Dylan Wilson marked his return to Compton Park with a first half double as the Cooks picked up their first win of pre-season.
Saturday 8th July 2023
PRE-SEASON FRIENDLY
COGENHOE UNITED (5) 7 IRCHESTER UNITED (0) 0
Cooks;
Wilson 12, 23
Mallard 19
Trialist 31, 43
Hall 63
Weatherly 68
Att; 32
The Cooks played their second warm-up game on Saturday afternoon when they welcomed Irchester United on the back pitch at Compton Park and they picked up their first win too with an emphatic 7-0 victory over their step six opponents.
Dylan Wilson opened the scoring on 12 minutes with a close-range header from a cross sent in from the left, then Harley Mallard rose high to head an Alex Parkes corner to double the lead on 19. Wilson got his second four minutes later after the keeper was unable to hold on to Bailey Weatherly’s free-kick and when the ball was squared across the box, Wilson was there for the tap-in. Wilson by this point had already forced a couple of decent saves from the Romans keeper, but he was soon to go off to deny him a chance of a hat-trick today. The trialist forward wearing the number nine shirt then took over the scoring mantle with a double himself (31 and 43) to bring up the nap hand before the break. The first one he put in from close range in true striker’s fashion after a great ball in, then a superb pass from Parkes put him through and he took it around the keeper before slotting home from an angle.
Plenty of changes at the break as Carlin ran the rule over a few more trialists and this half was to prove a little closer, although the Cooks did add two more without reply, Ciaran Wells made a welcome return in goal, as did Jamie Hall at the other end of the field. Our trialist striker had the ball in net again for what would have been a hat-trick had the lino’s flag not gone up. Not sure about this one, but he certainly got one or two wrong in this half, but there was no ruling out Hall’s effort as he nodded home from close-range with 63 minutes gone. Hall had a decent effort saved with another trialist ballooning the rebound over from close-range. The goal of the game came from Weatherly on 68 minutes when he touched the ball inside before hitting a screamer from 20-yards that flew past the keeper and into the net about two feet off the ground. Weatherly was sin-binned by Wayne Chalmers shortly afterwards after being penalised for a foul on the half-way line that he took issue to, but having a player fewer for ten minutes had no effect on the game and it ended 7-0 in our favour.
Thanks to Irchester for the game and playing it in the right spirit and I wish them luck in their first season as a Spartan South Midlands club after their single season as step-seven.
The Cooks return to action with their first midweek game on Tuesday night when they travel to Harpole for a 6-30pm kick-off.
Couple of snippets, former keeper Ashley Bodycote hasn’t in fact signed for Rothwell as I stated and played for Harborough Town in midweek, while Luca Purse, Pharrell Anderson, Kodi Briggs and Regan Saunt were all in the Rushden & Diamonds squad today as they were beaten 1-0 by Real Bedford. I was told today that last season’s skipper Patryk Cichosz has signed for Jake Stone’s Wellingborough Town this week. Paddy was our longest serving player and I wish him all the best as he teams up with Will Bates on the field once more.
