Osmaston 9 Wheel 1

Monday 9th July 2012
Osmaston 9 Wheel 1
Wayne Tarbard Memorial Cup First Round
At: Osmaston Polo Ground
Kick-off: 7-30 pm
No admission or programme
Weather: mild, sunny spells
Attendance: 45 (headcount)
Duration (45): first-half: 43:38; second-half: 46:06

Most of my previous trips to the Polo Ground have been for either cup semi-finals or the Bill Redfern Final, so it was a refreshing change tonight to see Osmaston in action at the iconic Summer League venue. The home side proved too hot to handle, particularly in the second half, and eased to a 9-1 victory with substitute Andy Bull bagging a quick 13-minute hat-trick.

With seven of the fourteen Summer League clubs yet to feature in a Pitch-side Story this season (Biggin, Brassington, George & Dragon, Osmaston, The Bridge, Weston, Wheel), the Wayne Tarbard first round draw threw up two ties of particular interest – Brassington v The Bridge and Osmaston v Wheel. When Ellie Greenshields Jack posted on Facebook that Brassington’s game was off, the Osmaston tie chose itself.

I’d arranged to meet Chris Berezai and he was already in situ along with Dan Bishop and ‘FredKirkbyTown’ by the time I arrived – the players were seconds away from kick-off. I had to take a detour off the closed A515 (flooding near Cubley) along a small track near Somersal Herbert the SavNav chose, until I met another flood, and so made it to the ground in the nick of time via Marston Montgomery, Thurvaston and Edlaston.

Despite all of the rain, the freshly-cut playing surface looked in a decent (if not perfect) condition on a rare mild evening of sunny spells – no need for coats or umbrellas!

Osmaston (in yellow shirts, blue shorts and socks) got the game underway attacking the car park end and took a 9th minute lead. Sam Lambert found Chris Pointon inside the area who sent a right-foot volley past Wheel goalkeeper Sean Jones.

The home side doubled their lead within two minutes. Jones failed to hold a right-wing cross and Sam Lambert slotted into an empty net.

An acrobatic clearance from inside the six-yard box kept out Sam Lambert’s shot before Wheel enjoyed a spell of pressure which almost lead to a goal. Jack Carter headed wide and, on the half-hour, Tom Weston leapt up to his right to tip over a 25-yard free-kick hit by Sam Wareing.

Osmaston survived no fewer than four Wheel corners and added a third goal in the 39th minute. Rob Austin held off the challenge of Aaron Bowler on the right and sent a low shot into the far-left corner of the net.

At this point, I need to thank a couple of people from Osmaston and the Wheel ‘bench’ for putting names to the numbers of the field. Much appreciated (and sorry it has taken so long to get the match blogged).

‘Po’ (aka Chris Pointon) scored his second and Osmaston’s fourth goal four minutes after the restart. He got on the end of a deep right-wing cross from Rob Austin and headed home via the hands of Jones.

Not that the game was boring, far from it, I started to think about my previous visits to the Polo Ground – an Osmaston v Bradley cup tie, a Coach Rangers v Coach & Horses semi final and four Bill Redfern Finals, plus a qualifying night last month in the Ian Gallimore six-a-side competition.

Anyway back to the game and Wheel, to their credit, pulled a goal back. Liam Jackson showed great persistence inside the area to fire low into the bottom-left corner after his initial shooting chance was thwarted. I did think that a second Wheel goal would make things interesting.

Jones produced a decent save to keep out a shot from Jake Smith but couldn’t prevent Osmaston scoring their fifth goal in the 74th minute. Substitute Andy Bell converted a low cross from the left.

Again, Jones denied Smith with another save before Osmaston’s sixth goal went in. The unlucky Tony Woodrufff could only clear Charlie Wibberley’s low shot into his own net.

Osmaston completed the scoring with a further three goals scored in five minutes at the end to make the final score 9-1. Bell hammered home a loose ball after Jones fumbled Charlie Wibberley’s initial shot and completed his hat-trick by poking the ball home from Wibberley’s cross. Smith finally got on the scoresheet in stoppage time, nipping in ahead of Jones to convert a forward ball into the area.

Osmaston face a trip to Doveridge in the Second Round, with the tie scheduled for Monday 23rd July, kick-off 7-15pm. The other ties are: Kirk Langley v George & Dragon, Biggin v Bradley and Coach Rangers v Brassington or The Bridge.

First Round Results: Osmaston 9 Wheel 1; Brassing v The Bridge OFF; Bradley 2 Rose & Crown 0; Kirk Langley 5 Weston 2 (played at Weston); Red Lion 2 George & Dragon 3 (played at Mayfield after extra time); Biggin 6 FC Hulland 0.

Osmaston (yellow/blue/blue): 1. Tom Weston, 15. Tim Dixon, 4. Ryan Austin, 10. Glen Barlow, 2. Jordan Lambert, 11. Dan Wright, 9. Rob Austin, 8. Toby Tucker, 7. Sam Lambert, 12. Chris Pointon, 14. Scott Sears. Subs: 5. Jake Smith (for Wright, 49), 16. Andy Bell (for Pointon, 63), 17. Charlie Wibberley (for Scott Sears, 78).

Wheel (claret and amber stripes / claret / claret): 13. Sean Jones, 7. Scott Galvin, 8. Jack Carter, 4. Carl Cheshire, 5. Aaron Bowler, 10. Jordan Campbell, 9. Steve Millward, 12. George Taylor, 16. Liam Jackson, 15. Sam Wareing, 2. Sam Wibberley. Subs: 6. Craig Upton (for Millward, ht), 3. Tony Woodruff (for Galvin, 61).

Goals:
1-0 Chris Pointon (9)
2-0 Sam Lambert (11)
3-0 Rob Austin (39)
4-0 Chris Pointon (49)
4-1 Liam Jackson (70)
5-1 Andy Bell (74)
6-1 Tony Woodruff (78 og)
7-1 Andy Bell (86)
8-1 Andy Bell (87)
9-1 Jamie Smith (90+1)

Cards: none