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Arngrove
Northern League
22 August 2007
City focused in body and spirit
by Ken Milgate
Washington Nissan 1
Pearson 74
Durham City 3
Clarke 5, 46
Graydon 52
Solid at the back, industrious in midfield and inventive up front, City
thoroughly deserved victory courtesy of their never-flinching
application. Despite many compelling candidates for the
ultimate accolade of man-of-the-match, Jonathan Butler gave a classic
display of doing the simple thing with the utmost efficiency to prove
that even unsung heroes catch the eye.
City set out their stall with a cracking goal after just five minutes
when Jamie Clarke beat Paul Newton from all of thirty yards with a
strike from the inside right position.
The lead should have been doubled on the quarter hour when Keith
Graydon’s free-kick found Jimmy Farrell unmarked at the back
post, but his free header missed the target.
The hosts’ attacks were being easily snuffed by a resolute
City defence, but Farrell’s positional play was a constant
headache for the Nissan defence and on 22minutes Chris Scott handled in
the penalty area under pressure from the City forward; sadly,
Clarke’s spot-kick looked more than a tad casual and Newton
punched his shot clear, diving to his left.
Nissan were to suffer a similar fate on 35minutes when City were
penalized for shirt-pulling, but John Mohan guessed right and saved
from Andy Appleby.
An opportunist’s goal in the opening minute of the second
half underlined City’s focused mind set, Clarke capitalizing
on a defensive mix-up to roll the ball into an empty net.
Two minutes later, City rode their luck when Mohan decided to ignore a
Steven Stewart left-wing cross, the ball hitting the far post before
bouncing out to safety, but Graydon caught Newton napping with yet
another of his trademark lobs from distance, beating the advanced
keeper from inside the Nissan half.
Refreshingly looking to increase their lead, City continued to mount
telling attacks and on the hour Clarke set up Farrell in space on the
right, but the latter chose a blaze for glory which missed the post
when he had time to take the ball forward and create a better angle for
himself.
A minute later Stewart Morris was unlucky not to add to his goal tally
when he turned a defender and let loose a cracking strike only to be
denied by an even better save by Newton.
Not to be outdone by his colleague, Stephen Capper let fly on 70minutes
before Nissan gave themselves a glimmer of a comeback when Gary Pearson
punished a back-pedalling defence with a clinical strike across Mohan
from some distance.
City were, however, in no mood to surrender their hard-fought advantage
and held on comfortably for a convincing win, a couple of late tactical
substitutions soaking up some of the added-on time. They
might even have notched a fourth goal had Graydon’s
half-volley not flashed the wrong side of the upright.
The performance was a far cry from the resigned defeat at the same
ground in last season’s penultimate game.
Sunderland Nissan
– Newton, Scott, Lund, Stephenson (A), Stephenson (P),
Keegan, Stewart, Walklate, Appleby (Tait 64), Cogden, Pearson
Durham City –
Mohan, Butler, Capper, Dodds, Bowes, Pitt, Morris (Harrison 87),
Graydon, Clarke, Farrell (Smith(C) 85), English
Subs not used – Caffry, Price, Smith (R)
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