Old Woodhouseians FC

2nd XI

2nd XI Reports for March 2010

28 March 2010
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Lots of Reports in One again!

Again the 2s have kept up their form in the league, with 1 loss, 1 draw and 3 wins in March. Here is a quick run down of the games:

March 6^th vs Leyton County

This was a disappointing week, playing a side sitting comfortably in second in the league, with little to discuss except for absences and a shortage of players. Good performances from Dempsey and Barrett were the only highlights in a week were injury took its toll. With only 10 men available, the injured player manager Goldring was forced to play. However, the lack of subs played a major part in the only loss of 2010 for the 2^nd XI.

A silly mistake in defence allowed the Leyton striker to put the ball in an open net, but some excellent individual skill by Dempsey got the equaliser. A deft flick around the first defender and then a wonderful cut back allowed another Henry-like curling effort into the far corner.

However, some slack defending, combined with tired legs and Goldring having to stand up front as his injury had resurfaced allowed Leyton to take control of the game racing into a 3-1 lead in the second half. A missed penalty from Dolou was followed in by Dempsey and at 3-2 it was game on.

Had the game have lasted another 5 minutes the Woods felt they could have got back into it. The sheer discontent from the 2XI showed how used to winning they had become and everyone vowed that next week against top in league we would make amends.

March 13^th vs Minchendenians (Double Header)

One of the anomalies of amateur football is the double header – sounds like a dirty porn film, but is in fact two games back to back, both 60 minutes long. It appeared the football gods above had decided to frown upon us with the fixtures list by giving us a double header against top in the league, who were undefeated all season. Little did we know this was in fact a moment of divine intervention!

The sun shone brightly in the blue sky and it was peaceful as Simon Goldring lay on the beach in Lanzarote. So Vice-Captain (and future 2^nd XI Captain) Andy Christadolou took charge for the mammoth fixture and he definitely proved his credentials – maybe Dolou is the new Special One?!

The first game petered out to a 0-0 draw, with Minch providing little attacking threat and the Woods feeling they deserved 3 points. With little to report otherwise, the second game was where the miracle occurred.

Minch, sitting pretty at the top of the table, started at a slow pace, and the Woods took great advantage of that. With goals from Dempsey, Vanderpuye, Dolou (Penalty) and 2 from Reed the Woods rode out 5-0 victors. A comfortable result, with the pundits giving the man of the match to the Woods Polish import upfront, who some have coined as a more rotund, white Emile Heskey!

A double clean sheet for Baz in goal has put him right in the mix for Goalkeeper of the year and the results have put the 2XIs charge for 3^rd place right back on track!

March 20^th vs Goffs Old Boys

A bad performance on a terrible pitch still resulted in a win, but in the words of Mourinho “we all want to play great music all the time, but if that is not possible, you have to hit as many right notes as you can." And the right notes we hit came from James Barker in central midfield and Michal Wloch upfront.

The Woods started as easy favourites and raced into a 2-0 lead with a goal from Wloch, which was well crafted by Vanderpuye and an own goal. The scoreline should have been far more comfortable, with Vanderpuye creating and subsequently missing 2 one on ones and Georgiou failing to take advantage of an excellent ball by Barker finding him in the box.

However, the boggy pitch, combined with the physical nature of the game got the 2XI stuck and allowed Goffs back into the game. A mistake by the defence and Barrett in goal allowed a soft goal and put the score at 2-1 at half time.

If anyone had ears left after the rant by Goldring and Rylance at half time then they were lucky, but it appeared to do little good. The Woods were stuck in limbo, creating the odd chance, but without ever achieving the level they knew they were capable of.

What appeared to be a killer blow came halfway through the second half, when Goffs scored an equaliser. However, some individual brilliance by Wloch saved the Woods blushes at the death, as he hammered a goal into the back of the net.

A 3-2 victory, in a game where it should have been far more comfortable, but 3 points nonetheless and bottom of the league the next week.

March 27^th vs Aloysians

A week of unavailability’s, injuries and non-responses, was followed by a day of delay, over abundance and Chlamydia testing.

The 2^nd XI had more unavailable players than John Terry has numbers in his little black book and the side has almost as many injuries as Ledley King has in one season. However, the side managed to put together an 11 plus Goldring (still injured) on the bench.

The pitch was set up and the ref and the 2s were ready to start, but there was no sign of the Aloysians side. At 2.30pm the Aloysians side turned up, half an hour after kick off, and we finally kicked off at 2.40pm. However, in the time the Woods were waiting around they were greeted by a group of NHS workers offering Chlamydia testing – some interesting stories, not appropriate for this medium, definitely came out in those discussions!

So unavailability, injuries, non-responses, delay and Chlamydia testing had been covered before kick-off. Now it was the turn for over-abundance!

The Aloysians side turned up with 9 men and after attempts to recruit some kids from the side of the pitch (who had been there for an hour kicking about) were rejected by the referee the game kicked off.

The Woods side were missing 3 defenders of the normal 5 in the side, with Obradovic and Rylance away and Goldring injured. So Paul Dawson stepped into the breach at centre back and Jason Whitelock, fresh from playing as 1^st XI goalkeeper the week earlier, at right back.

The new defence appeared strong in the opening exchanges and the Woods took an early lead through Reed. With little to do in defence, the question even at 1-0 was how many will we score. And Wloch, with a wonderful strike from wide of the right hand side of the box, made it 2-0.

Constant barraging from the sidelines from Goldring that goal difference mattered and that this game could decide who top scorer in the side was, saw the players push full throttle for the first half. At half time the score was 6-0, with two goals from Wloch, two goals from Reed, one from Dolou and one from Vanderpuye.

Although at 6-0 the halftime talk was calmer than usual, it was emphasised that we shouldn’t let up for 3 reasons: (1) A clean sheet would put Allen in the driving seat for the Goalkeeper trophy (2) Goal difference mattered in our push for 3^rd (3) Double figures sounded good!

The second half began at a similar pace to the 1^st and the woods put a 7^th goal in by LV. With Reed, Wloch and LV all on 2 goals, the race for top goalscorer and first hatrick of the season were on! With aplomb Wloch took the first honours, but then laziness and a lack of concentration hit.

The Aloysians side had been taking the game as a joke since the end of the first half and this rubbed off on the Woods side. With a lapse in concentration the Aloysians team pulled a goal back. Although it was going to have no effect on the result, it had ruined the clean sheet!

There was still time, however, for Reed (with a diving header) and Vanderpuye to complete their respective hatricks and take the tally to 10.

The result was 10-1, the game was a bit of a farce, but it had definitely helped the 2^nd XIs drive for 3^rd place. Simon “Mourinho” Goldring was reported to have said when discussing the injury crisis in the Woods 2^nd XI this week that "It's like having a blanket that is too small for the bed. You pull the blanket up to keep your chest warm and your feet stick out. I cannot buy a bigger blanket because the supermarket is closed. But the blanket is made of cashmere!" I guess you cannot argue with that, as the player stricken side ran out 10-1 winners!

Since the current side took over the 2^nd XI (on the 28^th November) they have amassed 23 points in 11 games, with a goal difference of +20 in those games and pulled themselves up to 4^th in the league – not bad for a side who were sitting rock bottom of the table at the start!

The Easter break is now upon us, but after Easter the 2s hope to continue for their push for 3^rd!

Simon “Mourinho” Goldring

Results, Teams and Scorers:

March 6^th vs Leyton County 2-3

Team: Barrett, Goldring, Dolou, Obradovic, Pither, Dempsey, Barker, Reed, Kelly D, Vanderpuye, Georgiou.

Subs:

Goals: Dempsey 2

Man of the Match: Dempsey

March 13th vs Minchendenians 0-0

Team: Barrett, Kelly D, Dolou, Obradovic, Pither, Dempsey, Reed, Wloch, Vanderpuye, Georgiou, Guildea.

Subs: Constantinou, Cutter

Goals:

Man of the Match: Pither/Reed

March 13^th vs Minchendians 5-0

Team: Barrett, Constantinou, Dolou, Obradovic, Pither, Vanderpuye, Reed, Cutter, Dempsey, Wloch, Guildea.

Subs: Georgiou, Kelly D.

Goals: Reed 2, Dempsey, Dolou, Vanderpuye.

Man of the Match: Wloch

March 20^th vs Goffs Old Boys 3-2

Team: Barrett, Rylance, Dolou, Obradovic, Pither, Kelly D, Reed, Barker, Georgiou, Wloch, Vanderpuye

Subs: Guildea, Achilles, Goldring

Goals: Wloch 2, OG

Man of the Match: Barker

March 27^th vs Aloysians 10-1

Team: Barrett, Whitelock, Dolou, Dawson, Pither, Kelly D, Reed, Barker, Georgiou, Wloch, Vanderpuye.

Subs: Goldring

Goals: Wloch 3, Reed 3, Vanderpuye 3, Dolou.

Man of the Match: Reed/Wloch/Vanderpuye

By Mick Kelly Tagged: 2nd, XI, March

Old Woodhouseians Reserves 2010 So Far – 4 Reports in 1!

16 February 2010
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Four weeks of matches in 2010 have been and gone and the 2nds have been the form side in the league.

Jan 23^rd vs Southgate

A 1-1 draw at Southgate kicked us off - where I wasn’t present, but a strong performance in which we deserved to win and the only goal coming from the penalty spot, taken by Dolou. (Leon has requested it be known that he won the penalty!)

Since then we have then been on a run of 3 wins in a row – all at our much loved (and very muddy) home pitches.

Jan 30^th vs Latymer

The first of the 3, a 2-1 win against Laytmer and the best performance so far this season, but again a performance of missed chances. The positives of the game were that the Woods made Latymer (a team sitting comfortably in 3^rd spot) look average and created chance after chance. However, our tendency not to kill teams off and the no show of two of our players were negatives which required fixing! In the actual game, the Woods took an early lead through a lovely goal by Guildea created by some slick passing between Kelly, Vanderpuye, Barker, Georgiou and Reed and looked like we could run away with the game, but some over confidence and slack shooting allowed Latymer back into the game. The entire midfield and forward line were all guilty of missing at least one chance each in the first half. However, what was impressive was Barker and Reed’s control of centre midfield and complete dominance in the air. The defence were very rarely looked troubled with Obradovic, Pither and Dolou all playing out of their skins. At half time discussions about substitutions came up with the possibility of putting the disgruntled Wloch (who was definitely not happy to be on the bench) up front.

Early in the second half Latymer were denied an equaliser by a great save by Barrett and a combination of Goldring and Kelly’s acrobatics to clear the ball off the line. The Woods had come close to throwing away all their hard work and with another “Mourinho”esc tactical change Wloch replaced Georgiou up front. With possibly his first touch Wloch had bustled the centre back out of the way and knocked a cross into the net, 2-0 and game over we thought. Wloch’s next touch hit the cross bar and again the Woods thought they would now run away with it.

However, our usual over confidence and complacency kicked in and allowed Latymer some breathing space. The introduction of Richie “Duff” Dempsey for his Old Woods debut brought some life to the game, however some sloppy defending allowed Latymer a goal back and ensured a tense finish.

At full time there was a great feeling around the team, combined with relief from our misfiring front line. We had beaten a strong side well and deserved to win by more, whilst finding in Wloch the big centre forward we had been looking for all season and discovering a new talent in Dempsey. 2-1 win and the start of a strong 2010 for the Old Woods 2^nd XI!

Feb 6^th vs Egbertians

A story of mistakes, misses and an Andy Fordham look-a-like (pre-weight loss and short hair). The Woods lined up with a new sense of belief and confidence and started the game dominantly. However, the fear was definitely struck into them when a colossal man stepped up to win the ball for the first time, he was huge (and possibly pregnant – some said twins) and his posture and guise were reminiscent of the most famous of Tudor kings, but enough about Wlochy! Chance after chance went begging, with Georgiou creating and subsequently missing most of them. Kelly and Guildea linked well but both saw shots go over or wide. Then disaster struck, a mistake by the usually unflappable Reed saw the ball picked up by the Egbertians left midfielder and a wonderful cross, combined with some not so wonderful defensive positioning saw Egbertians take a very undeserved lead with a header beating Barrett at his far post. For the next minute or so before the centre was taken the words which left both my lips and vice-captain Dolou’s lips were neither pleasant nor repeatable, but they seemed to do the trick. Woods stepped up a gear and Kelly was set free by a lovely chipped pass from Goldring (and yes I meant it!) and he chipped the oncoming keeper from 25 yards with aplomb, only to see his effort come back of the cross bar. Next was Guildea’s chance, a knock down by Wloch followed by some lovely link play between Georgiou and Tabi saw the ball fall to Guildea in the area, only to see his effort pull narrowly wide of the far post. Finally, the Woods got what they deserved when Pither sent the ball to Wloch who guided it on to Georgiou, who cut in to the box from wide and placed the ball past the keeper. The defence looked safe as houses, with Rylance and Dolou combining strength with agility and finesse, so it was now up to the midfield and strikers to find the winning goal. But with half time looming chances were scarce.

At half time a team talk of disappointment and imminent substitutions was given by Goldring and with Reed injured Gillies replaced him. Vanderpuye also made his case to be brought on and ten minutes into the second half he was given his chance. With a point to prove LV produced a moment of individual magic. The ball was sent to his feet on the halfway line, where he duly took on and beat the full back. Next up was the covering centre back, who was left for dead by a burst of pace by LV and lastly the keeper, who stood no chance of saving the low, hard and accurate driven shot. The perfect reaction to being a substitute and the perfect reminder of the strength in depth that we have in this team! 2-1 to the Woods and now there was surely only one winner. Within minutes a solid challenge by Goldring and subsequent pass to Vanderpuye sent a quick counter attack and some fluid passing between LV, Tabi and Gillies saw the ball end up with Wloch who beat the defender and crossed powerfully and to his delight the ball was knocked into the net by an Egbertians defender. After the third goal the game petered out a bit, apart from a few nice touches from Jermaine Yamoah and a shot which whistled past the post by Tabi (who still awaits the use of his sparkly glove – a story for another time!)

The Woods rode out 3-1 winners and although again pleased with their performance, in full knowledge that against a better side we must finish our chances more clinically.

Feb 13^th vs Goffs Old Boys

With confidence and players in abundance it was for Valentines day celebrations to get in the way of the match against Goffs. The worst offender was Dennis Kelly (and it is here for all to see), who missed the game due to his Valentines gift of taking the Missus to the Lion King – 20 press ups in next weeks team talk is now due! A shortage of players was relieved by the availability of Herati and Behiri (who had not been around for the past few months). The side started well and looked like taking the lead within seconds when Georgiou combined with Jermaine Yamoah to break into the box, a squared pass to Wloch and a quick return back to Georgiou in the 6 yard box left the goal at his mercy with the keeper well out of position, but Georgiou managed to skew his shot wide of the far post! However, Georgiou was to turn creator soon after with a shot from outside the box after a corner, the shot swerved hugely and the keeper some how managed to save it, but unfortunately for the keeper and fortunately for the Woods the ball fell to Obradovic who smashed the ball into the back of the net for his first goal for the club.

However, the “tendency” discussed every week to get slack inevitably followed and we allowed a sloppy equaliser. A shot from 30 yards, which should have been better closed down, was deflected off Dolou’s knee and looped over Barrett and into the top corner of the net. 1-1 and the Woods were at risk of throwing it away again!

The next 20 minutes consisted of quick sharp passing combined with woeful shooting from the Woods and long ball hoofs over the top of our defence’s heads from Goffs. Worryingly Goffs were creating chances from this method and their game plan appeared to be working. However, some nice movement from Jermaine Yamoah combining with Tabi found both Georgiou and Vanderpuye free in the box, both being denied by the keeper, however, a well struck finish from close range by Wloch made it 2-1 in a scrappy encounter. Again mistakes crept in and a rare defensive error by Obradovic allowed an equaliser, but the Woods were not going to settle for all square at half time and took the kick off with only one acceptable outcome of the final 5 minutes of the half, another goal. A solid challenge from Reed began a flowing move in which Tabi found Wloch who turned nicely (he's got a lovely touch for a big fella!) to find Vanderpuye free in the box, who showed great composure to drive the ball low and hard passed the keeper. 3-2 and half time was upon us.

The half time talk was, unusually, not started by Goldring shouting, but by Obradovic making his discontent clear. The call for everyone to concentrate and play with conviction was reiterated by everyone and Dempsey was told to warm up. Five minutes into the second half, with little of interest having occurred, Georgiou was substituted for Dempsey, who started very brightly. Herati and Behiri both followed on soon after. Behiri looking solid on his return from injury and Herati looking unfit on his return from Christmas drinking! However, Herati managed to have a chance when the Goffs defence faltered and he was narrowly denied a simple finish by the keeper who came rushing out of his goal.

With the game still far from settled and chances at either end, Tabi sent a lofted through ball over the Goffs defence to Dempsey and with the keeper coming off his line Dempsey met the ball of the volley to calmly chip the keeper. An “Henry-like” finish it was dubbed by Tabi, but I’m going to stick with a “Duff-like” finish – a great first goal and hopefully one of many for the club.

However, as the common theme often is with this team, a lapse in concentration allowed Goffs a goal back (a cracker of a shot admittedly). At 4-3 the Woods looked tired and relied on Obradovic, Dolou and Reed for some heavy tackling and long hoofs. The full time whistle blew and the Woods 2^nd XI had won their 3 on the trot and were now in contention for the higher places in the league. Provided we can get rid of the sloppy mistakes and start being more clinical in front of goal the 2^nd XI look a formidable side!

Next week is at home to Beals – bring it on!

Simon "Mourinho" Goldring

Results, Teams and Scorers:

Jan 23^rd vs Southgate 1-1

Team: Barrett, Rico, Dolou, Rylance, Pither, Georgiou, Wloch, Reed, Kelly D, Vanderpuye, Guildea.

Subs: Worboys, Bashkal, Goldring D

Goals: Dolou

Man of the Match: Rylance

Jan 30^th vs Latymer 2-1

Team: Barrett, Goldring, Dolou, Obradovic, Pither, Kelly D, Reed, Barker, Vanderpuye, Georgiou, Guildea.

Subs: Wloch, Dempsey

Goals: Guildea, Wloch

Man of the Match: Pither/Obradovic

Feb 6^th vs Egbertians 3-1

Team: Barrett, Goldring, Dolou, Rylance, Pither, Kelly D, Reed, Tabi, Georgiou, Wloch, Guildea

Subs: Vanderpuye, Yamoah Je, Gillies K

Goals: Georgiou, Vanderpuye, O.G.

Man of the Match: Dolou

Feb 13^th vs Goffs Old Boys 4-3

Team: Barrett, Goldring, Dolou, Obradovic, Pither, Vanderpuye, Reed, Tabi, Georgiou, Wloch, Yamoah Je

Subs: Dempsey, Herati, Behiri

Goals: Obradovic, Wloch, Vanderpuye, Dempsey

Man of the Match: Reed

By Mick Kelly Tagged: 2ndxi

OLD WOODS 2 - 1 Old Tollingtonians Reserves

30 November 2009
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After some questionable results in the early season a mix up of managerial and playing staff have bared fruit in their first week in the 2^nd XI. The shrewd tactical awareness of the currently injured Simon “Mourinho” Goldring combined with the teamwork and commitment of the players seem to be a winning mix.

A very well mannered game against a sporting and friendly Tollys started a ferocious pace. In the early stages of the game the Woods were dominant, with Georgiou and Jermaine Yamoah (need a nickname soon!) causing the Tollys defence all sort of trouble. Cross after cross after cross was sent into the box by Dennis “the Menace” Kelly and Leon “LV” Van Der Poye, such was the early dominance it was reminiscent of Tottenham’s recent 9-1 demolition of Wigan. Jermaine had two clear headers both sent wide and Michal “Cambiasso” Wloch sent a similar header wide after doing well to get to the ball. The backline of Dolou, Obradovic, Rylance and Rico were rarely troubled in this encounter, with new goalkeeper Alan Barrett showing a solid start to his Woods career.

However, the Woods could not capitalise on their early dominance and fell behind to the first shot Tollys had taken near to the stroke of half time.

An inspirational half time team talk taken by Goldring and Frank “Maestro” Yamoah inspired the team in the second half. Maestro’s evident frustration at the lack of shots being taken in his absence left his younger brother Jermaine with a point to prove.

Within minutes of the second half kicking off the Woods were again pressing, with the Tollys box being attacked non-stop a goal was inevitable. A good challenge and pass from Reid in centre mid (who knew a trip to Amsterdam could be beneficial to football ability) sent the ball out wide to the right and a first time cross from Menace was put in the box. Duly, as expected, Jermaine stepped up to the gauntlet and a cool half-volleyed finish from inside the box settled things at 1-1 and the game was on.

The question was now ‘when’ not ‘if’ the winning goal would come. A substitution, bringing on the youngest Yamoah, James, proved key as his physical presence unsettled the Tollys defence. Within a matter of minutes a skilful solo run by LV left him with a left footed shot, which the keeper saved well, but LV’s hard work paid off as he calmly slotted the rebound in the net.

Another substitution saw Jules Addo making his Woods debut (a big day for any man). Addo proved to be a handful for Tollys and was denied a debut goal by a wonderful save from the Tollys keeper. Although fitness may have been questionable with Addo, his creativity and running look like they may be an asset to the team.

With tiredness kicking in, the Woods made the final minutes tough, allowing Tollys left midfielder run well with the ball on a few occasions. However, the full time whistle was blown and the “new” 2^nd XI had won – the start of something great we hope!

Team: Barrett, Rylance, Christadolou, Obradovic, Rico, Kelly D, Wloch (Yamoah Ja 55), Reid, Van Der Poye, Georgiou (Addo 65), Yamoah Je.

Scorers: Yamoah Je, Van Der Poye.

Man of the Match: Yamoah Je

By Mick Kelly Tagged: 2ndXI

OLD WOODS 4 - 3 Old Tollingtonians AET

30 September 2009
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After a narrow defeat last week by Old Tollingtonians in the League the 2^ndXI faced the same opposition in the London Old Boys Cup. This game saw the return of Shobwiz to fold after nearly a year out!

Woods started well with a midfield of James “Bully” Young, Joe Moloney, Rob Miller and erm…Joe Moloney – this report will get confusing so I’m going to call Pat O’Callaghan’s Joe Moloney Jojo.

Woods took the lead after about five minutes when Bully’s delightful pass with the outside of the boot, a move he tried many times again and failed, found Connor Moloney in space on the left. He surged into the box and was nearly knocked off balance but managed to stay on his feet and square the ball to Tony Priolo who had the simplest task of side footing the ball home – 1 nil to the Woods!

The boys in orange (no not the Dutch or those folk in Northern Ireland) took the game to Tollies and their keeper did well to save from both Connor Moloney and Priolo. So it was a bit of a shock when they equalised. A ball was squared from the Woods left to the centre of the goal about 25 yards out to a player who was allowed a bit too much time by centre back pairing Ray Langley and Aiden McGuire. He controlled the ball unleashed a hellish drive in to the far top corner of the goal which Danny Beck could only wave at as it passed his chubby mitt into the goal. 1-1.

Tollies found a new lease of life after this and soon they were ahead. Artan Rico was dispossessed on the left and the ball was passed forward to a Tolly player who bore down on goal, Beck did well to make a good one-on-one block only for the ball to fortuitously spin of his body into the path of a free man who notched to make it 2-1.

With 5 minutes left in the half Rico made a good headed clearance off the line and Priolo was unlucky not to score. Half time soon came and Woods knew there was still a lot to play for in this tie and with Dale Gillies and Snorbitz er…Showbiz on the bench they could bring on fresh legs when needed.

Woods started the second half poorly and Tollies began to press forward and looked like scoring. After weathering a storm for 5 minutes or so Woods came out of the traps with Sean Crossan making some great overlapping runs and Jojo and McGuire winning everything in the air. On about 70 minutes Dale Gillies replaced Joe Moloney.

Woods equalised on 75 minutes after Crossan’s ball over the top was put into his own net by the hapless Tollies centre back. Crossan is trying to claim it as his goal but it’s not, it is a big fat OG!

As the final whistle drew near both sides squandered good opportunities to get the winner. First Connor Moloney saw the keeper make a good save and then in the final minute the Tollies striker headed over the bar with Beck nowhere in sight and the whole goal beckoning. The final whistle blew and we were on for extra time!

Both sides agreed to only play 10 minutes each way in extra time as the mean old shower attendant, and weird friend, had suggested that they would close everything up at 4:30 leaving no time for a good scrub and shower (Showbiz’s favourite bit!).

Five minutes in and Woods took the lead. Bully delivered a delicious free kick to the far post and Jojo was on hand to bundle the ball in on the line. Tollies cries of offside were waved away by the ref as they claimed Connor Moloney had flicked the ball on – afterwards he said he hadn’t.

The first half of extra time soon finished and Woods kicked of the second half. Halfway through the half Woods doubled their lead as Crossan fed Connor Moloney who scored a much deserved goal when he rounded the keeper and slid home to make it 4-2 to the Woods. There was delirium on the touch line.

With 4 minutes remaining Bully made the change everyone had been waiting for as Mick “Showbiz” Kelly replaced Rico at leftback to make his first competitive appearance for Old Woodhouseians in nearly a year after suffering the most horrific of injuries on the same ground last October.

These remaining four minutes were not without action as Jojo handled in the box with two minutes to go – the spot kick had to be retaken but was scored (two of the worse penalty kicks I’ve ever seen!). Woods rode out the last two minutes with the game ending 4-3 and now march on to the next round where they will play a tough home game to either Albanian 3^rdXI or Enfield Old Grammarians 3^rdXI.

Team: Beck, Crossan. Langley, McGuire, Rico, J Moloney, Young, JJ Moloney, Miller, C Moloney, Priolo. Subs: D Gillies, M Kelly

Scorers: Priolo, OG, JJ Moloney, C Moloney

MoM: JJ Moloney – An animal at centre midfield!