Holders Balliol fall at first hurdle
Worcester captain Hobbiss spins off to celebrate scoring the winning goal for his side.
Football Cuppers
Balliol.............................2
Worcester.....................3
The misery of Balliol’s descent to the foot of the First Division was compounded on Friday by a 3-2 Cuppers first-round exit at the hands of in-form Worcester. Current holders Balliol, whose team included nine members of last year’s winning squad, turned out a respectable performance, but were ultimately unable to convert their industry into victory.
Goals from Andy James and Dan Lennon kept the pressure on the visitors but weren’t enough to negate first-half efforts from Vince Vitale and Sam Rowlands, with captain Mike Hobbiss’s late strike ensuring the Premier Division favourites progression to the next round.
The result will come as a significant blow to the Balliol side, who have struggled in the league so far since their relegation to Division One, and who will undoubtedly have hoped for a more formidable defence of the Cuppers title. The majority of the first half belonged to Worcester, with Alex Toogood typically in control as he broke through the Balliol back-line on more than one occasion with alarming ease only to see the good work wasted at the far end of his crosses.
However against the run of play it was Balliol’s Andy James who opened the scoring, converting a dangerous cross with a looping header over Worcester keeper Dave Wrigley, whose efforts were distracted by his own defence. It took just five minutes for Worcester to restore parity, forward Vince Vitale capitalising on some good work from Sam Rowlands down the right-side and latching onto his cross with a low, glancing header past Henry Tufton in the Balliol goal.
With the scores levelled Worcester resumed their relative dominance of the game, taking the lead two minutes before the interval. In typically predatory style Toogood picked up a misplaced pass within the Balliol defence before setting up Rowlands across the penalty area. His first-time finish gave Tufton little chance and sent Worcester into the break with a 2-1 advantage.
Credit must be given to Balliol, whose determination to get their season back on the rails produced the sort of gritty second-half display they have failed to come up with in their league fixtures. Their midfield continued to create chances but never took their opportunities, with first James Doree firing wide from a long ball and then Paul Kaliszewski taking the ball too far around Wrigley.
Yet their well-deserved equaliser came nevertheless mid-way through the second half after Worcester left-back Charlie Sheldon brought Doree down in the box. Dan Lennon, the brightest star in last season’s incredible cup glory, made no mistake with the penalty, sending Wrigley the wrong way to set up an extremely tense closing quarter. The deciding goal came with barely ten minutes left on the clock.
Balliol’s defence, who were under sustained pressure throughout the closing period of the game, managed to crowd out Toogood after he had been played in once again by Rowlands. The ball fell to Hobbiss who coolly finished in the bottom- right corner, leaving the keeper helplessly sprawled across the ground.
The game’s drama didn’t end there as Balliol captain Julian Rose went down in the Worcester box with barely two minutes to go, but the resultant appeal left the referee unmoved and Worcester held firm for the remainder of the contest. Rose admitted his disappointment at the end of the game, defeat evidently being harder to take having tasted victory only last season, but paid tribute to the opposition’s attitude. “Playing Worcester is always a challenge; they’re a good team.
And you know that, unlike some teams in this competition, they come here to play good football.”
3rd Nov 2005