ST DENNIS 5-1 WADEBRIDGE TOWN: light-hearted report by THE MOWDOG...

Contrasting Fortunes For the Rickards As Wadebridge Flounder At St Dennis

St Dennis 5-1 Wadebridge Town

There was a long delay during the second period of this game, due to an unfortunate ankle injury to home defender David Rickard, whose pain was immediately obvious as he blocked a shot from Town’s Callum Bertrand. Dislocation was mentioned, as the other players tried to keep warm, for the earlier sun had disappeared. One linesman simply went home but eventually, with the patient carried away to the smart new changing facilities at Boscawen Park to be tended by paramedics, the game restarted and the other Rickard, Lee, helped himself to another two goals, making it four for the day, despite missing with two more headers, having another two shots well saved by Bridge goalie Dan Peters, striking the goal-frame twice and having two more shots blocked by the excellent Harry Hambly. This was St Dennis’ first home game since early December and the hosts could and should have scored several more times, as striker Mikey Davies threatened, winger Cam Bidgood missed the goal-frame three times and industrious midfielder Paul Robinson and the very effective Sam Marchant went close too. Town had started well, even scored first but dreckly capitulated to some decent football by the home team, so that Bridger skipper Steve Latham but especially the wholehearted Hambly needed to be strong to avoid a worse hammering.  They probably felt that the official in the middle favoured them not at all… “Wozza madder withee?” they demanded…

5 MEN CHECK OUT A DIVOT...

St Dennis’ heritage from backalong was there for all to see, with its Cornish-Cairo pyramids behind one end of the ground but my welcome had been excellent, as I stanked slowly from my car towards the two club secretaries. At least the weather was holding and it wasn’t henting, although my umbrella was nestling in my car just in case. I found a splatt to stand on, the soft grass giving beneath my footwear and saw the visitors race confidently into an early lead. Forwards Paul Cox and Kyle Flew looked lively from the start but with David Rickard and Joe Stone in the home defence, they were to achieve less as the game wore on. Peters’ left boot stopped an early Lee Rickard shot going in but an unnoticed foul on Davies in midfield by Wader Craig Jackson led to Latham feeding midfielder Harry Ahearn on the left, whose cross was missed by the flying Flew, only for the ball to drop at his feet off unfortunate home defender Matt Laithwaite and the striker lashed the ball past St Dennis skipper and goalie Brett Allen.

0-1...

ST DENNIS CAUGHT THE FLEW VIRUS...

Davies was warned for arguing about not being given a foul and on this occasion the referee had actually favoured Wadebridge.  “Gezzon?” enquired Davies but the official didn’t think there was anything wrong with him… Following early skirmishes on the right for St Dennis, Ollie Deadman took a leaf out of the band Theory of A Deadman’s book, his theory being to drift inside, from whence he made some telling runs. One of these led to the ball reaching Bidgood on the left flank and his cross was good towards the far post, where Lee Rickard had pulled away to but his header was lifted wastefully over the crossbar. However, after Deadman had netted but an offside flag had waved and Allen had fielded a long volley by Bridger Ryan Jones, Lee Rickard atoned for his earlier miss, when a David Rickard free-kick from deep landed for him to turn near the right upright and lash a rising 7 yard drive past the hapless Peters.

LEE RICKARD HAS REGAINED PARITY...

FINE HAIR PARTING TOO...

Peters grabbed a low St Dennis delivery from the left and his team was struggling to cope now, due to the insistence of Robinson and the power of Marchant in the home midfield. Lee Rickard reached the left byeline but Bidgood did bid-bad by slipping the ball wide of the left post from close range, then a sortie into the right side of the penalty-box by Lee Rickard saw him somehow hammer a shot from a narrow angle against the far post, the ball flew out and in the third phase of attack, Deadman drove too high. A free-kick caused a melee in the Waders’ penalty-box, as Latham defended for all he was worth, then Hambly threw himself to deflect a goal-bound shot by Lee Rickard before, with St Dennis well on top, a driving run by Marchant and a one-two with Davies just inside the penalty-area, saw his low shot flash wide of the right stick. Bridger Matt Pereira prevented another certain goal with a deflection from Robinson’s effort but from a right-side attack, close to half-time, Saints took the lead. 

Steve Wheatley, prominent on the home right side of defence, swung over a centre and it was the head of Lee Rickard which nodded the ball down past the exposed Peters from just a few yards out.

RICKARD AGAIN...

...& 2-1 TO SAINTS...

The interval arrived for crib, people stanked off, stepping over any bullhorns on the grass, ready to eat their pasties and teddy wedges. The chacking amongst them drank beer from the kiddlywink, whilst I strode to my car and stripped up more warmly in a coat, not wishing to appear a dobeck,  standing shivering whilst my coat lay in my vehicle.   

Allen was forced to knock away an early Wader cross from the right after the break, when Latham passed to the overlapping Pereira but when the ball found Latham again, his goal attempt rose pyramid-high to match the slag heaps. A fine St Dennis move started by Laithwaite, which led to Davies slipping a pass left for Lee Rickard, ended with a rising drive by the forward, which beat Peters but crashed back off the crossbar, only for the ball to bobble as Bidgood attempted to convert the rebound from 15 yards and his effort soared off target, scattering noisy nest-building rooks from the vicinity. Davies was unable to bring down a high ball pumped forward by a colleague, Bridger Paul Cox couldn’t play a good enough pass to Flew, then strong marauding by Marchant for the hosts ended with Bidgood shooting low past the left upright from 18 yards.  

ST DENNIS ATTACK AGAIN...

Again Marchant was evident in a St Dennis build-up but when Lee Rickard ran towards the right byeline and fed the ball back for Wheatley to strike, the ball was blocked by the desperate Wadebridge cover. Then David Rickard got in the way of a Jackson delivery and as Bertrand shot from 10 yards for the visitors Rickard blocked but immediately he called for aid. The squalls were horrific and I wondered: “Wozzon?” He lay for around an hour, players supported him, a cakey linesman went home but the referee intended the match to finish and so, after treatment, the arrival of an ambulance car and much caring by everyone concerned, the stricken defender was stretchered to the changing rooms. 

DAVID RICKARD LIES HURT...

...& IS CARRIED AWAY...

THE WADERS WARM UP AGAIN...

THE SAINTS FIRM UP MENTALLY, AFTER THE INJURY...

Wader Jack Rapsey had replaced Cox then St Dennis’ Scott Brown and Kyle Friendship replaced the injured David Rickard and also Laithwaite. Adam Patterson replaced the hard-working Pereira for the guests but the official offered St Dennis a comfort, when he saw Friendship pass the ball inside from the left, Bidgood collect it, seem to over-stretch as Latham began to challenge and fall over. He looked as surprised as anyone when a penalty was awarded but Lee Rickard saw ‘hat-trick’ hovering over the ball and belted it past Peters, who got something on the strike as it beat him to his right.

THE FRIENDSHIP GAMES...

PENALTY GOAL BY LEE RICKARD...

...& A HAT-TRICK...

Davies, falling in the penalty-box, scrambled a shot which was deflected wide for a corner before Peters did well to beat out a close range strike by Lee Rickard, following fine play on the left by Marchant, as Bridge rocked and threatened to scat. Jackson was replaced, I believe by George Marris, wearing 19 but St Dennis squandered another chance when Davies’ free-kick from the left was met by the unmarked Robinson at the near post but his guided header rose too high. Davies’ clever back-heel set up Bidgood again, who once more lifted his effort way off target, as did Friendship from the right, following more really good play by Marchant and then Lee Rickard.

MARCHANT THE MARAUDER...

Finally Davies got the goal he deserved and he felt so allycumpooster, or all right… Marchant’s short pass to Lee Rickard led to a neat lifted release for Davies, who cleverly sidestepped a challenge by the tricked Latham and poked the ball past the luckless Peters from a few yards out: an ansome finish…

DAVIES HAS FINALLY SCORED...

4-1 & MIKEY LOOKS TO THE HEAVENS...

Lee Rickard drove wide from 19 yards , before Wadebridge made more inroads into a cruising St Dennis team, although Allen wasn’t truly vexed. First Rapsey shot past the left angle of bar and upright, then fine running by Patterson led to a low byeline delivery, a touch off Allen and a clearance by Wheatley, as three Waders lurked like egrets in Hayle estuary, before finally, after a mazy run by Bidgood had won a fruitless corner for the hosts,  Allen caught a hopeful Bertrand shot under his crossbar. Latham tackled Robinson superbly, as the midfielder’s penetrative run caused extreme danger, before Davies broke clear, veered left and unselfishly attempted to square the ball for Lee Rickard, who was brilliantly challenged at the far post again by Hambly but the Saints were not to be denied a fifth goal.

A short corner was cleared, Davies clipped the ball back in from the right and there was the swinging right boot of the inimitable Lee Rickard in a crowd to volley it emphatically past Peters from 7 yards. A fine finish and I could only sympathise with Dan Peters, whose afternoon had seen him concede five times, make a couple of saves but then end up late for work too…  

5-1...

...& IT'S RICKARD AGAIN...

Logs lay in a catchpit behind Peters’ goal,  home defender Stone, stuggy all afternoon, like a rock, carried his team through and Marchant, like a mazed heathen, accompanied by Robinson, who performed with guns blazing, a real heller, the kid you don’t really want in your class if you are a Science teacher in Year 9. Lee Rickard was lethal on the day, Davies the perfect foil but despite the efforts of Hambly and Latham, Wadebridge’s pride was hurt like buffon on the shin by a wild boot. The essence of everything is winning, so the zuggans on this day was all about St Dennis and they certainly achieved that…  

Me? Drove back to Mawgan Porth, then on to Rojano’s at Padstow for  another fine meal… 

I wish David Rickard all the best and I hope to pay a visit to Wadebridge’s ground in the near future…

TEAMS: 

St DENNIS:

Brett Allen (Capt), Steve Wheatley, Matt Laithwaite, David Rickard, Joe Stone, Sam Marchant, Ollie Deadman, Paul Robinson, Mikey Davies, Lee Rickard, Cam Bidgood.

SUBS:

Scott Brown, Kyle Friendship.

WADEBRIDGE TOWN:

Dan Peters, Matt Pereira, George Roberts, Steve Latham (Capt), Harry Hambly, Harry Ahearn, Ryan Jones, Craig Jackson, Callum Bertrand, Kyle Flew, Paul Cox.

SUBS:

Jack Rapsey, Martin Yelland, Adam Patterson, George Marris.