The sky was dark and the clouds wept with a vengeance as the Warley boys entered Wombourne to play Gornal Colts South in the league cup. Driving rain and low temperatures couldn’t damper the two teams enthusiasm and with 2nd division Gornal having lost only 2 games all season this on paper had all the ingredients of a cup upset for last season runners up.
Coach Matt played the favoured 4-4-2 formation and it was Warley that dictated the early exchanges cultivating in a few half chances. Gornal struggled to keep up with the pace of Dan W. Sam and Junior and it was the latter 2 who combined to open the scoring. Sam S was fed the ball on the right and he’s trickery pushed him to the by-line. He’s cross into the box was missed by the colts defence and ended with Junior timing he’s run perfectly to hit a sweet left foot shot into the goal with the keeper rooted to the spot. Gornal South 0 Warley Boro 1. The half continued with Warley dominating procession and limiting Gornal’s chances on goal although the home side did hit the bar midway through the half with a headed effort. Warley also hit the bar but for all their possession only half chances were created and the boys ended the half only 1 solitary goal up. Half Time: Gornal South 0 Warley Boro 1.
Matt left the same team and formation to start the second half and any fears that had crept in that Gornal would start a comeback were cushioned when Dan W sped down the right to cross for man of the match Reece to smash home in the 37th minute. Gornal South 0 Warley Boro 2. Gornal continued to try to get into the game and somewhat against the run of play forced home the ball courtesy of a long throw which the Warley defence allowed to bounce after a flick on. Gornal South 1 Warley Boro 2. Gornal’s confidence grew and they were pushed on by a partisan crowd. In exactly the same position they had another throw which was again taken by their towering centre half. This time though Warley’s defence cleared the ball to Sam who’s sublime first touch and great vision threaded a pass to Dan W whose pace and clinical finishing made the score Gornal South 1 Warley Boro 3. That goal broke the stubborn colt defence and a further sprint down the right by the enigmatic Dan W saw another tailor made cross for Azza to wave the net. Gornal South 1 Warley Boro 4. The icing on the cake came with 7 minutes remaining as Anil hit a thunderbolt from 25 yrds that had the lads in rapture even before it hit the net. Final score Gornal South 1 Warley Boro 5
Two weeks off and the boys reunited to produce a resounding victory against a well organised Gornal side. The moral and team ethic shown should be admired by us the fans and parents. It is not an understatement to say that these boys are capable of matching any team in this competition and the lads showed a desire today to make it back to the final and to put right the result from last May. Well done to everyone.
