In what has been forecast as the group of death, the race for the top two spots in group D could go down to the wire. If that is the case Derwent 1st XI will be more than pleased with an emphatic 5-0 win against Halifax 3s.
If Derwent captain Ollie Harrison was concerned prior to kick off that this game would be a potential banana skin for his team, those fears must have been somewhat quashed when a rampant Derwent opened the flood gates in the early stages of the first half.
Jamie Trant, who appeared unplayable in the first periods of the game, made the breakthrough when he calmly controlled a low cross into the box and angled the ball around Halifax goalkeeper Harry Ziegler just minutes after the kick off.
The misery continued for Ziegler when the keeper flapped helplessly at an Ollie Harrison corner, the ball then evaded all Derwent and Halifax players scuffling in the box and found its way into Ziegler’s net at the far post.
Derwent then struck again inside 15 minutes when Mirhire Overo-Tarimo was fed through by Trant and coolly slotted home. Ziegler was unlucky this time not to save as he reached Overo-Tarimo’s low struck shot with an outstretched palm, but this was not enough to prevent Derwent stretching their lead to 3-0.
Games are rarely finished within the first 15 minutes, but when Dan Atherton added a fourth goal to the afternoon’s collection, it was merely a matter of on how many occasions goalkeeper Ziegler would pick the ball out from his own net.
From a Trant pass Atherton flicked the ball inside from the right wing, creating space between him and the opposite centre-half, allowing a shooting opportunity which Atherton slid into the corner beyond a surely deflated Halifax goalkeeper.
The second half substitution of Jamie Trant may have provided temporary rest bite for a dogged Halifax defence, but Derwent were flush with quality throughout the second period.
Joey Easter proved to be the lynchpin of Derwent’s midfield throughout the second period, putting together a series of penetrative runs in the centre of midfield. Halifax responded after a woeful first half performance with the substitution of Matthew Pheasant.
His replacement Adam Sample made himself available throughout the latter half, but this was not enough as a Derwent midfield dictated play throughout the remainder of the game.
Ollie Harrison’s replacement Ryan Gwinnett proved a handful on the left side of midfield and stepped up to take a corner which resulted in an Atherton header being controversially handballed by Halifax defender Phil Kershaw on the goal line.
Atherton braved the stage to take the resulting penalty and it proved to be the right decision when he sent Ziegler the wrong way, concluding a miserable day in goal for the Halifax man.
Halifax struck a blustering effort in the closing stages which perhaps caught goalkeeper Tom Mumford by surprise when Halifax captain James McNeil’s shot beat the keeper and hit the crossbar.
Following a game in which the conclusion was of little doubt, team, captain Ollie Harrison said he was pleased with how his team performed and feels that this was the preparation needed for Monday’s furious and much anticipated clash with Vanbrugh 1st XI.