Cooks turn on the style in derby win.

Cooks were comfortable 4-1 winners at the Dog & Duck this afternoon.

Saturday 27th October 2018

FUTURE LIONS UNITED COUNTIES LEAGUE-PREMIER DIVISION
WELLINGBOROUGH TOWN (1) 1 COGENHOE UNITED (2) 4
Doughboys; Wilkes 35
Cooks; Lowery 4 Ansell 9 & 49 Long 46

Jake Stone was able to bring back Ryan Dove, Montel Dore and Tom Iaciofano after the trio missed last week’s trip to Boston as he jiggled his side around in the hope of stirring up a better performance in this local derby at Wellingborough Town. It may have been the final day of British Summertime, but in reality, there was a very real feeling of Winter in the air as the arctic wind whipped the rain almost horizontally across the pitch towards the dug-outs.
Doughboys were first to show as Jake Gillingwater dinked a ball into the box that saw George Barnell stoop low to head behind for a corner that Stuart Lutter jumped to take cleanly in his six-yard box. The Cooks were soon on the front-foot themselves as they attacked the clubhouse end as Liam Tuck slipped a great ball into the box for Matt Long who stung Justin Greatorex’s palms with his first time shot. Dore was first to the rebound and he played it low towards the near post but this time Joe Rich threw himself across to block Long’s attempt at the expense of a corner. Tuck swung it in low and it got a touch in the middle, maybe from Long, leaving Alex Lowery to side-foot home at the far post. The centre-back the coolest man on the pitch as ever as he slotted it past the defender on the post to give The Cooks a fourth minute lead.
Wellingborough had a chance, actually that should be two chances, as Cogenhoe struggled to deal with a free-kick played into the box, but skipper Ryan Dove blocked Shaun Wilkes second effort on the goal-line after a bit of a scramble in the six-yard box. Long then cut and inside and shot from the edge of the box, but his effort hit a defender and broke for Dove in the centre, but this time he had strayed offside. On 9 minutes the Cooks doubled their lead as Dove lifted a ball over to meet Long’s run down the right and he nodded it on before getting away from his man and playing in a great low cross that Ryan Ansell bundled past the keeper just inside the six-yard box.
The rain was now falling steadily as Dove held the ball up with three Wellingborough players around him in the box, so with his path for goal blocked he tried to tee up Long but he got the defender and the ball at the same time and his effort was blocked as he hit it. A good move gave Adam Speight a chance inside the box but a great block from George Barnell meant all he got out of it was a throw-in. Jeremiah Adams brought down Long from behind as the lively Cooks man made a run and was a tad fortunate to escape with only a lecture from Joe Woolmer. Tuck took the free-kick and floated it into the box where Greatorex stretched to punch away and although Long got to the ball on the edge of the box, he couldn’t steer back it on target.
A good run from Wilkes saw him cut inside the box but Jack O’Connor tracked him well to stop him causing any real damage and Lutter calmly tidied things up as the ball came into his six-yard box. A nice ball in from Long bounced twice as it skidded across the box and ended up in the keeper’s arms untouched. Ansell broke through the middle and played it through for Long and he fed Dore’s run into the box, but his shot was blocked. Long got the ball back and laid it outside for Dore to cross to the far post where Dove headed it on target but couldn’t get enough power to beat Greatorex.
Wellingborough were having a few attacks of their own and Luke Stone twice headed corners that didn’t get past the near post, then Speight could only put a cross into the side-netting. Stone intercepted a through ball and slipped it through for Dove, but Rich defended it strongly and allowed Greatorex to come out and claim the ball. Stone then got up to head a Greatorex clearance wide left to Long and he checked back before crossing, but the keeper caught the ball comfortably before Dove could get there.
Wilkes got into a dangerous position in the box but great defending from O’Connor took the ball away from him, while Gillingwater made a vital interception to stop Ansell’s pass putting Dove clear through the middle. Wellingborough pulled a goal back with a lovely move ten minutes before the break as Adams fed Mortimer to his right and he made himself a yard to whip over a low cross that Wilkes turned home from the edge of the six-yard box after getting ahead of his marker. The only other point of note in the last few minutes of the half as the game went through a scrappy phase was the booking of Ansell after he left his foot in on Rich after the former Cooks centre-back had beaten him to a ball down the left, but Cogenhoe took their deserved lead safely into the break.

Half-time; Wellingborough Town 1 Cogenhoe United 2.

With Wellingborough having pulled themselves back into things thanks to Wilkes goal, it was important that Cogenhoe got back into their stride, but they probably wouldn’t have envisaged doing that quite as quickly as eighteen seconds into the half. Dove played a great ball through for Long who raced clear into the box and as Greatorex came off his line, the Cooks striker got to the ball first and although the keeper got something onto the ball he couldn’t keep it out of the net. Long’s determination got him there first and he took the full whack of the keeper after doing so and his bravery has to be noted as he extended the Cooks lead.
Three minutes later he had a fourth and second of the game for Ansell. A superb jinking run down the right from Dore saw him cut inside and pull the ball back across where Ansell took a touch and placed a low shot across the keeper to find the far corner for a really well created and executed goal.
Adams stepped inside and went for goal from the left corner of the box but it was always going over, before a decent Freitas cross was headed just wide by Wilkes. Ansell almost found Dove in the box with his pass, but Adam Randall got there first and cleared which was the cue for the home side to make their first substitutions. Troy Johnston and Adams the men to make way with James Lea and Michael Cirelli replacing them.
O’Connor mad a couple of good defensive headers while a dangerous Freitas cross came off the top of Cirelli’s head and behind for a goal-kick. The hardworking and very impressive Matt Long made way for Charlie Hynam with fifteen minutes left, then Cirelli almost set-up a clear chance for Mortimer had it not been for a great challenge by Lowery deep inside his own box. Speight hit a low angled drive across the goal that went wide of the far post, while an excellent move from Cogenhoe involving Stone and Ansell saw Dore curl an effort on goal from the edge of the box, but it was too close to Greatorex.
O’Connor won the ball and found Stone who gave Dore another shooting opportunity, but this time his effort was blocked and then Jake Stone made a second change as Tom Iaciofano came on in place of Ansell for the last few minutes. Dore was back down the other end doing some defensive work and he did well to put a dangerous cross behind for a corner, while a turn and well struck shot from Freitas was taken comfortably by Lutter. The Cooks keeper was then quick off his line to dive at the forward’s feet after a clever flick on by Wilkes. Freitas made way for Lee Goldsborough with five minutes left, while a foul by Buckby who had a bit of a kick at Dore after the Cooks man had got away from him ended in a booking.
Wellingborough should have reduced the arrears at the death as Gillingwater put Gainsborough through to the right of the box and with Lutter having to come off his line to narrow the angle, the Doughboys sub lobbed the ball over his head to give Wilkes a simple chance to nod the ball into the now unguarded net, but the striker completely missed his header and the game’s last chance had gone begging.
This was in my opinion our best performance so far this season and we were very comfortable winners over a decent Wellingborough side this afternoon. There were good performances all over the park today, but I have to give the man-of-the-match award to Matt Long for his efforts and a well-deserved goal. It was great to see Ryan Ansell bag a brace today, while we defended really well again with all of the defence, including keeper Lutter, putting in solid performances. It’s on to the F.A Vase next Saturday, a competition we had a great run in last season and hopefully the home game against Leighton Town will be the start of another one this time around.

Wellingborough Town; 1. Justin Greatorex 2. Jake Gillingwater © 3. Dan Mortimer 4. Adam Randall 5. Joe Rich 6. Troy Johnston (sub 12. James Lea 74) 7. Guiseppe Freitas (sub 14. Lee Goldsborough85) 8. Adam Buckby 9. Adam Speight 10. Shaun Wilkes 11. Jeremiah Adams (sub 16. Michael Cirelli 74). Subs not used; 15. Carlos Lewis 17. Connor I’Anson.

Cogenhoe United; 1. Stuart Lutter 2. George Barnell 3. Liam Tuck 4. Séan McBride 5. Jack O’Connor 6. Alex Lowery 7. Montel Dore 8. Luke Stone 9. Matt Long (sub 14. Charlie Hynam 75) 10. Ryan Dove © 11. Ryan Ansell (sub 15. Tom Iaciofano 82). Subs not used; 12. Jamie Inwood 17. Dan Stevenson.

Referee; Joe Woolmer.