Cockfosters Miss Out on London Senior Cup Progress....

Match Report – Tuesday 21st February 2023 - Courtesy of Mark Bridges

London Senior Cup – 2nd Round

Cockfosters (0) 1 (Madu 90+4mins), Barking (1) 2 (Shaban 45 & 71 mins)

Barking booked their home quarter final berth, against either Welling United or Charlton Athletic U23s, with two smart finishes from Sam Shaban being enough to oust a much-changed Cockfosters line-up in a fast paced, well contested cup tie.

It could have been so different for the home side; and they will rue the linesman’s flag and a missed penalty, when they look back at this encounter.

With it being Cockfosters’ fifth game in eleven days, Gavin Kelsey and his management team, unsurprisingly, rotated the starting line-up, giving starts to Michael Okafor, Ryan McMenemy, Ollie Finch, Conrad Holland and Denzil Effah.

In a fast start to the contest, Cockfosters had a shot cleared off the line in the second minute and it needed a brave block by Kenny Nobrega to prevent the visitors going ahead in the sixth.

Barking continued to assert some early pressure through the first quarter, with Shaban threatening the Cockfosters goal in both the 15th and 21st minutes.

Cockfosters responded well and went close twice themselves, through Conrad Holland and Chris Griffin, the latter’s effort narrowly clearing the bar following a neat flick-on from Harrison Rookard.

As the game approached the halfway point, a long ball forward caught the Cockfosters defence napping. This allowed Shaban to break through, with only a stranded Charlie Mann to beat, but his lob over the home keeper drifted wide.

However, this simply turned out to be a dress rehearsal for what was to happen just 30 seconds later. The same ball over the top created the same problem – but this time Shaban got it right as he rounded the exposed Mann and tapped home from a yard. Barking led 1-0 at the break.

Cockfosters quickly looked to get back on terms straight after the break – and there was a sense of irony as to what happened in the first three minutes of the second half.
Denzil Effah’s free kick into the Barking penalty area was strongly headed across the box by Ryan McMenemy, allowing George Sippetts a strike on goal. Whilst Sippetts’ goal bound effort was blocked, this served to be a dress rehearsal for Cockfosters’ next set piece just two minutes later.

Same ball into the box, same header from McMenemy but, this time, Sippetts volleyed home. The linesman’s flag, for offside, duly put paid to the early celebrations. It was a controversial moment but, after the referee had consulted his assistant, the linesman’s flag work was confirmed.

Cockfosters didn’t have to wait long for their next opportunity. Just five minutes after his effort was disallowed, Sippetts was innocuously nudged over in the penalty area and the referee had no hesitation in pointing to the spot. With Matt Thomson unavailable, Ethan Rookard was given the task of beating Harvey Simson from the spot.

With penalties being somewhat of an Achilles Heel this season, Rookard could only hit his effort straight at the Barking keeper. It was the second missed penalty for Cockfosters out of the last three attempts – with Thomson being the only successful converter of late.

Despite this, Cockfosters continued to press for the equaliser, dominating both possession and territory. However, with no resulting clear-cut chances emerging, Barking applied the sucker punch.

With 20 minutes to go, a well worked move by the visitors resulted in Shaban being played through on goal and the striker applied the finish across Mann and into the far corner. A well taken goal to round off a fine move.

With an uphill battle now in front of them, Cockfosters continued to look for ways to get back into the game. Cory Ugbomah’s off target header in the 87th minute, following Joe Entwistle’s tenacious work and fine cross, was the only real goalscoring chance as the game headed towards its conclusion.

Prince Madu’s close range finish, in the fourth minute of added time, did finally manage to pull a goal back for Cockfosters, but was too little too late as Barking held on for the win and their place in the quarter finals.

Cockfosters: Mann, Nobrega, Madu, Finch, Okafor, McMenemy, Holland, Griffin, Sippetts, H. Rookard, Effah.

Subs: E. Rookard (for H. Rookard) 41 mins, Ugbomah (for E. Rookard) 57 mins, Entwistle (for Griffin) 64 mins.

Unused: Read, Michael.

Yellow Cards: Nobrega – 39 mins, Holland – 50 mins.