By Roger Baxter
Derwent’s level of efficiency clinched them a victory over a spirited yet ultimately unsuccessful Vanbrugh side this afternoon, a hat-trick from Derwent striker David Kirk being the highlight of the match.
A competitive game in an always competitive fixture, the opening minutes were punctuated by a pitched battle in the middle third, with both sides struggling to deal with a typically greasy 22 acres pitch. Both sides looked equally comfortable in passing the ball around at the back, à la Capello’s England, but, also like Gerrard, Rooney and co., couldn’t find that penetrating final ball. A combination of Derwent’s organisation at the back and a slight lack of pace amongst certain members of the Vanbrugh team (perhaps due to tiredness in the wake of a 3-month footballing hiatus) meant that there were few chances for the latter, while the industry of Xander Brinkworth down Derwent’s right flank proved the spearhead for most of the Blues’ attacking in the game’s opening stanza.
The first real chance of the half did in fact fall to Brinkworth, but a heavy touch following a hopeful through-ball put paid to any thoughts of a goal. This, however, led to a slight galvanisation in Derwent’s forward line, and an accurate free-kick from captain Matt Hallam was headed narrowly over James Wilson’s bar. The tide of play seemed to be turning Derwent’s way, so it was proved when a cross from the left into the Vanbrugh box was never properly dealt with, resulting in a scuffle that led to the ball breaking to Kirk, who gratefully slammed it home for the lead.
Derwent’s goal led to the game opening up, with O’Connor, Kirk and Atherton becoming the focus of Derwent’s attacking play. For Vanbrugh, Matt Scaysbrook and Ben Stanier stepped up as the main men going forward, with Stanier having Vanbrugh’s best chancer of the half, firing over from a short distance, well above the diving form of Seb Treasure. The whistle blew for half-time with both sides looking as though they had more to come.
One of them was to deliver, and almost as soon as the game had restarted. A through ball from Hallam broke to Nav Jabarkhyl, who ran at the Vanbrugh defence before passing to Kirk, who completed what appeared be a simple move from what appeared to be a comfortably offside position. Vanbrugh surrounded the referee, but to no avail, and in a spirit of controversy that would have done Mark Clattenburg proud, the goal stood.
The game restarted to howls of “Hallowe’en refereeing” from the Vanbrugh defence, and the perceived injustice indeed seemed to bring out their best phase of the game. A throw-in won down the right soon after the kick-off fell to Ben Stanier, who poked the ball home to halve the deficit and make it 2-1. What followed was wave after wave of Vanbrugh attacks, all of which either narrowly missed the net or were saved by the fantastically acrobatic Seb Treasure. Yet it seemed inevitable that, before the end came, Vanbrugh would nick one, complete a remarkable comeback and salvage a point.
It wasn’t to be. A rare, flowing Derwent break down the left saw the move switch to Kirk on the edge of the box. The striker skipped past his man and clipped home a deft finish, capping his hat-trick and Derwent’s ultimate (and probably deserved) victory.
When asked for his opinion on how well his team had recovered since last week’s 3-0 loss to Halifax, victorious Derwent captain Matt Hallam replied that a combination of injuries and a slight lack of fitness had contributed to that loss, and that he felt confident going into the rest of the season. While Derwent continue to miss some players (first-choice defender Steve Walwyn was staunchly manning the touchlines alongside Vision despite an injured ankle), this team new-look appears to be gelling well. Other teams might need to be afraid of more than Vodka Revs this Hallowe’en.