Saturday 10th February 2018
CHROMASPORT & TROPHIES UNITED COUNTIES LEAGUE-PREMIER DIVISION
COGENHOE UNITED (2) 2 v ST ANDREWS (0) 0 ATT 34
Cooks; Chipchase 36 Hynam 45

Cogenhoe entertained Leicester based St Andrews for the first time in a league game on a foul day with the strong, blustery wind blowing the persistent drizzle straight down the pitch. Jake Stone had a bit of a selection headache too with Stuart Lutter ill, George Barnell in Amsterdam and Josh Melling on the piste (not a spelling error in case you’re wondering) so it was a changed back four today. Luis Vieira has opted to move to Eynesbury Rovers to boost his bank balance and Montel Dore was working this weekend so he called up Tomasz Sawicki from the reserves to wear the number one shirt, Jacob Gartland right and Jamie Inwood left as the full-backs, while fortunately he was able to call on Dan Smith who came in at centre half beside Dan Stevenson. Going Four-three-three, he had Séan McBride, Charlie Hynam and Harry Chipchase in the midfield, with Ryan Dove in between Matt Long and Ryan Ansell up front. Only three subs including the unwell Luke Stone alongside the returning Liam Tuck and Joe Shanley.
Good early work from Long saw him twist and turn inside the box and go for the far top corner with a curling effort, but it was just too high. A strong run from Mark Foster down the left looked promising, but first Gartland and then McBride stopped him threatening our goal. Lewis Turland then found space on the left and sent over a cross, but it sailed over the bar on the far side. Great battling from Dove on the right flank saw him leave the defender for dead and send in a low cross and Long met it at the near post with a good first-time effort, but Robert Peet dived to his right to make a very good save. Ansell swung the corner in, but Peel got both fists to the ball at the near post and St Andrews cleared.
Stevenson had pushed forward and showed some great feet as he went on an overlap and he played the ball back to Dove just outside the box on the right. The skipper hit a low first-time drive, but the keeper got down to make another save. In the eleventh minute the game saw a potential turning point with a moment of madness from Ryan Ansell. An innocuous looking challenge in the centre of the park then saw the Cooks man kick out at his opponent a couple of yards from referee Daniel Todd and the official had no choice but the brandish the red card. 79 minutes with ten men in poor conditions was going to be tough for the players he had let down, but we knew they would roll their sleeves up and carry on.
James Orton brought down Long as his pace caught the left-back out and he went into the book, then shortly afterwards Long was again causing problems as he sent the ball in from the left but his cross was cut out. Gartland picked up on the loose ball and he set-up Chipchase, but his twenty-yard effort deflected off a defender for a corner. With no Ansell on the pitch, Hynam took over flag-kick duty and his out-swinging effort was headed over by Dove. Nice move from St Andrews ended up with Dan Kitching a few yards outside the box and he got under his shot, but it was into the wind and dropped suddenly into play with Sawicki struggling to judge it, but the tall custodian recovered well to dive on the loose ball ahead of a black & white shirted player.
Gartland did well to fashion a cross, but it was too close to Peet, while Callum Stanley played a great ball wide for Kitching and he forced a near post save with his low strike. McBride won the ball deep in his own half and played it up to Long. He found Dove who played a one-two with Gartland before striking a low cross-shot from the right angle of the box that Peet again got down to save well, but Hynam’s ensuing coner-kick dropped the wrong side of the bar.
The pitch was now cutting up quite badly in the centre, but Andrews were actually adapting better to the conditions and still managing to play some good football, although they were struggling to make much headway into the wind and Cogenhoe’s defence were looking pretty solid when they did.
Hynam played over a good corner that that was headed away for another on the other side. I would have thought Inwood would have been the choice from the right, having played in some beauties for Spencer a couple of years back, but they chose Hynam to swing them out. Dove got his head to it and Stevenson chased and was tripped wide on the left. Hynam drove it in to the near post, but Luke Day blocked it on the goal-line. From this the visitors broke quickly and only a great interception from Gartland just inside his own half stopped them getting clear through the middle.
With the wind at our backs it was imperative that we took something from this half and we did just that on 36 minutes with a great finish from Harry Chipchase. The midfielder had actually started the move with a pass to Hynam. He played it up to Dove whose clever back-flick gave Chipchase the chance to run into the box where he took a step inside his man before curling a low shot beyond the keeper’s dive and inside the far post. A really well worked and executed goal with the finish reminiscent of the quality finishing Matt Long so often supplies.
Long got the better of a tackle only to be tripped from behind by Ryan Hodkinson as he opened up the throttle. The free-kick was wide on the right and Hynam drilled a decent effort at goal, but Peet took it well at head height. Turland spread a good ball wide to Hodkinson, but his low cross was cut out and the ball ended up with Sawicki. The keeper then bounced his ball in the mud and then picked it up on the edge of his box with the referee penalising for a correct, yet rare indirect free-kick. St Andrews grabbed the ball and took it quickly, but Dan Smith took one for the team to save a goal by obstructing the kick and earning himself a yellow card. The first shot from the free-kick was blocked and the ball found itself at Turland’s feet inside the box, but his shot lacked power and Sawicki saved comfortably.
Day played a ball down the wing and Inwood did well to get a foot up to cut it out, but the ball fell kindly for Turland to make ground, but again it was Gartland who made a timely interception to break up the danger. Long then sent Inwood on the overlap down the left and he whipped in a cross that was successfully cut out. Hynam took the corner, curling it in to the far post where Long met it with a header that was blocked and the ball found its way back to Charlie Hynam wide on the left. He stepped inside and sent a brilliant curling effort that dropped over the keeper’s reach and right into the far top corner for a vital second goal for the Cooks and with a minute already played over the forty-five, the perfect time to stretch the advantage and put the pressure on the visitors for the second-half.

Half-time; Cogenhoe United 2 St Andrews 0

Hynam did well to nip and nick the ball between two Andrews players but he felt the full impact of Sam Preston’s late challenge and the centre-back went into the book. No malice, just a bit late. Inwood played the free-kick into the box with Stevenson giving chase, but the keeper came across to claim the ball. Turland curled in a free-kick from the touch-line towards the far top corner, but Sawicki turned the ball over for a corner. Day played it in and it caused a bit of a scramble in the box with the ball bouncing up for Baird who directed his header at goal, but he couldn’t get enough power behind it to trouble the defender on the line. Kitching continued a bit of dissent and became the latest player to go into the book, then Baird got the better of his man in the box and squared to a totally unmarked Foster in front of goal, but the striker calmly side-footed the ball well wide of the goal. A real let-off for Cogenhoe and it really was looking like being our day.
Long was replaced by Liam Tuck just after the hour with the sub getting some match time as he looks to build his fitness after a lengthy spell on the side-lines through injury. Lovely play on the right wing from Dove saw him make space and send over a cross, but unfortunately it drifted away from Hynam, the only blue shirted player in the danger area. Baird hit a well struck shot from distance that Sawicki opted to punch away, while good work from Hynam gave Dove possession on the left side of the box, but as he cut back and tried to return the ball, his pass was intercepted and cleared.
Sawicki took a curling cross from Hodkinson at the far post, while Andrews made their first swap with Mitchell Faishurst replacing the injured Hodkinson who had stayed down after losing possession to Gartland. Stevenson talked himself into the book despite a few warnings with eighteen minutes remaining. Sawicki was again called on as he palmed away a powerful cross for a corner, from which Faishurst got up to win the header, but couldn’t keep it on target.
Hynam played a free-kick into the box and Stevenson got up bravely to win the ball in the air and find Tuck, but the Cogenhoe sub slipped as he turned and his shot was off target. It has to said that centre of the pitch now resembled a pudding of the mud variety and both sides were seeing passes go awry as they failed to roll through. As you would expect, St Andrews were having more of the attacking play with their man advantage and the fact that they were two goals down, without really looking like making the breakthrough. Both sides made changes with Hynam being replaced by Joe Shanley and Sam Taylor coming on for Foster.
A deep St Andrews corner saw Sawicki make a save but with two minutes remaining of normal time, Cogenhoe went down to nine men following the dismissal of Dan Stevenson for his second booking for dissent. Stevenson had been fouled a lot during the game and had become frustrated, but sometimes you have to just bite your lip and concentrate on your own job.
A last gasp sub from the visitors saw Elliott Wright come on for Stanley in the midfield with just five minutes of stoppage time left to salvage something with a two-man advantage. Joel Wolfe saw his shot from the edge of the box deflect behind off Smith. Sawicki palmed away the corner and it fell to Faishurst just outside the box. The sub hit a fierce, low, first time drive back at goal and Sawicki got down well to his left to make a superb save and protect his clean-sheet. Cogenhoe almost broke away deep into stoppage time as Shanley played Dove through, but a great tackle for Preston denied the Cooks skipper a run at goal.
Playing most of the game with ten men and the last seven with nine, a win and a clean-sheet mean a very good result for Cogenhoe, especially with key players missing leaving the squad somewhat stretched today. Hats off to all those players who had to put that bit extra in to compensate to man disadvantage and a very heavy pitch on an awful day. It must have been sapping on the legs but they kept battling to the very last kick. No doubt Ryan Ansell let his mates down today, but he will know that, so I won’t dwell and now he will face a lengthy suspension as this is his second red of the season. I’m not sure, but I think Dan Stevenson will only face a one-match ban as it was two yellows, but that could also be affected by how many bookings he was on before the game. Up to that point Stevenson had given everything as had his fellow defenders with Jacob Gartland the pick for me, earning him my man-of-the-match accolade today. He was pushed close by Charlie Hynam today, while Ryan Dove deserves special praise for his work-rate and leading by example on a difficult day. Also lets not forget keeper Tomasz Sawicki who stepped in at late notice and kept a clean-sheet, with one superb save at the death.
No game this midweek so its off to Desborough Town next Saturday as we look to add to back-to-back wins and two clean-sheets along the way.

Cogenhoe United; 1. Tomasz Sawicki 2. Jacob Gartland 3. Jamie Inwood 4. Séan McBride 5. Dan Smith 6. Dan Stevenson (Sent-off 88) 7. Ryan Ansell (Sent-off 11) 8. Harry Chipchase 9. Matt Long (sub 12. Liam Tuck 61) 10. Ryan Dove © 11. Charlie Hynam (sub 14. Joe Shanley 83). Sub not used; 15. Luke Stone.

St Andrews; 1. Robert Peet 2. Luke Day 3. James Orton 4. Dan Kitching 5. Sam Preston 6. Joel Wolfe 7. Lewis Turland 8. Callum Stanley (sub. 15. Elliott Wright 90) 9. Mark Foster (sub 14. Sam Taylor 86) 10. Mathew Baird 11. Ryan Hodkinson (sub 12. Mitchell Faishurst 69).

Referee; Daniel Todd.

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