ragged all afternoon as Coupland and Myhill got in behind the defence countless times in the first halfand the breakthrough wasn't long in coming as Captain Reilly played a ball down the left for Myhill who dribbled and calmly slotted the ball in to the ecstasy of team mates and fans alike. Frustration grew as the half went on for Vanbrugh as the midfield three of Dheir, ‘The Tank’ Barker and Shanley for Goodricke closed superbly and passed brilliantly to really run the game.
Goodricke led going into half time and many believed that the hair dryer treatment dished out by Vanbrugh Captain Sheldrick would galvanise Vanbrugh into a much improved second half. The early signs were good for Vanbrugh as the otherwise quiet Gouland headed home from close range. However, Goodricke showed amazing spirit to hit back immediately through Myhill who found himself with acres of space in the area. A stunned Vanbrugh were then caught again minutes later as Brooks crossed for Coupland to score a stunning header. The emotion was clearly running high as Coupland ripped his shirt off in celebration, but was booked for the act.
Vanbrugh then dominated possession but created few clear cut opportunities due to the impeccable centre half combination of Macklin and Astbury. When Goodricke did get on the ball, it was the ‘Tank’ who calmly kept possession and even jinked past a couple of Vanbrugh players much to the adulation of his new found fans.Substitute Prince scored to set up a grandstand finish with Vanbrugh committing men forward and being left short at the back. This set the stage for Goodricke Gaffa Sneddon to seal the win on the break but with the pitch invasion already half in progress, he fluffed his lines and shot tamely at the keeper. Vanbrugh had one last chance which Hickling bravely saved so it was Goodricke’s day. Not one player had left anything on the pitch and Goodricke thoroughly deserved their win, even though a few players were too tired to celebrate at the end. A brilliant match and surely a front runner for match of the year.
The day kicked off with another battle between a first and second team when Alcuin firsts beat Vanbrugh seconds 4-1. The game started with early action as Alcuin opened up a 2-1 lead with goals from Cox and McDermott. Scaysbrook replied with a brilliant free-kick for Vanbrugh but Alcuin dominated large parts of the first half. Cox could have had another after being put through and Murrills couldn’t connect properly with a close range header after a long throw. When Vanbrugh did attack, most of their through balls were dealt with by Swann who swept up behind the Alcuin defence.
Despite leading, Alcuin skipper Cox demanded more commitment at the break but it was quality rather than commitment that led to their final two goals. Williams scored a wonderful goal after controlling it with his chest, turning and volleying into the top corner from the edge of the box. Their fourth was made by Laird who laid the ball off for Cormack to smash in from 20 yards. These goals put the game beyond doubt and the scoreline could have been worse were it not for a few canny saves by Margiotta.
The other game in that group saw Wentworth seconds register their first win in the College Cup as they beat a poor Goodricke thirds side. A scrappy game dominated by head tennis and long throws had its moments of quality, one of which being the opening goal Kitson who turned and lobbed the ball into the net from a long throw. The first half ended with a jinking run from Datta which he sadly couldn’t finish. The game was wrapped up by Milne who slotted home from the edge of the D midway through the second half. In Group 2’s Plate eliminator, Langwith seconds drew with Halifax thirds. A goal from Tom Jesson was equalised by Langwith’s new Brazillian signing ‘Matt’ (apologies but their captain did not know his surname).
This Sneddon chap seems to have a high opinion of himself...
Fair play to Goodricke seconds - we (Vanbrugh 1sts) were very, very poor and they undoubtedly deserved to win the match. I would have to disagree that Dan Hewitt was "run ragged" all afternoon; he was our best player on the day, and I believe the handbags that he had late on in the game with the author of this article may provide an explanation for why he has been singled out for criticism.
Once again, well done to Goodricke for the victory – still a long way to go in the competition, and one result should not tarnish the excellent work that Tom Sheldrick has done as captain this year.
Jonathon, we have never met before but I feel you have got the wrong impression of me. I apologised to Dan after the game and hold no grudges whatsoever. If Dan was the right back (which he was when i was on the pitch) then he had a lot to deal with and Coupland created an awful lot of chances. In my opinion, Hewitt was run ragged but many better players would have suffered the same fate as Coupland put in his best performance in a Goodricke shirt. The comment was more of a testament to Coupland's performance than a slight on Hewitt, but was required to show that our attacking focus was down our left. Apologies if Dan Hewitt was not the right-back in the first-half.
We will have to agree to disagree regarding Dan Hewitt. The problem is that he was playing at wing-back - Dave Coupland then exploited the gap between him and our three centre halves brilliantly. Whilst you could argue that Dan should/could have got back more to help out - which I thought he did as best he could - there is always that 'zone of ambiguity' when you play the 3-5-2 system, which to be fair has worked for Vanbrugh most of this year.
I posted because I felt it was wrong to single him out from a team of 11 players that underperformed, but you are perfectly entitled to write about the game as you viewed it; that is the beauty of football and a comments section like this. The bottom line is that you as the Goodricke manager got your tactics right, your lads played out of their skins and were good value for the win – all the best for the remainder of the competition.
Thought Wenty deserved a slightly better write up (though I know we are not the focus of this article). We never looked in doubt against Goodricke 3rds.
It doesn't matter if you "never looked in doubt". If virtually every spectator is describing it as dull as dishwater, don't think it's going to get the greatest write-up is it?
Thought we played some good stuff in patches, the head tennis only happened once or twice and the long throws were all to force attacking opportunities. I especially thought that the dashing centre back plied his trade with grace.
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