Cooks get that winning feeling at home to Biggleswade United

Second half goals from Matt Long and Monte Dore secure a Thursday night victory.

Thursday 19th July 2018

b]PRE-SEASON FRIENDLY
COGENHOE UNITED (0) 2 v BIGGLESWADE UNITED (0) 0
[/b]Long 54
Dore 78

Biggleswade United came to Compton Park on Thursday night at short notice to fill the void left by Long Buckby and we owe them our gratitude for that.
A good run and cross from Matt Long down the right was just ahead of Ryan Dove, while Stuart Lutter blocked a couple of early efforts without too much trouble down the other end. Ryan Ansell stretched to get his head to a deep Liam Tuck free-kick just beyond the far post, but he couldn’t get above it and his effort went over. Long turned his man and squared for Dove but his shot was blocked and Sean McBride fired the rebound over from just outside the box. Ansell delivered a great free-kick into the danger zone but we didn’t really attack it and it bounced off a defender and safely back to the keeper.
Liam Tuck hit a low shot that bounced just in front of the keeper and hit the outside of the post , while a long Curtis Avery throw saw the keeper struggle and palm the ball away, but we didn’t manage to capitalise on the loose ball and the half ended goalless.
Montel Dore and Harry Chipchase came on at the break as the game began to liven up. Dove saw his free-kick hit the wall and McBride’s follow up wasn’t too far off target, but on 54 minutes we took the lead. Jamie Inwood played a ball into Dore’s path on the left and whipped in a great cross that the in-coming Matt Long buried with an absolute bullet header from inside the six-yard box.
Biggleswade ‘s reaction to going behind was a positive one and they were very unlucky not to level almost immediately, but the number 12’s effort smacked against the post and Lutter did well to recover and get a touch to the rebound. Around the hour mark we saw youngsters Jack Riley and Jessi Obeng given a run out and a chance to impress Jake and Ben.
Cogenhoe were very unlucky after an excellent far post corner from Dore was headed on target by Jamie Inwood, but it somehow stayed out with Harry Chipchase and McBride both throwing themselves at the ball inside the six-yard box. Ben Drinkwater came on for the last eighteen minutes and immediately got himself in the game. The visitors hit the post for a second time with a snap-shot from inside the box, but Drinkwater made a driving run that saw him outpace the centre-back and get into the box on the left, but the keeper saved his angled shot. With 78 minutes played the Cooks got their second of the night and it was another great goal. Creator became scorer as Montel Dore was picked out by a great McBride pass, turned inside his man just inside the box on the left, before curling a looped shot that sailed over the keeper and dropped perfectly to go in off the top of the far post. Ali Duncan, sporting a lovely black eye from the previous night’s coming together with Jonny Shakespeare’s head, became Cooks last sub of the night as both teams played out the final minutes on another sapping night for those pre-season muscles.
It’s true to say that United aren’t quite as classy as their neighbours were a few days earlier, but they had some decent players out there and we knew we’d had a game. They will take consolation from the fact they were very unlucky to hit the post twice and only conceded to a couple of great goals tonight. Jake Stone will be pleased with the win and the improving fitness levels from his team who probably deserved their win on the night and it’s great to see Matt Long looking so sharp at this stage of the season after injury had ruined his last two pre-seasons. Good performances all round today but not quite there yet and Saturday’s game at home to Buckingham Athletic will be their last run-out before the real stuff starts at Whitworth.

Cogenhoe United; 1. Stuart Lutter 2. Jacob Gartland 3. Jamie Inwood 4. Luke Stone 5. George Barnell 6. Curtis Avery 7. Sean McBride 8. Liam Tuck 9. Matt Long 10. Ryan Dove 11.R yan Ansell. Subs all used; 12. Jessi Obeng 14. Montel Dore 15. Ali Duncan 16. Harry Chipchase 17. Jack Riley 18. Ben Drinkwater.