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Photos: Vivan Jayant
James McNeill, Ryan Doherty and Jonny Stansfield scored the goals as Halifax 4ths ended their College Cup campaign with a convincing victory over Goodricke 3rds.
Neither side hit the ground running and both displayed some scrappy play in the first minutes. Few players were particularly polished in possession as many lost the ball through sloppy mistakes.
Halifax had a great opportunity in the form of a through ball to Alec Rieck. Contentiously, the ref blew the whistle for an earlier Goodricke offence. The calls from the side line berated him for not playing advantage.
However, they were vindicated minutes later, replacing the jeers from the side line with jubilant calls. James McNeill crossed the ball along the byline. To reach the goal, it had to pass a Goodricke defender and the keeper so looked highly improbable. However, ‘keeper Rogers yelled that he had it, but fluffed the take, to ultimately put Halifax 1-0 up in the most unlikely of goals. This knocked his confidence as his game was not one he would remember with joy.
Goodricke had a fair share of chances during the first half but none were particularly noteworthy. They were lucky to receive them because, despite Halifax looking the stronger side, they struggled to maintain possession and squandered chances.
Goodricke’s demeanour started to crack with expletives flying around the JLD from players and supporters.
As the first half drew to a close, Halifax had a great opportunity. Alec Rieck had time in the area with a clear shot at goal but his mis-kicked his first-time shot and ‘keeper Rogers easily scooped it up.
The second half was to be a different affair. Halifax upped their game and made inroads into the opposition’s territory more so than the first. Goodricke rose to match them; they had their first close call on goal. Youseffi’s powerful shot was just as impressively saved by Halifax ‘keeper Tait. Very soon after he pulled off another beauty; he caught the ball on the edge of his boot and dived to prevent the rebound.
Munro caused some problems for Halifax, taking advantage of their overly-relaxed passing at the back he nipped in between to provide a brief moment of panic for the Halifax defence.
Halifax made the score sheet 2-0 after a series of decisive passes led to Ryan Doherty firing the ball beyond Roger’s reach. It was his first goal of the tournament and it was a beauty.
Soon after he was followed by teammate Jonny Stansfield who also scored his first of the cup. A through ball reached Doherty on the run whose first shot was saved by Rogers who span it wide and into the path of Stansfield. He casually slotted it home in the empty net.
The last five minutes had a plethora of goal opportunities. Goodricke narrowly missed due to the skills of Halifax’s goalkeeper. Halifax missed their chance for different reasons. Captain Elliot Taylor-Wheeler received the ball yards from the goalline and, with just the goalie between him and a 4-0 victory, managed to fire the ball above the crossbar.
He commented after the match: “I was gutted that it didn’t mean anything but it was a great way to finish.” Goodricke’s captain Shaw commented that it was a “disappointing end to a disappointing cup, it’s tough to take. But fair play to Halifax, they played better on the day.”