SOLEX MANUFACURING CUP FINAL
22/04/12: New Derby FC (0) v (1) Inn Place (After Extra Time)
Scorers: None
Starting Team: Stothard (GK) (Udale), Scott, Horn (c), Dodsworth, Waites, Hutchinson, Binks (Bunyan), Gourlay (Taylor), Robson, Thompson, Calvert
Subs (Unused): Boiston, Fisher, Wright, Young
Yellows: Robson
Reds: None
Inn Place were crowned the Solex Manufacturing Cup winners after a 1-0 extra time victory over an extremely unfortunate New Derby outfit.
Once again the 3-5-2 formation was in operation but again there was one change. Paul Bunyan missed out on a final start with Martin Hutchinson given the nod instead. Jordan Stothard was retained in goal, an incredibly harsh decision on Steve Udale who had done so much to help the team reach the final.
Shortly after kick off, Graham Binks left his mark, quite literally, on the Inn Place midfielder after he went in with a high tackle which caught his opponent on the knee. Binks was given a warning by the match official but had it not been a final then the Derby midfielder may well have seen a card.
Both teams struggled in the early stages as the occasion seemed to get to people. Passes were going astray regularly and neither keeper was unduly tested.
The Derby had the better of the opening period with Calvert going close with a left footed shot whilst Waites and Thompson both saw shots saved. The Inn Place did have the ball in the Derby net however, the lineswoman, Joanne Howe, had already raised her flag for offside.
Inn Place came into the game a bit more in the second half however the best opportunities still came the Derby’s way. The Inn Place keeper made a good save to deny Thompson whilst Calvert skewed a shot wide of the left hand upright when he may have done better.
As was the case in the first half, Inn Place thought they had opened the scoring only to be denied by an offside flag.
Then, with five minutes to go, Calvert came agonisingly close to opening the scoring and possibly winning the cup for the Derby. He received the ball just outside the edge of the box and hit a left foot shot goal wards. As the ball travelled towards the bottom corner time seemed to stand still but much to the despair of the Derby players and there hefty number of supporters the shot cannoned back off the post.
The game went into extra time and again there was nothing to choose between the two sides – that was until right before the interval when a mistake cost the Derby dear.
One of the Inn Place centre backs dribbled the ball out of defence, beating a couple of men. He was then confronted by Bunyan, who had surprisingly come on after an hour for Binks. The Inn Place player kicked the ball forward onto Bunyan and it rolled towards the Derby goal. Stothard, deciding not to pick the ball up for fear of it being deemed a backpass, then slammed his attempted clearance off Dodsworth who was back covering. Both Derby players then collided and the ball fell perfectly to another Inn Place player to slide the ball into the empty net. Stothard, who was knocked out cold in the incident, had to be substituted.
In the second half of extra time, Inn Place seemed content to sit back and try to protect the one goal advantage they had gained.
With each passing minute the Derby were getting more and more desperate and frustrated. Stephen Robson picked up the first yellow card of his career when he appealed too vocally about a throw in decision.
Still the Derby didn’t give up though, Dodsworth put a cross onto the roof of the net and then in the final minute the Derby won a corner. Every Derby player, including Udale, made their way forward and when the corner was headed out to the Derby keeper a fairytale finish was on the cards. Sadly the ball wouldn’t drop quick enough for Udale and when it did his shot was knocked clear, at which point the final whistle sounded.
Despite the defeat the Derby can take great pride in the performance and effort that every player put in. Captain, Ben Horn, was outstanding in defence and in leading his team and was quite rightly named as Man of the Match. The Derby must quickly put their cup disappointment behind them however, as they still have three very important league games to go in their quest for promotion to Division One. The first of those games comes next Sunday when the Derby travel to the Silksworth Sports Complex to play third place, Silksworth Fleece.
