Durham United vs West Auckland FC Reserves
Wearside Premier Division
Thursday 21st November 2024
19:30
Written by Patrick Dixon
Post-match team photo
This late fixture could only be described as cold. Bitterly cold… Nonetheless, we took solace knowing that United finally, after over a month, managed to secure a home fixture. The team knew that we could put in a good performance as our home form in the league has been flawless thus far.
The changing room seemed to be in a relatively lively mood considering the conditions outside. But, all was not well though as, after only brief few minutes, I glance up to see a look of horror on Fred Waltons face...
He’s just been informed that the opposing team were wearing an all-white kit, the same colour as his underlayer. In most levels of football, Fred's lack of attention to detail would see his arms exposed to the elements.
This is Wearside however, and he was put at ease when he was told that he would be alright.
Oscar Schuller must have caught wind of this conversation and decided to brandish his very own royal blue layer. Slightly ambitious - especially as it matches none of the kits we wear - but he also got the go ahead.
***
The match started well, with United being able to expose the many pockets of the Auckland Midfield and defence, stemming from intelligent running and passing from the midfield trio of Rory Edwards, Alex Dinan and Seb Hopkins.
The back line was also solid, so much so I managed not to face a single shot the entire half. This had its consequences however, as it meant I was playing more of an additional centre back role, which tested my footwork.
Thankfully, I had a competent midfield in front of me and it was relatively easy to beat their 1 man-press. I started to feel quite bad for the guy, as I’m sure the last thing he wanted to do after a long day was chase after a ball for 90 minutes. Maybe he was just staying warm?
Ollie England controlled the tempo of the game, managing to win free-kicks from unlikely situations. A difficult task, given the leniency of the officiating in the league.
The pressure kept building on the Auckland goal, and you got the sense that eventually one of the cracks would open and, sure enough, it did. Towards the left-hand side, Rory swung the ball out to an eager Freddie Walton who, with two intelligent touches, played the ball through to an inverting Ollie England.
An intentional large touch to his right left the tall defender flailing to the floor; a move so nice, he tried it twice, getting taken to the ground himself on the second occasion. A clear penalty.
But, Ben Pearson didn’t seem to care as the ball made its way to him and, before the referee could blow for a penalty, he calmly placed his shot into the bottom left-hand corner.
***
It wasn’t long before Ben got involved again as, 3 minutes after his goal, He received a throw and, on the turn, played it out to Rory, who quickly played the ball out to Schuller.
With quick thinking, a perfectly weighted pass from the man in blue (underlayer) slid Rory into the box. Pulling the ball to his right, he held off the oncoming defender and, with only a jittery keeper to beat, Rory slotted the ball past him with precision and pace.
A deserved 2-0 lead to Durham once the whistle blew to signal half time relief.
Half-Time: Durham United 2 - 0 West Auckland FC Reserves
***
The Blast of heat upon entering the building was greatly appreciated by everyone; none more so than Ollie England, who took off his playing kit in place of a towel, much to the concern of the team. As it turns out, he had organised to be subbed off, and an eager Sam Benoist was ready to relieve him.
***
The second period began and its fair enough it was one of the more uneventful halves of football, despite us having a few chances on goal. One in particular from Walton who drove at the opposition, beating their number 6 with a dip of the hips, and hit a powerful strike outside the box.
It was destined for the bottom corner, but it was well saved by the keeper, who had a very good 45 minutes.
The only other remarkable moment of the half was an embarrassing one on my part. A cross came into the box, but the Auckland attacker was flagged for offside by the linesman.
At this point, autopilot kicked in, and I placed the ball where I believed the offside to be. Whilst doing so, I checked with the linesman who seemed to give me a nod of approval.
Crucially, however, no whistle has sounded and, as I’m waiting for options to open up, I started hearing mutters of “kick it.”
These mutters very quickly turn into shouts “KICK IT!!”, as the attacker was only standing about 2 yards away from me (himself only just recognised at the same time as me that no offside free kick has been given).
He ferociously sprinted to the ball, as I quickly hit it away with very little consideration of where it went. Thankfully, it landed on the head of Sam Benoist.
When the whistle blew, both Jonah and Seb turned around questioning me on what just happened, to which I shrugged. To be honest, I'm still unsure, even when writing this.
***
It was now that we started to see some of the ‘dark arts’ that we prophesised at half time, including an elbow into the face of Jonah, who seems to be undeservingly collecting a lot of them this season.
The game carried on in similar fashion until the ref finally blew his whistle concluding a convincing win for United.
Full-Time: Durham United 2 - 0 West Auckland FC Reserves
***
A tough call for player of the match but I was always going to give it to one of the two centre-backs. As a goalkeeper, you know your back line has played well when you start selfishly hoping the opposition might just pop a rogue strike at you to get a bit more action in the game. I was left hoping the entire match...
Therefore, I’ve given it to Chris Wild who, along with Jonah, was defensively top notch, positioning himself well and decisively to thwart the opposition throughout. He was able to also pick out key passes which penetrated the Auckland side on a number of occasions, pivotal to our success in the match.
[Editor's note: It's only fair to mention that the Wearside website officially gave the gold star to Fred Walton!].
***
Player of the Match: Chris Wild [and Freddie Walton]
Line-up: Patrick Dixon; Morgan Lant; Chris Wild; Jonah Blake; Ollie England; Alex Dinan; Seb Hopkins; Rory Edwards (Goal 40'); Oscar Schuller; Freddie Walton; Ben Pearson (Goal 35')
Substitutes: Marko Porozovs; Sam Benoist; Paddy Harvey; Sam Benoist; Oli Williams; Tom Boothroyd
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