Biff’s boys made it two wins out of two over the Bank Holiday weekend as two super strikes give them the edge of Eynesbury.
Bank Holiday Monday 28th August 2023
UNITED COUNTIES LEAGUE – PREMIER DIVISION SOUTH
COGENHOE UNITED (2) 2 EYNESBURY ROVERS (1) 1
Cooks;
Wilson 18
Jones 32
Rovers;
Mason 45+3
Att: 67
The Cooks returned to league action with a home game against an Eynesbury Rovers team who were still looking for their first league point at the sixth time of asking. Scott Carlin kept the same outfield starting line-up from Saturday’s win in Bedfont, but as Adam North was unavailable today, recent signing Dean Love stepped in for his Cooks debut. Tommy Curry returned on the bench in place of Dylan Carlin while Bailey Weatherly is of course now out for a few weeks after breaking his arm in that game, but it was good to see him at the ground cheering on his teammates today.
The Cooks attacked the clubhouse end in the first half on a calm, dry late summer’s afternoon that saw periods of sunshine poking through the clouds over Compton Park. Alex Parkes played a good ball to Josh Jones wide on the right and he sent over a cross that was headed away in the centre of the box, then Eynesbury’s Kian Coles turned sharply on the edge of the area, but his shot took a deflection and flew behind for a corner to the visitors. Recce Lewis had to rush out of his area to put the ball into touch with Dylan Wilson giving chase down the right, then the Rovers keeper was forced to do this again after Jack Connor got up well to flick the ball into Wilson’s path. Love, not wanting to feel left out, had to do the same down the other end as he beat Coles outside his area after a slack pass in the midfield by Charlie Pearson had almost opened us up.
The Cooks took the lead after 18 minutes with a beauty of a finish from Dylan Wilson. Connor took the ball into his feet just inside the box and held it up well despite having two defenders on his back, before a half-turn allowed him to feed Wilson to his right and he stepped inside to hit a superb effort that beat the keeper all ends up and crashed into the net off the underside of the bar just inside the far post. Excellent finish from Wilson for his fifth goal of the season.
Jones tried to get past Ollie Lee on the left flank with a turn of pace, but the defender managed to get his foot to the ball but then followed through to take the Cooks man’s leg as well. Referee Adam Crosby-Smith waved play-on, but Jones was to need some treatment from Piers Bodily before he could carry on. Jones was still feeling the effects of the tackle when he ran onto Connor’s flick inside the box on the right, but that didn’t stop him doubling the Cooks lead with another cracking finish as his unstoppable shot cannoned in off the crossbar for the second time in the game with 32 minutes played. 2-0 to the Cooks after 32 minutes and two fantastic goals too.
Sadly, Jones continued to feel the effects of his injury and within three minutes of his goal he was forced off the field to be replaced by Kieron Mobbs who took the on the role of playing to Connor’s left, with Wilson now sticking to the right after he and Jones had swapped during the first thirty minutes of the game. Eynesbury had quite a lot of the attacking play for a while after the second goal and Lee headed over from a corner, but they were rewarded three minutes into stoppage time when the Cooks failed to deal with a ball in from the right and it fell to Dom Mason who lashed it high into the net, giving Love no chance of keeping it out such was the power. There was still time for Joe Worboys to put a shot wide from the edge of the box, but he had slipped as he hit it and Love was able to watch it all the way.
Half-Time; Cooks 2 Rovers 1
Good defending by Damian Osoimoejiokhian stopped Coles getting in a shot at goal, then Tom Roberts became the first player to pick up a yellow card after remonstrating with the assistant referee over a throw-in (it should have been an Eynesbury throw in reality). A nice piece of football from the Cooks saw Earl Atat receive the ball on the right and he sent in a decent cross that Lewis had to push away over the head of Connor on the 6-yard box, while Harley Mallard made a driving run with the ball deep into enemy territory before playing it into the feet of Connor who played it on one more for Charlie Pearson to his right, but it went just a little to wide and all the Cooks number ten could get was a corner.
Eynesbury boss Mark Garwood made a double change on hour with Tom Roberts and Ryan Inskip making way for Jakub Buckle and Jamaine Ivy respectively. Warboys had a sight of goal from well outside the box, but his low effort was always going wide of Love’s right hand post, while a slick passing move from the Cooks saw Osoimoejiokhian play the ball up to Mobbs who lost his man with a quick turn inside before Pearson picked out Osoimoejiokhian’s run into the box on the left, but his composure went and he sent his shot high and wide. The Cooks had their first real chance of the half as Mobbs was played through and raced into the box slightly to the right before stepping inside and hitting a good shot that Lewis saved well.
Coles was cautioned for a foul on Osoimoejiokhian on 68 minutes before we saw a double sub from both teams just a few minutes apart. The Cooks went first and there seemed to be some confusion with the assistant referee, with his boss also getting involved which carried on for a couple of minutes before we eventually saw Stan Channell and Lewis Green enter the play as the expense of Pearson and the injured Atat. Eynesbury’s subs were a lot quicker as Adam Drakulic replaced Worboys and Jas Rait came on for skipper Mason. The fact that very little was actually happening around this point certainly suited the Cooks with their slender lead and the next thing of note was the final subs of the game with 80 & 83 minutes gone as the now struggling Osoimoejiokhian was helped off by Bodily to be replaced by Tommy Curry and then Wilson made way for Jamie Hall up top, with Connor dropping a little deeper to sure things up in the middle of the park.
With time ticking away, the Cooks were sitting deep meaning most of the action was being played out in their half with Mobbs, now back in the left-back role he had made his own at the start of the season, calmly tidying things up three or four occasions at the back and Ben Dimond blocking an Ivy effort, Rovers hopes of an equaliser and their first point of the season were looking more and more remote. But despite this, there was still time for a late hearts in the mouths situation as Drakulic turned and fired a ball across the box from the right and Love wasn’t able to get to it at full-stretch, but, not for the first time this season, Green was the man on the spot to clear the ball away from his goal before Ivy could get anywhere near it at the back post.
League win number three for the Cooks who move back up to seventh in the table. Just two points off the play-offs, but there is a long way to go yet and they are likely to face their toughest challenge so far when leaders Racing Club Warwick visit Compton Park. Three rockets for the goals today that will stay in the mind for some time, if not a lot else to be fair. The Cooks, as they did on Saturday, pieced together some lovely moves and if they continue to do this, they will start to see more and more chances created and hopefully taken as they grow as individuals as well as a team. Paul’s man-of-the-match today goes to Jack Connor who played an assisting role in both goals as well as working hard for the full ninety minutes. I still feel we have yet to see the best from Jack as he makes his way back from injury, but that may take time and if he continues to put in performances like this, we won’t be complaining. Hopefully Josh Jones won’t be kept on the sidelines with his injury and a special mention to him for his goal today, although I think Dylz effort just edged it in the goal of the season stakes at this early stage.
Cooks; 1. Dean Love 2. Earl Atat (sub 14. Lewis Green 75) 3. Damian Osoimoejiokhian (sub 17. Tommy Curry 80) 4. Alex Parkes 5. Ben Dimond 6. Harley Mallard © 7. Josh Jones (sub 12. Kieron Mobbs 35) 8. Callum Farmer 9. Jack Connor 10. Charlie Pearson (sub 18. Stan Channell 75) 11. Dylan Wilson.(sub 15. Jamie Hall 83)
Rovers; 1. Reece Lewis 2, Tom Roberts (sub 14. Jakub Buckle 60) 3. Owen Dixon 4. Ollie Lee 5. Billy Roberts 6. Ben McGrath 7. Joe Worboys (sub 12. Adam Drakulic 78) 8. Dom Mason © (sub 15. Jas Rait 78) 9. Rhys Thorpe 10. Kian Coles 11. Ryan Inskip (sub 16. Jamaine Ivy 60).
Referee; Adam Crosby-Smith
Assts: Nicholas Marriott & Glenn Capelli
Photos will follow on the Cogenhoe United Facebook page.
