Roughly a year on from the WMC’s 2-1 win over the Cricket Club the two sides met again in cup competition with the Cricketers looking for revenge for last years defeat.
With a healthy crowd watching and the pitch in excellent condition the game got underway and the WMC in their yellow kits quickly asserted their authority on the game, pressing the Cricketers high up the pitch and completely dominating the early phase of the game.
Within the first five minutes of the game the lemons could and probably should have been in-front with the ball finding its way to Davey Winter in the middle of the box who took a touch and smashed it straight at Potts who saved well with his feet.
The yellow submarines continued to navigate deep into opposition territory and again came close to gaining the lead when a cross from the right was met by a trademark leap and header from Sammy Renwick and it looked to be heading into the top corner only to be met by an excellent diving save by former WMC man Potts.
Led by Gaffer Sanderson in the middle of the park the front six of the WMC continued to work hard and created a couple of other half chances but couldn’t apply the finishing touches whilst at the other end Davies denied the opposition with a solid sliding tackle on the striker.
On 13 minutes the seductive Chris Mordue aroused the crowd with some sensual ball work in the opposition box which resulted in a corner for the WMC. Deadly Dean stepped up and whipped a curling ball in towards the near post which following confusion between keeper and defence ended up being fumbled into back of the net for 1-0 WMC with Dean being credited with the goal; I’ve never known someone score so many goals direct from corners!
Winter then turned his ankle and with no chance of immediate recovery was replaced by Andy White who went to the left wing/striker role. Then came the talking point of the game with possibly Andy’s first touch of the match when a full blooded challenge in the middle of the park left Andy on the floor in agony after a high challenge from the opposition. I’m sure everyone has their own views on the challenge but it did seem deserving of the red that eventually followed.
With the game paused an ambulance was immediately called and credit to the emergency services they appreciated the severity of the incident and arrived on the scene in a matter of minutes… about 40 minutes to be precise. A further 15 minutes followed as Whitey who was clearly in lots of pain was lifted into the ambulance.
We have since found out that Andy has suffered a double leg break and is staying in hospital overnight for surgery, it is still unsure whether he will ever be able to play football again but all the lads thoughts are with him and we wish him as good a recovery as is possible given the nature of the injury.
The referee made the call not to abandon the game and following an hours delay the players lined up again with the WMC wanting to go on and win the game for Andy. Despite being down to ten men the delay probably benefited the Crickets a bit more as all of the WMC’s momentum had been lost and the game essentially started again. Finch replaced Whitey and went into centre mid and Tom was asked to do shift wide right with Winter having already joined usually attackers Dan and Luke on the treatment table.
The next 10 minutes was pretty uneventful with both teams trying to get their heads mentally back on the game following the injury. At this point the game was even but on 35 minutes the WMC won a free-kick 10 yards inside the opposition half and Dean swung the ball into the box where Sam again climbed highest and nodded down to the general Gav Richardson who placed the ball in to the bottom corner of the net first time before wheeling away kissing the WMC badge passionately, another iconic moment for the Godfather of Segga WMC.
With half time fast approaching the Cricketers almost pulled one back when a cross was swung in to the back post from the left wing and headed towards the bottom corner only for Davies to deny the opposition with a fantastic diving save low to his left.
Half time came and Sacriston were delighted with the first 45 minutes but knew the Cricket Club would not go down without a fight and that the next goal would be crucial in the outcome of the game.
The second half begun and as predicted the Cricket Club were fighting hard to find a way back into the game. The game was a pretty even affair with both sides struggling to create any chances of real note.
The excellent Sam Renwick came close on a couple of occasions battling his way through the defence only to be denied by two smart stops from Pottsy in the opposition goal.
The Cricket Club were enjoying some of their best spells of possession in the second half but weren’t really worrying the Sacriston back-line with Dean and Summers complimenting each other’s game well at the heart and Davey and Adam looking strong at either side. The main threat from the opposition came from set pieces with both Drapers and Danny O’Brien always looking dangerous but the WMC defended these well the majority of the time and they came to nothing.
On 70 minutes the CC were given a good chance to pull one back when Draper went on a darting run through the heart of the defence only to be brought down by Finchy right on the edge of the box, a sensible foul all things considered. Graeme Embleton stepped up and bent the ball around the wall and it looked to be heading in before Davies dived right over to his far left and tipped the ball round the post excellently, you then got the feeling that Segga’s number 1 just wasn’t going to be beaten today.
With 15 minutes to go the game was killed off when some good work from the front three for the WMC eventually resulted in the ball going out wide to Davey Wardle who running on to the ball blasted it across the face and following a slight deflection went in through the legs of Potts for 3-0. This sparked wild celebrations from the away side that were reminiscent but even better than the year before with the whole team and sidelines diving on Davey over on the far side; you know it’s a big goal when Timmy darts 30 yards to join in the celebrations, showing the sort of pace that led to him being an FA Cup regular ‘back in the day’. This goal also happened to be Davey Wardle’s 3rd in just 4 Segga derbys, a record I’m sure he’s pleased about!
Segga then made a couple of changes with Lee replacing Tom and Foz coming on for Mordue and the clock began to tick down towards full time, with Diego Fosta running the clock down nicely in the corner.
The full time whistle came and it was an excellent victory and performance from Sacriston who beat their rivals for the second season running. Man of the match went to Ben Sanderson (sorry Dean) who epitomised everything that was so good about Sacriston WMC today, showing quality on the ball and putting in the graft off the ball, I sometimes wonder if Ben’s got a third lung the amount of ground he covers. Dean also came close to man of the match with a brilliant performance at the back as did Sam Renwick who definitely has got a third lung and ran himself into the ground for the cause upfront. Adam Davies also had a very solid game in the sticks making some big saves at key moments.
It goes to show the strength in depth and character at this team when you can have two/three very talented attackers injured on the side-lines and still score three goals against a solid defensive outfit; in saying that the prospect of having Luke, Dan and David back fit and playing alongside Sam is not one many defensive units will be looking forward to.
A fantastic win and performance by all members of the banana squad but our thoughts immediately turn to Andy who we hope gets some better news with regard to his injury and comes back stronger.
Also thanks to the Cricket Club for the food after the game, always beats the roasted peanuts and beef crisps we have to pay for in the club!
Away to Hetton New Inn in the Guards cup next week where we will look to continue our impressive run of form.
#uptheclub #2-1 #3-0 #prayforandywhite
