College Cup: Langwith 1sts 1-2 Derwent 3rds

Derwent 3rds provided the shock of College Cup 2013 with a 2-1 after Matt Morton of Langwith 1sts missed a penalty with the final kick of the game which would have salvaged a point.

That result has blown Group A wide open, with five teams separated by just two points in the table after three games.

Both sides in this game now have four points, but both have to meet Halifax 1sts in the remaining two weeks, who have won all three of their games so far. Langwith remain 2^nd in the table by virtue of having scored a goal more than 3^rd place Derwent.

And while neither team could claim to have dominated this encounter, you couldn’t begrudge Derwent the victory. They were well organised, with goals from James Fraser, who is having an excellent College Cup, and the evergreen Sven Sabas.

Langwith’s only response came courtesy of Morton, before he spurned the chance of a share of the spoils in the final minute, providing one of the moments of the tournament so far.

The first half was the better of the two, showing from the first minutes that this was to be a competitive encounter.

Langwith were lucky not to go behind inside 60 seconds. Centre back Tom Hughes missed his kick which let in Sabas, but the big frontman scuffed his shot wide of the mark under minimal pressure from eight yards.

That was an early let off, but Sabas continued to cause problems hanging on the last man, almost breaking free on a number of occasions.

Derwent did take the lead after 12 minutes. Christie Welsh delivered a beautiful corner, on a tea for Fraser whose bullet header at the back post found the net.

The euphoria didn’t last long, though, as Langwith hit back almost immediately. Sam Woodall was the provider with a slide-rule pass to Morton, who slotted the ball past Derwent keeper Ruari Franklin to level the scores.

Great chances were particularly few and far between in this match, with the game being fought in midfield for long periods. Morton had the only other chance before half time, but he did not connect well with the shot.

In the second period Sabas really started to come into his own. At one point it appeared that he had put Derwent back into the lead, but his powerful shot in fact went through the less-than-adequate side netting of the goal; a goal kick was correctly awarded.

As the game entered its last 10 minutes Sabas finally found the net. Will Sharples played a defence-splitting pass through to him brilliantly, but he still had a lot of work to do.

From about 30 yards out, Sabas controlled the ball, sprinted with it at his feet and then coolly placed the ball past the onrushing Kris Cheshire to create delirium amongst the Derwent fans and neutrals on the touchline.

Langwith were shell-shocked, but they managed to put Derwent under heavy pressure in the final moments.

With a minute to go there was a scramble in the Derwent area which was more reminiscent of a rugby scrum than anything on a football field; both sides attempted to get a decisive touch, but it was eventually Derwent who cleared.

Then, with seconds left to play, Langwith had their lifeline. Captain Matt Jones received the ball on the edge of the D, and his kick clearly hit the arm of a Derwent defender. The handball was probably not intentionally, but it was one that was going to be given all day long.

Morton stepped up  for his hero-or-zero moment; he strided confidently up to the ball and sent his penalty straight down the middle, while Franklin dived to his right.

But the ball skimmed the top of the bar; the crowd went wild in exasperation at the seemingly unimaginable incident. In the hullabaloo the referee blew for full time before the goal kick could be taken.

Morton had his head in his hands, while Derwent celebrated wildly, completing a memorable win which classes as the biggest upset of College Cup 2013 so far.