Disappointment for the Cooks as they are beaten by Long Buckby at Compton Park.
Saturday 17th September 2022
UHLSPORT UNITED COUNTIES LEAGUE – PREMIER DIVISION SOUTH
COGENHOE UNITED (0) 0 LONG BUCKBY AFC (2) 2
Bucks;
Pursey 36
Waple-Moors 39 (pen)
Att; 55
Scott Carlin was able welcome back Will Bates and Pharrell Anderson, but was without Jessi Obeng, Luca Iaciofano and Josh Jones as the Cooks hosted county rivals Long Buckby. The visitor’s managed by former Cogenhoe Reserves manager Craig Hayward, included ex-Cooks players Munya Matiyenga, Nzube Nwosu, Matt Gearing, Manny Ggejuade and Gohkan Ulker in their starting line-up.
Before the game Ben Gough was presented with the August Player-of-the-Month award after making an impressive start to his Cogenhoe career.
Anderson made a good run into the box on the left and steered the ball across the face of the goal, but he had no support at all and John Meadows was able to pick the ball up unchallenged, then Mitch White cut inside to hit a 20-yard shot that hit a defender’s legs just inside the box. Luke McDonald played a free-kick into the box from midway inside the Bucks half, but Meadows came out to make a clean catch, then Buckby’s first chance fell to skipper Dom Bolton who volleyed wide from 20-yards following their first corner. Nwosu, who surprised me by playing as one of the centre-backs, brought down Anderson giving McDonald another chance to play a free-kick into the box. Brad Marshall rose to head it back across the box, but Pursey headed out as far as Gough whose first-time shot was blocked and when it fell to Marshall, his snap-shot was well off target.
Gough headed a McDonald corner goalward and Bates tried an overhead kick, but placed it straight at Meadows, whilst quickly down the other end Regan Saunt saved a Gbejuade shot with his outstretched boot with Nathan Amaning lurking behind hoping for a tap in. Louie Barrett made a good run down the right and got past Matiyenga before pulling it back to White, but his first-time effort was too close to the keeper to worry him. Joe Pursey went into the book on 13 minutes for pulling back the shirt of Anderson whose pace had seen him go past the defender and McDonald played the free-kick into the box where Marshall met it with a towering header that went just wide.
McDonald broke into the box through the centre and Bruce Tsinosis was at full stretch to get his foot to the ball with the Cooks player going down the centre-backs legs with referee Paul McVey awarded the Cooks a corner. Some of the Cooks players felt they should have had a penalty, but I felt the referee was probably right with this one. McDonald played it in, but Marshall couldn’t get a clean header to it and his effort went wide. Some lovely football from the Cooks saw White with a chance inside the box, but Tsinosis defended superbly to snuff out any danger, then the same defender rather unnecessarily barged into the back of Anderson a few yards back from the right corner flag to allow Kodi Briggs to swing in a free-kick. The delivery was superb with Bates arriving at the back post ready to head home from close range, but Meadows stretched backward and to catch the ball cleanly in front of him. Really difficult one for the keeper and a superb take that kept his side on level-pegging. Alex Parkes played the ball to White, but when his shot bounced back to Parkes on the left corner of the area, he cut inside and hit a curling shot that was heading inside the far post but for a very good diving save from Meadows who pushed it away at full-stretch.
Marshall came to cover with a very timely tackle to stop Amaning as he broke into the box, then Briggs saw his cross won in the air by Owosu, but a great first-touch by Parkes gave White the chance to swivel and hit a powerful shot from just outside the box that flew just over. Barrett fired over from a 25-yard central free-kick that had been touched off to him, then Marshall flicked on a Gough throw with his head, but no Cogenhoe player had come in behind to take advantage as the ball rolled through the box. Amaning saw his shot deflected wide following Gearing’s pass. Gearing played in the original corner from the right, but when it was put back into the area from the opposite side, it dropped over Briggs head at the far post and Pursey was waiting behind him to send a looping header over the stranded keeper and almost in slow motion, it dropped inside the far post. 0-1 after 36 minutes and this goal was certainly against the run of play.
Gough saw a shot blocked from the edge of the box following a poor corner as Cogenhoe tried to hit back immediately, but on 39 minutes a controversial decision really hit them hard. Gbejuade drilled the ball across the box from the right and it struck the arm of Marshall inside the box. He wasn’t far away from the ball when it was struck and he didn’t appear to move his arm at all, but Mr McVey immediately blew his whistle and pointed towards the penalty spot. Gough was incensed and he continued his argument and was sent to the sin-bin for ten minutes, but however hard done by you feel, the captain should not be letting his team down and leaving them with ten men for ten minutes. Harry Waple-Moors stepped up to take the penalty and hit it low to Saunt’s right with the ball hitting the inside of the base of the post before going in to make it 2-0 to Buckby with 39 minutes played. Marshall went close to pulling one back when he met Brigg’s free-kick with his head, but the ball went inches over the bar and with the final chance of the half Luke Andrews teed up White on the edge of the box, but his low shot was again to close to the keeper.
HALF-TIME; Cooks 0 Bucks 2
Carlin made one change at the break with Andrews making way for Louie Martin with the sub being more of an attacking force than the unfortunate playing making way. Still playing with a man in the sin-bin, we almost gifted the visitor’s a third goal when some hesitancy at the back saw Gbejuade lay the ball of to Amaning on the edge of the box with Saunt desperately trying to get back into his goal, but the Buckby number seven failed to take advantage and he fired over the top. Back up to a full contingent, Anderson broke into the box and seemed to have got the better of Tsinosis for a split-second, but the Cooks man went to ground way too easily and play was quite rightly waved on. The game had become very scrappy now with neither side looking particularly threatening, which would suit the visitors given their two-goal advantage. Barrett made a decent run down the right but his cross was easy pickings for Meadows, then Gough was shown the yellow card for a foul a minute before the hour.
Waple-Moors was next into the referee’s notebook for a foul on 66 minutes and two minutes later Pursey picked up his second yellow card of the game after tripping Anderson who had cut inside him down by the left corner flag giving the Cooks a man advantage for the last 22 minutes of the game. Martin played the free-kick in low to White who steered it at goal, but he couldn’t beat Meadows who saved well. Both teams made a change on 69 minutes as Waple-Moors made way for Hayward’s team with Sam Collins coming on, whilst Lewis Green came on for Briggs who had to be helped off the field. Hopefully his injury isn’t too serious and he will be back in contention for the Vase game next weekend.
Anderson broke down the right and went down rather easily as he tried to get past Nwosu and found himself being shown the yellow card for his theatrics. A Gough throw caused some issues for the Buckby defence to deal with, but they had packed out their box and made it difficult to do anything with the ball, then Anderson broke away after latching on to a poor defensive header, but his cross was cut out by Tsinosis in the centre of the box. Meadows caught a Martin corner in between subs from both teams as McDonald made way for Josh Adams who returned after being side-lined for three weeks through injury and then Amaning was replaced by Maurice Alhassan for the Bucks.
Ulker whipped in a shot from the left right that dipped too late, then Anderson played a good low ball in from the right that the defender got a foot too before Barrett could pounce. Adams swung in the corner and it was Marshall who got his head to the ball, but again he couldn’t keep it on target. Barrett sent over a deep cross looking for Adams beyond the far post, but Meadows plucked it out of the sky as he had done all game so far, then Harry Taylor replaced Gbejuade with two minutes remaining of the ninety. A lovely free-kick from Martin saw Bates head on target, but again Meadows held it cleanly, just before another Martin free-kick from the right saw Gough just fail to get his head to in a dangerous position in front of goal. White took a Gough throw-in on his chest and worked back to the edge of the box where he tried to smash it home, but he got it all wrong and the ball flew closer to the corner flag than the goal and maybe fittingly this was the last chance of the game as it perhaps summed up the Cooks afternoon.
After the entertainment on Tuesday night this was always likely to be a little ‘after the Lord Mayor’s show’, but the truth is the Cooks rarely looked anything like the team they have over the last few games. We had started quite well and had a lot of possession in the Buckby half, but seldom looking like troubling John Meadows. (Incidentally the Bucks keeper was superb today after never put a foot wrong. His catching and handling of the ball was 100% all game today). Pharrell Anderson gave his all today, but he isn’t a ‘centre-forward’ as such and needed support that wasn’t there today. Had we had Josh Jones, Jessi Obeng or Luca Iaciofano out there with him it may well have been a very different game, but that we will never know. Well done to Craig and his team today, the decisions weren’t in our favour, but we are capable of playing so much better and we need to prove that next week in the F.A Vase.
Paul’s Cogenhoe United man-of-the-match today goes to Will Bates.
COOKS; 1. Regan Saunt 2. Will Bates 3. Kodi Briggs (sub 14. Lewis Green 69) 4. Alex Parkes 5. Brad Marshall 6. Ben Gough © 7. Louie Barrett 8. Luke McDonald (sub 17. Josh Adams 77) 9. Pharrell Anderson 10. Mitch White 11. Luke Andrews (sub 16. Louie Martin HT). Subs not used; 12. Harley Mallard 15. Ashraf Masumbuko.
Yellow cards; Gough (39) Foul. Anderson (74) Simulation.
Sin-bin; Gough (39)
BUCKS; 1. John Meadows 2. Joe Pursey 3. Munya Matiyenga 4. Dom Bolton © 5. Nzube Nwosu 6. Bruce Tsinosis 7. Nathan Amaning (sub 17. Maurice Alhassan 81) 8. Matt Gearing 9. Harry Waple-Moors (sub 12. Sam Collins 79) 10. Emmanuel Gbejuade (sub 14. Harry Taylor 88) 11. Gohkan Ulker. Subs not used; 15. Jai Newell-Hollely 16. Elijah Muma.
Red Card; Pursey (68) Second yellow.
Yellow cards; Pursey (13) Foul Waple-Moors (66) Foul Pursey (68) Foul.
Referee; Paul McVey
Assts; Russell Tunney & Stewart Glendenning
