Two out of two for Long as Cooks put five past Doughboys.
Tuesday 21st September 2021
NORTHANTS F.A HILLIER SENIOR CUP-1ST ROUND
WELLINGBOROUGH TOWN (0) 0 COGENHOE UNITED (2) 5
Cooks;
Riley 7
Wilson 35, 66
Wakley 55
Bates 76
Darren Long made one change from Saturday’s win with Archie Culley starting and Chief Boateng the man dropping down to the bench. The most noticeable thing though was the floodlights which left dark patches all over the ground and one very bright strip at the bottom end which made taking decent photographs somewhat difficult. Dylan Wilson and Dan Mortimer lined up against their former club, whilst the Doughboys had Josh McAdoo, Josh Melling, Séan McBride (on his 30th birthday), Jack O’Connor, Matty Long, Harry Lamb, Daniel Uche and Lewis Leslie in their match squad to take their total of ex-Cooks up to eight.
Tom Wakley, partnering Dylan Wilson up top today, played the ball right to find his partner and he went by his man before playing the ball back across, but it was headed away. The first real action from either team came on 7 minutes when the Cooks took the lead. Culley played a good free-kick into the box where Rico Alexander rose to head the ball down and fellow centre back Jack Riley waited patiently for it to drop before hooking it on the volley and high into the net. Good piece of finishing from Jack and a great start for the Cooks.
Wakley teed up Wilson on the edge of the box and his first time shot fizzed just over the bar whilst down the ‘McDonalds’ end Culley got a vital head to the ball from a dangerous Newman free-kick. Dan Mortimer tried to slip Wakley through in the box but his pass had a little too much on it and then a great challenge from Rhys Kelly stopped Wilson getting clear as he broke through the centre. Culley and Wilson combined well but the final pass was missing, then a Josh Adams cross from the right found Wakley on the edge of the box and he went past his man but pulled his shot across the goal and wide of the far post.
A very good run from Newman saw him get into the box, but he was forced wide and opted to shoot from a difficult angle and fired well over the top. Harry Lamb’s first time shot deflected over for a corner, then down the other end Mortimer played the ball into Culley’s feet and his effort from 30-yards also flicked off a defender to go over for a corner. Culley swung it in from the left and Josh McAdoo had to claw it out from under his bar. Adams and Mortimer combined to find Wilson’s feet just outside the box and he fed Wakley who cut in onto his right foot where he hit a powerful shot that McAdoo saved at the near post.
The Cooks doubled their lead when a great touch on by Wakley just inside the Doughboys’ half sent Wilson clear and he outpaced his man to break into the box before coolly rounding the keeper and rolling the ball home. For the older ones reading this, Jimmy Greaves would have been proud of this piece if finishing. 2-0 up with 35 minutes gone.
Alexander got a good foot in to cut out the danger in his own box but the visitors so nearly pulled one back with a great header from the corner that smacked against the far post. Not certain who it was but may have been Jack O’Connor the unlucky man for the Doughboys. A quick breakaway for the Cooks saw Wakley turn inside a shoot low from just outside the box, but his effort was too close to McAdoo, then a lovely ball from Will Bates sent Wakley down the left only for O’Connor to bring him down. Culley sent a good ball over that Alexander failed to get a contact to inside the box, but this had been a very satisfactory half for Cogenhoe United.
HT- DOUGHBOYS 0 COOKS 2
An early corner from Adams was headed down by Orosz and Alexander beat Kelly to the ball, but McAdoo blocked the shot on the line with his legs, then a worrying incident when Jack O’Connor went up for a header and went over the top of his man to come down with a heavy and awkward landing. The stretcher was called for and the former Cooks man was carried off to applause from both sets of supporters. Hopefully it’s nothing serious and he is back on his feet quickly. Another former Cook, Dan Uche, replaced him as Paul Lamb was forced to shuffle his pack.
A deep free-kick from Matty Long picked out an unmarked Newman at the far post, but he placed his header across the face of goal and wide and then on 55 minutes Bates played a great ball into Wakley whose shot was blocked by the keeper and came back out and hit either a defender or Tom and went into the unguarded net. Not sure who the defender was to be honest so I’m giving Wakley the goal. Either way it was now 3-0 and thoroughly deserved.
Jamie Mastropierro picked up his customary yellow card a minute later. Not sure what happened as it was behind the dug-outs from where I stood and I didn’t even realise the ref was booking anybody at the time. Kelly was then late on Bates after he had played the ball to Culley and the referee gave advantage as Culley fired in a shot from well outside the box, but it was over the bar and into the netting behind the goal. A decent effort at the end where he endangered the McDonald’s windows for the U18s a couple of years back. Surprisingly Kelly wasn’t even spoken too by Richard Fullicks despite his foul and after a bit if TLC Bates was able to continue.
Uche had a shot on target from the edge of the box that didn’t have the power behind it to trouble Craig Foxall in the Cooks goal. Bates forced a good save out of McAdoo with a powerful low strike and Kelly swept up before Wakley could get to the loose ball, although the referee awarded the home side a free-kick inside their 6-yard box for reasons unknown to me. A good break down the left saw Mortimer play it through for Wilson who got ahead of Kelly in the box, but he pulled his shot across the goal and despite a little bit of a panic in their own area, Wellingborough survived with their goal intact on this occasion.
Damian Osoimoejiokhian made way for Kyle Ansell in a straight swap at left back for the home side on 65 minutes and a minute later the Cooks were celebrating again. A great bit of play be Orosz down the right saw him go past his man and cut the ball back into the path of Bates just inside the box. His first time shot was really well-struck forcing McAdoo into another decent save, but Wilson followed up to fire the ball high into the net to make it 0-4 on 66 minutes.
Culley was given a break before the restart with Paddy Cichosz taking his place, then three minutes later Boateng came on with Wakley going the other way. Adams went for goal with a 30-yard free-kick out to the right of goal and his effort went narrowly wide of the far post, before a chip on the run from the edge of the box on the left was inches over the bar with McAdoo stranded. Cichosz chested the ball and went for goal from well outside the box that was off target, then Bates received the ball from Mortimer and turned his man to hit a shot that went wide.
This was by no means a controversial game, but there was a talking point when the referee blew up for a foul on Boateng after he had played the ball through to Wilson in the box. The Cooks striker was clear through and slotted past the keeper for what would have been his hat-trick, but instead we had a free-kick 25-yards from goal. The advantage rule is a tricky one for a referee and he had been criticised by some for playing it when Bates had been fouled shortly before and this time it was the opposite way around. It mattered little anyway as Bates stepped up and hit an absolute belter as his low drive flew past the wall and beat McAdoo all-ends-up as it flew just inside his right-hand post on 76 minutes.
Wellingborough rallied towards the end with a superb strike from George Wingrove letting fly from the right-side of the box, but Foxall dived at full stretch to make an equally good one-handed save. Adams bravely blocked a powerful Uche shot just inside the box, then Foxall made another fine save as he back-peddled and dived left to stop a powerful hit from the left.
Freddie Shaw was handed his first team debut as we went into the final ten minutes as Bates was given a breather and the U18s player was straight into the action as he so nearly caught Kelly in possession just outside the box. Cichosz defended well inside the box as Wingrove pressed him and with the final action Mastropierro played Wilson into the box, but his low shot was saved and we had to settle for a resounding 5-0 victory.
Hopes were high before the game after our last two performances, but I doubt any of us believed we would win so convincingly. We were superb throughout with everyone playing their part. We knocked the ball around with confidence from Foxall to the front two and we could easily have scored more than the five we had netted. Eleven starters all with calls for man-of-the-match tonight, but I can only give it to one of them so Dylan Wilson gets the nod again for his two-goal performance and overall effort, with special mentions for Adams, Mortimer, Mastropierro and Bates, although this was very much a full team performance.
Wellingborough; 1. Josh McAdoo 2. Josh Melling © (sub 15. Lewis Leslie) 3. Damian Osoimoejiokhian (sub 15. Kyle Ansell 65) 4. Séan McBride 5. Jack O’Connor (sub 12. Daniel Uche 50) 6. George Coleman 7. Matty Long 8. Rhys Kelly 9. Jake Newman 10. Harry Lamb 11. George Wingrove. Sub not used; 16. Shane Martin.
Cogenhoe; 1. Craig Foxall 2. Jordan Orosz 3. Josh Adams 4. Dan Mortimer 5. Jack Riley 6. Rico Alexander 7. Archie Culley (sub 15. Paddy Cichosz 66) 8. Jamie Mastropierro © 9. Dylan Wilson 10. Tom Wakley (sub 12. Chief Boateng 69) 11. Will Bates (sub 15. Freddie Shaw 82).
Referee; Richard Fullicks
Assts; Dan Bain & Steve Hoare
Don’t forget that this Thursday sees the U18s back in action with a hole league game against Cranfield United 7-45 kick-off.
