As the members of Goodricke 2s and Langwith 3s stretched, strained and readied themselves on the newly developed, softly turfed Heslington West astropitch, a climatological battle ground raged above. Formed of altostratus clouds, typified by layers of thin, gray watery vapour which often signal rain to come, the pressure felt on the nation’s barometers was equally present in the minds and hearts of these two top class teams.
Goodricke 2s, feeling a checked sense of confidence after their close encounter with James 1sts, were ready to make their mark on the prestigious vase tournament. Langwith 3s by way of contrast, looked a little shaken, perhaps somewhat unsure of where they stood in the minds of the keen sighted crowd that bespeckled the perimeter of the turf and on the pitch; the team’s senior player’s opting for an attacking 3-4-3 formation at odds with the Langwith nose to the grindstone football so firmly their own. In the opening few minutes Goodricke’s intent was manifest into a beautiful passing play that effortlessly sliced through the bleary eyed Langwith defence and resulted in a goal.
Less than 3 minutes later and the Goodricke boys were at it again, the midfield cohort, in this instance led by football specialist Jack Fuller and brunette Sam Cottingham, working together with a sense of friendly ease, drifted the ball into their attacking counterparts and created the chance for a sweeping edge of box, side footed shot. The keeper didn’t stand a chance, 2-0.
At this point the Langwith contigent looked to assert themselves after their shaky start. As much as the Goodricke blitzcreig had found them wanting, given a chance to work the ball around and mentally ground themselves the boys in yellow looked impressive. A speculative effort from striker Sepp Gohardani sailed just over the bar moments after Nathan Mallet exhibited some of the qualities that have seen him dubbed the midfield engine of the Langwith ship; amalgamating power, commitment and pace to form a formidable footballing stew.
Sadly such glimmers of hope weren’t enough as shortly after a searching through ball by Goodricke’s Ashurst was cut out by Langwith’s Gibbs, no.10 Fuller showed his pedigree by booting the ball off the underside of the bar and into the top right corner of the net, 3-0, and half time.
With their backs against the wall, it now seemed as if Langwith’s hopes of a historic turn around depended on whether the stirring half time words of leftback Erroll Waters could be matched in terms of gusto and passion on the pitch. For the opening few minutes it looked as if it could, the defensive back four forming a tight unit and shutting down promising Goodricke runs. Sadly for the impartial spectator, this early good form was once again broken down by Fuller who, releasing himself from the pin-point man marking, picked up a loose ball and buried it deep in the net. When this guy hits it, it stays hit.
Save for a shot to the midsection of one poor Langwith defender and an outlandish piece of skill from left winger Matt Guy, the game was all but over. History will have us believe it a walkover for the plucky Goodricke 2s who now must turn their attention to the troublesome prospect of James 3s, but this match was far more than the scoreline suggests. Their was pace, pluck and fire from both sides, and a result that reflects that Goodricke extra half a yard.