8/11/11

At last St John�s were at home again and the �SportsdirectTechfieldsArena.org.com.co.uk� welcomed many a loyal fan to its clarty pastures for this vital County Cup clash. The players were once more given permission to leave class early as visibility was beginning to get poorer the later time passed by and the boys intended not to waste the extra 20 minutes given to them.

Due to late injuries and players unable to attend, the team changed more times than the name of Newcastle�s stadium. Jack �Larsson� Race, Lennon �Suarez� Campbell, Glynn �Neville� Marley and James �Terry� Twinn the notable absentees. This threw defensive selection into chaos and Taylor �Cattermole� Bramhald was drafted in to full back with Jack �Carragher� Griffin moving to his preferred central role. As the smaller converted rugby pitch was waterlogged it was decided to play on the very large pitch in the next field. Adjusting to the huge pitch would prove just as tough a challenge as the opposition.

The opening exchanges were frantic as the size of the pitch and the size of the Hurworth players meant that the home side simply couldn�t get their rhythm going. It wasn�t until mid-way inside the first half that St John�s had their first real effort which ended in the opening goal. Luke �Rooney� Bailley latched onto a through ball from Charlie �Messi� Wigley and sent a delightful lob over the keeper�s head from outside the area. The goal spurred on Hurworth and St John�s uncharacteristically took their foot off the gas and Hurworth managed a well deserved equaliser. The defence failed to clear their lines and a fine cross brought a superb point-blank save from debutant Year 7 goalie Zach �Westwood� Hemming, unfortunately for him the ball rebounded in via a Hurworth midfielder to level the score. Then came the game changing moment. Again Bailley was sent clear but he appeared to have been at least a few yards offside, the referee however thought otherwise and Bailley correctly played to the whistle and slotted home. The team were warned at halftime that their performance and positivity levels needed to improve if they wished to win the game and judging on the first five minutes of the second half they listened well! After successive corners for St John�s Leon �Cole� Sides-Roe blasted a shot which was heading into the net until Michael �Silva� Gilbert intervened to claim another goal for his tally (to the dismay of Sides-Roe). Makeshift right-back Harry �Gutierrez� Coulthard tapped in shortly after from another corner. With the game effectively over, the red �n� blacks turned on the style and Bailley completed his second hat-trick in the County Cup this season with a powerful strike from 18 yards which took a slight deflection.

The players and fans were ecstatic with yet another win, but no-one was more pleased than Mr Swindells, as in his Year 11 days at St John�s his side were beaten by Hurworth in the County Cup final; although it had taken a while to avenge his own year teams failings, the wait was well worth it.

It was not a classic performance, but to win a game 5-1 whilst not playing anywhere near their best can only be a good thing. Can it?