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Photos: Zoe Bennell
A strong James side eased past Vanbrugh on 22 Acres on Sunday to cement their place at the top of the table in a convincing style. The game started off with even pressure from both sides with Vanbrugh having some early chances with a string of corners, they were unable to take the lead however, with James proving difficult to break down.
James’s first attack came from a great run from Haresnape, but only resulted in a routine save from Vanbrugh goal keeper Lennox. The first 20 minutes proved tight and suggested a very close game; however James began to find space on the wings and a daring run from Ferrao set up a straightforward finish through the keeper’s legs from Jopson to break the deadlock. Vanbrugh responded with a great pass from Coy which eventually won his side a corner. They were again unable to capitalise on their pressure however, and a counter attack from the corner lead to James doubling their lead, Ferrao with an impressive chip over Lennox, tapping the ball home into the open net.
Vanbrugh continued to have some promising attacks with Joe Lund forcing a good save from James keeper Balzan with a shot from outside the box. Woodall showed good vision to supply an attacking ball forward, James cleared the pass but only as far as Lund whose second shot from outside the area this time whistled over. Vanbrugh were forced to play long balls forward to their strikers which were easy to defend for James, striker Rous-Ross was often surrounded by James defenders and therefore unable to see much of the ball.
Vanbrugh switched to a 4-5-1 formation in the second half to try to halt James’s effective use of the wings. This wasn’t sufficient to stop James’s fluid attacks through and they dominated most of possession in the second half, Jopson again looking dangerous on the wing and fired in a shot that Lennox just about managed to hold onto. James continued to strive for that third goal to kill the game, Briars missing a good chance from long range after a mix up in the Vanbrugh defence left the goal gaping. Jopson showed strength against captain Max Brewer and was unlucky not to finish the game off, his shot hitting the bar.
Soon after though they were able to cancel out any hope of a Vanbrugh comeback, with Jopson’s shot parried by the keeper to Ferrao who scored the rebound from a tight angle. Vanbrugh’s misery continued when Jopson wasn’t picked up at the far post from a corner and finished from close range to score his second and James’s fourth.
After the game, James captain Ralph Gill told Vision ‘We played really well on a very difficult pitch; our man of the match was Dan Haresnape, who had a great game today’. After a difficult afternoon, Vanbrugh captain Max Brewer had a positive mindset. He told Vision “We’re looking forward to the College Cup now and there were some good individual performances today”. This win proves to be a great statement from James who always looked dangerous going forward and were solid in defence; Vanbrugh were outclassed in the end by a side who will be very difficult to beat this year.