Arngrove Northern League
02 February 2008
Speedy gets full marks for 6 out of 9
by Ken Milgate

Durham City 9
Richardson 5, 16, 40, 41, 53, 57(pen)
Bowes 51
Toft 61
Stobbs 87

Washington 0

A memorable 6-goal haul for Steven Richardson in a 9-0 demolition job did wonders for City’s goal difference and was due reward for balls-to-feet football.

Calvin Smith gave Ben Starford an easy save on 2minutes with a left-foot grubber, but three minutes later Richardson clinically converted a Stephen Capper left-wing cross to register a well-worked goal.

For Washington Stephen Burns scuffed a shot from outside the box past the far post before City scored their second, Richardson sliding the ball home after Starford had failed to cut out John Toft’s left-wing cross.

On 24minutes Richardson should have been celebrating his hat-trick but he shot straight at Starford from another quality Toft left-wing cross; a timely tackle by Ross Preston again denied Richardson after the City striker had beaten the keeper and was about to slot home from wide.

On 38minutes Richardson had every right to feel it was not going to be his day when he ballooned over the bar from a Toft pass before being twice denied by excellent saves by Starford.

Within the space of a minute, however, Richardson finished off a superb move down the left and then notched his fourth before half-time.

Six minutes into the second half City went five-up when Richard Smith nodded down a Keith Graydon free kick for Andy Bowes to turn the ball past Starford from close range.

Two minutes later Richardson finished off another Capper set-up and when he was floored by Starford when clear through on goal, he was naturally granted the privilege of taken the penalty, thereby scoring his sixth and City’s seventh.

On the hour Starford did well to parry a Lewis Dodds shot, but Toft got his reward for some quality crosses with an easy tap-in.

Peter Watling and Glen Reay managed token efforts at John Mohan, while Capper and Stewart Morris shot wide and high respectively for City.

Washington’s bad-day-at-the-office got even worse when Derek Waters was red-carded on 85minutes for a second bookable offence before City’s Graham Stobbs, on for Toft, contrived a late cameo: his left-foot shot on 86minutes was saved, but a minute later he rounded the keeper and slotted home from the tightest of angles to complete City’s rout of the visitors.

Only a goal-line clearance at the death denied Morris a goal and City a double-figure victory.

To their credit, Washington never gave up the chase and did enforce some sloppy City defending in the second half; City, however, fully exploited a weak opposition’s defence and but for Starford would have been celebrating an even greater margin of victory.

Durham City – Mohan, Harrison, Davison (English 76), Dodds, Bowes, Smith (R), Smith (C) (Morris 60), Graydon, Richardson, Toft (Stobbs 65), Capper

Subs not used – McSween, Farrell

Man-of-the-match – Steven Richardson

 
Washington – Starford, Robinson (McGrant 60), Jones, Mobberley( Liddle 46), Preston, Waters, Reay, Bryson, Burns, Watling, Brooking

Man-of-the-match – Ben Starford