There are some pretty low-key derbies in football. Hereford United and Shrewsbury Town, or Plymouth Argyle and Exeter City, a match watched entirely by men in seafront pubs shouting “g’awn” every couple of minutes.
However, few footballing rivalries are quite as small in stature as the Hes East derby. For a start it’s only been happening since Langwith moved there last year, and secondly because Langwith have never so much as scraped a point from a prior encounter.
Friday, though, was different. Langwith 1sts have made a decent start to their College Cup campaign, with a hard fought win over Wentworth 2nds last week, and their tough 1-1 draw on Friday makes them look a very different side to the one which slumped into the Vase last year.
Goodricke, by comparison, went into the game under pressure, after a 1-1 draw with Halifax 3rds threw their cup qualification chances into jeopardy, with today’s second draw continuing to cause concern.
Langwith certainly started the game looking hungrier, though going forward they were shaky, and not able to produce many serious chances; a Marcus Campbell shot being the first of the game. Goodricke, who started quietly, took advantage of their first break just after the ten minute mark with a quick move ending in a cool finish from Dalton Harris to give them the advantage.
This didn’t dampen Langwith’s attack, however, their equalizer coming just before halftime and stunning the JLD. Arian Sarrafan, getting the ball outside the box, masterfully flickered the ball around a defender and curled a shot past the goalkeeper to bring Langwith level.
At halftime it was Goodricke looking a touch despondent whilst Langwith seemed to only growin confidence.
After a few good chances went begging for Goodricke, Langwith dominated the final 20 minutes, although were unable to grab the winner.
At full time it was Langwith who went away the happier team, thinking, as perhaps many sporting observers are beginning to think, that we could be seeing a new dawn for the seemingly permanently embattled Langwith football club.
Goodricke, meanwhile, only enforced their reputation for erratic performances and underachievement.
Despite all that, the elder resident of Hes East are never a team to be written off, and today’s result is by no means a disaster for them.