Saturday 3rd November 2018

BUILDBASE F.A VASE-2ND ROUND
COGENHOE UNITED (0) 2 v LEIGHTON TOWN (0) 0
Cooks; O’Connor 60 Long 73

Att; 83

It was the first game for the Cooks since the clocks changed and the air certainly had a nip to it as the wind blew with some force straight down the pitch towards the village and having lost the toss, we had to kick into it for the first 45 minutes. Jake Stone made just one change to his starting eleven with Dan Stevenson returning in a straight swap for Alex Lowery at the back while Jessi Obeng was given one of the subs places after impressing regularly in the Under 18s this season.
Liam Tuck had his throw returned and he tried to hit a flat volley across the box, but it was too high for Ryan Dove to get near while Jack O’Connor got a foot in to win possession back as Leighton broke through the centre. A jinking run by Lewis McBride was ended by George Barnell and Dan Jones had the games first shot as the ball ran loose, but it was of no concern to Stuart Lutter in the Cooks goal. Tuck was down inside the box after what looked like a foul against him but the referee waved play-on and as a result Kyle Faulkner fired a shot towards the far top corner with the wind behind it, forcing Lutter to make a one handed save and push the ball away to safety.
It took 25 minutes for Cogenhoe to get their first shot on target, an effort from distance and to the right of the box from Montel Dore, but it was too close to the keeper Charlie Jones and he held on comfortably. Lutter got up amongst the crowd in the box to punch away a Curtis Donaldson cross and then down the other end Dore lifted over a cross that Tuck headed on and Jones took above Séan McBride’s head and picked up a foul in the process. McBride played a good ball to put Matt Long into a great position inside the box to the right and he tried to find Ryan Ansell at the near post with a low cross, but Jones read it and claimed the ball before the Cooks striker could get there.
A big clearance straight down the middle saw Faulkner give chase but the impressive O’Connor managed to get goal side of him and the Leighton man tugged him back to concede a free-kick. Good run into the box from Long saw him touch the ball past the keeper but the defender did enough to put him off balance and Carl Resch swept things up before Long could get to the loose ball.
Not a classic first half with the wind the only real winner, but Cogenhoe will have been the happier after Lutter had rarely been called upon despite defending a very stiff wind for forty-five minutes.

Half-time; Cogenhoe United 0 Leighton Town 0.

Cogenhoe started the second half brightly and Dove probably fouled Aaron McKee to get free but with the Cooks skipper now off balance and under pressure from Resch he could only fire his shot over from just inside the box. Ansell delivered a free-kick in from wide on the left and Dove got up well to nod the ball on with McKee stretching to head the ball towards his own goal and he was lucky to see it land on the roof of the net. Leighton right-back Tom Bryant was an even luckier man after kicking Ryan Ansell after the ball had gone and as neither the referee or his assistant had seen his action, it was a quick word for both players from the man in black and on we went. A good Luke Stone free-kick was met by a Reds defender in the box with the ball dropping to Dove on the edge and he met his volley well, but it was straight at Jones in the visitor’s goal. Ansell and Dore worked well on the left and with the crossing chance closed down, the ball was laid back to Barnell who whipped in first time and Long steered it brilliantly into the path of Ansell, but unfortunately his cross was caught high by Jones.
Lewis McBride swung a great ball down the line into Faulkner’s run and he sent over a cross that Dore headed away. A move involving Long, Dove, Dore and Ansell resulted in a corner down the right and Tuck swung it in to pick out Jack O’Connor who met it with a powerful downward header that bounced high into the roof of the net giving the keeper and the defender on the post no chance of keeping it out. 1-0 to the Cooks with an hour played and no more than they deserved from their second half performance.
Lewis McBride sent a thirty-yard volley goal-bound but Lutter was always behind it, although the keeper was at his best moments later. Leighton broke through the middle with Donaldson getting into the box but O’Connor tracked him all the way and blocked his effort. The ball ran very nicely to McBride inside the box and his shot was heading for Lutter’s left hand corner when the big keeper got down to make a superb one handed save and preserve his sides lead.
We were soon back down the other end and two Ansell corners were met by O’Connor at the back post, the first flicking off a defender and behind, the second only inches over the top with the keeper beaten. We didn’t have to wait long for the second goal though as Ansell delivered a cross from the left that Dove got up well under pressure to head down and Matt Long hooked an unstoppable volley past the keeper and into the roof of the net. Great work all round and a superb finish from around fourteen yards out.
A great challenge from Bryant stopped Ansell in full flight as he broke through on the left while Dom Marsala got hold of a shot down the opposite end but it flashed wide of the far post. The subs started to follow with Marsala making way for Kyle Davidson, then Long being replaced by Charlie Hynam for the Cooks. Dore is looking good in this wing-back role and cut out a dangerous ball across from the right and Ansell made a run into the box before sending the ball across the six-yard box at head height. Leighton made their final two changes with Faulkner coming off for former Newport Pagnell man Kelvin Osei-Addo and then Matt Hall making way for George Armstrong, the latter at the same time as Jamie Inwood replaced Stone for the Cooks.
McKee went into the book late on for comments he made to the assistant referee down by the corner flag. Ansell took the free-kick and Tuck met it with a powerful header twelve yards out, but Jones held on comfortably. The final change of the afternoon saw Jessi Obeng get his first (albeit very brief) run out for the first team as he replaced Ansell with the game already in stoppage time. The final action of the game saw Barnell burst forward in a run that must have covered fifty yards to get to the edge of the box, but with a nose-bleed ensuing he couldn’t manage a telling shot and a defender got a foot to the ball to clear the danger.

A deserved win for the Cooks as we set-off on what will hopefully be another exciting run in the F.A Vase. The first half had been largely forgettable, but the second was much better as we used the wind in the way Leighton had failed to do. A difficult day for football and any win is a good one, but in truth it could have been more than two on the day. Another great performance at the back from young Jack O’Connor and nice to see him get his first goal for the club too whilst the second came from the old Dove/Long combination with the latter finishing superbly. Stuart Lutter get’s another clean sheet and deserves it for that save when we lead one-nil, but my man-of-the-match today goes to Montel Dore for his superb performance at wing-back.
We have another cup game on Tuesday night when we have a chance to avenge our defeat at Peterborough Sports as we meet again in the NFA Senior Cup, but this time we have home advantage after a number of late arrivals had meant we were on the back-foot right from the start last time around.

Cooks; 1. Stuart Lutter 2. George Barnell 3 Liam Tuck 4. Séan McBride 5. Jack O’Connor 6. Dan Stevenson 7. Montel Dore 8. Luke Stone (sub 12. Jamie Inwood 86) 9. Matt Long (sub 15. Charlie Hynam 80) 10. Ryan Dove © 11. Ryan Ansell (sub 16. Jessi Obeng 90). Subs not used; 14. Patryk Cichosz 17. Josh Melling.

Leighton Town; 1. Charlie Jones 2. Tom Bryant 3. Matt Hall (sub 17. George Armstrong 86) 4. Carl Resch 5. Matt Brady 6. Aaron McKee © 7. Lewis McBride 8. Dan Jones 9. Kyle Faulkner (sub 16. Kelvin Osei-Addo 81) 10. Curtis Donaldson 11. Dom Marsala (sub 15. Kyle Davidson 75). Subs not used; 12. Michael Donkor 14. Sam Tamakloe.

Referee; Richard Cutts.

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