College Cup: Vanbrugh 1sts 3-0 Langwith 1sts

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Photos: Tom Wooldridge

Before the game today, Langwith 2nds captain Craig Burnell was predicting from the touchline a 3-1 Langwith win. The way the game started this looked like a possibility; Langwith started the better with crisp passing and Tom Rudden and Cameron Craig both headed over from corners.

However, despite the brighter start there was little incision, with no out-and-out striker hurting their play. As the half went on Vanbrugh were coming into the game more. Their forward line of John Gill and Elliot Rous-Ross were the cutting edge that Langwith lacked and they began to steal the momentum.

They had a few chances with Rous-Ross firing wide when through and a header was flashed over the crossbar but Langwith were defending stoically. It wasn’t to last. After a corner was half cleared by the Langwith defence Vanbrugh’s left winger Ben Stanier turned well and fed Gill on the edge of the box who finished emphatically into the top corner.

Vanbrugh continued to dominate until half time with Langwith working hard, but problems aerially against the taller Vanbrugh men and mistakes in possession led to more Vanbrugh chances. The pacey Rous-Ross was again fed through but couldn’t apply the finish and although Vanbrugh continued to press they couldn’t find another before half time.

After the break Vanbrugh kept the pressure on, Langwith needed a goal line clearance from Bruce Starkey and a number of saves from the impressive Kris Cheshire to keep them in it. But just as in the first half the pressure told, though in slightly controversial circumstances.

Langwith right-back Luke Holbrook was shoulder-barged off the ball on the touchline with nothing given, and in the resulting play Vanbrugh’s Phil Taylor jinked inside two players and fired an unstoppable shot into the net. It was a superb effort but Langwith may feel aggrieved from the referee’s decision to wave play-on.

Though Langwith’s supporters tried to lift their team, the fight had gone against the increasingly impressive Vanbrugh team. Their team was strong throughout and it again took Cheshire and Starkey to keep the deficit at two. First, Cheshire saved superbly from a point blank effort from Taylor and then Starkey cleared off the line for a second time in the game.

However, Vanbrugh were not to be denied a third with Gill getting his second goal of the day. A clearance from a corner fell to him twenty yards out and he blasted a speculative effort through the bodies into the bottom left hand corner.

It was a deserved goal that capped a complete performance from Vanbrugh, their captain James Wilson said after, “It was a good result, Langwith made it hard first half, but we improved second half and deserved to win.”

A clearly disappointed Andy Hutt said on Langwith’s performance, “We started well and we were in it until the last twenty minutes but when the second goal went in our heads dropped and that was it.”

Vision MOTM: John Gill