WCOB & B

Posted by ChrisB on February 13, 2008, 1:52 pm

On a chilly evening Court Place Farm welcomed a team with one of the longest names in football in the Quarter-Final of the Senior Cup. The visitors had pulled off the surprise of the previous round in beating Carterton, and would be looking to improve upon their previous appearance at CPF in the competition when, in a previous incarnation (without Bletchingdon), they lost 1-4 in 1999.
City were taking no chances in underestimating the opposition, putting out a side similar to that fielded against Didcot on Saturday, and attacked from the start.
In the early minutes a deep Mark Jones cross was just too high for Steve Davis at the back post, and then Jones tried a shot that, catching a defender, produced a corner that Andy Gunn headed just off-target.
City edged in front after ten minutes, though, when Darren Pond drew a mistimed tackle as he burst into the box, and James Saulsbury calmly sent the keeper the wrong way with an inch-perfect penalty into the bottom corner. George Redknap was sent sprawling as he closed in on goal in the next attack and he and the supporters seemed somewhat bemused that this failed to bring a repeat response from Mr Coggins.
Five minutes later and a bad tackle, which remarkably went relatively unpunished, left Ricky Allaway needing hospital treatment to a leg injury. With a head injury producing premature departure from the match at Bridgwater ten days ago he must be wondering ruefully about the wisdom of his recent move to City!
Too many passes were falling short of their intended targets for City, and the visitors came close to tying the game up on 22 minutes when a deflected clearance from Mark Avery fell to Richard Wells with only Steve Smith to beat. His shot was on target, but lacked power, and Smith did well to get down and save with his right hand while Gunn ensured no second chance came.
City continued to press and there was a stream of crosses into the area but they were generally dealt with efficiently by Chris Douglas in the visitors’ goal, or fell unhelpfully for the attackers.
The second goal arrived just on the half-hour as good work between Liam Malone and Yashwa Romeo produced confusion in the penalty area and a half-hit clearance fell nicely to Mark Bell fifteen yards out whose shot took the merest of deflections before beating Douglas’ left-hand.
As the half continued the Blues continued to produce chances. Redknap headed a Bell cross just too high; Gunn had a goalbound effort kicked off the line; and Romeo’s curling shot just failed to curl enough to take it inside the post.
City hearts were in their mouths for a few seconds as a shot from Wells took a wicked bounce immediately in front of Smith and spun off his arm … and behind for a corner. And with the last move of the half Romeo was fouled on the edge of the penalty area but Douglas held on well to Bell’s free-kick.

HALF-TIME Oxford City 2-0 WCOB & B

The second half started with Douglas doing well to parry a shot from Bell, and even better to keep out Pond’s effort from the rebound.
The visitors pressed hard for a while but tight defending from the back-four saved Smith from being troubled.
At the Clubhouse End a swift exchange of passes with Redknap released Jones for a run; he drew the last defender before putting Romeo clear, but his finish lacked power.
On 54 minutes a typically determined run by Malone gave him a shooting chance that was parried by Douglas, but this time relief for the defence was short-lived as Redknap finished tidily from ten yards.
Ian Roper entered the fray in place of Romeo and was immediately freed by Jones to bear down on goal, and only a fine tackle by Warburton saved the day. Two minutes later and an even better tackle, from Boone this time, halted Roper’s progress at the last moment.
As time wore on the extra fitness of the City players was proving important and breakaway attacks from WCOB were becoming fewer and farther between.
Bell drew (another) fine save from Douglas; Roper came off a close second in a race for the ball with the keeper; Fletcher just swept the ball away from Redknap after Douglas spilled a cross; and Douglas left Pond shaking his head in surprise as he pulled off (yet another) goal-denying save.
With officials and supporters checking their watches City completed the evening’s scoring. Firstly Bell accepted a Steve Davis pass and cut in from the left to produce an unstoppable shot from just outside the area; and, almost from the restart, Mark Janes shot was pushed only as far as Roper who made it five from close in.

FULL-TIME Oxford City 5-0 Worcester College Old Boys and Bletchingdon.

City: Smith, Saulsbury, Avery, Allaway (Bell 15), Pond, Gunn, Jones, Malone (Janes 62), Redknap, Romeo (Roper 58), Davis.
WCOB & B: Douglas, Boone, Warburton, Fletcher, Grossman, Gubbins, Faulkner, Wells R., Parker-Hunt, Franklin, Wells S.

So a win for City in one of those ‘no-win’ situations, but a positive result tempered by a number of worrying injuries – Allaway (leg), Malone (facial cut), Janes (leg?), Roper (hamstring?) – ahead of Saturday’s visit to Farnborough.