WELLINGBOROUGH TOWN 2-1 DAVENTRY TOWN: THE MATCH REPORT & MORE IMAGES...

 Doughboys Hold On Against The Nine From Daventry…

Wellingborough Town 2-1 Daventry Town

The Mowdog’s thoughts…

The trip to the Dog & Duck Stadium from Solihull was always going to be tough late on a Friday afternoon and whilst on the M42 I was advised by my satnav to avoid the M6 and A14. Instead, I was led along the A45, M45 and M1 towards Wellingborough and in truth the journey was largely bearable.

However, I was directed to a really awkward parking place alongside a fence to the right of the ground entrance. I was unable to turn round to offer me an exit route after the match and felt rather deflated by being boxed in. Hmm…

However a really decent welcome was afforded me by the officials at Wellingborough and it was good to see a couple faces I knew from Daventry too…

The match itself was hard fought as expected but despite a strong start by the guests and a fine angled drive by attacker Charlie Kille, which home ‘keeper Ash Bodycote turned away in spectacular fashion, it was the hosts who began to threaten with the pace of their lithe forwards, Jessi Obeng, Nehemiah Richard-Noel and Jorrin Nemiah James John. Obeng bundled a low Will Bates centre past the near post but soon he fastened onto a long pass by his hugely influential skipper Jack O’Connor and rushed clear. He rounded the advancing Daventry ‘keeper Jude O’Connor and converted with ease, before spotting my camera and performing for it, offering me some joyous footage… Thanks for that!

1-0...

NOT A BAD SCREENSHOT...

Sadly, the acceptably physical encounter was soured by the dismissal of Daventry midfielder Ryan Bell for a robust challenge on the far side of the pitch from me. A red card was issued immediately by the referee and typically other players became involved in a playground scrap. 

Kille scraped the crossbar with a cross-shot for Daventry, whilst at the other end, Obeng’s angled shot was knocked away by Jude O’Connor’s right arm. Daventry’s Zac Allen, well positioned was denied by the group challenge of Brett Solkhon, Patryk Cichosz and goalie Bodycote but then, right on half-time, the plucky visitors, who had begun to nullify the counter attacking play of the Doughboys, suddenly equalised.

Right-side defender Andrew Kwadjo Osei-Bonsu fed the ball back for Shaun Archer to thread a smart pass from 23 yards forwards into the penalty-box, which surprisingly found the feet of his skipper Leon Lobjoit, who turned and slipped the ball into the right corner of the net past the helpless Bodycote. A body blow for the Doughboys, after they had been so on the rise…

1-1...

The second period was too often disturbed by knocks to players, fouls, losses of possession and substitutions but with precious few decent attempts at goal. In truth, Daventry were making the running, with both replacement Brian Farrell and also Lobjoit heading opportunities past the right stick.

The winning goal was well struck by Cichosz from way downtown at inside-left. He received a flicked pass from Richard-Noel and as the ball bounced, he volleyed it high over the stranded Jude O’Connor, who could only watch as the ball dropped deep into his net. 

2-1...

Still Daventry worked hard and the hosts seemed nervy about such a narrow advantage, although Obeng drove one decent shot wide of the right post. The visitors were not helped however by a second player being dismissed, this time skipper Lobjoit. 

He had been fouled and the transgressor was cautioned but Lobjoit was sin-binned, presumably for comments aimed at the main official. However, his annoyance seemed to continue as he reached his team’s dugout and something appeared to be kicked, precipitating a rush by the referee and a red card being issued…

The nine against eleven kept fighting but however much Daventry tried, it was ultimately too tall an order to regain parity…

Special mentions…

Without doubt, home skipper Jack O’Connor displayed real early season form in the middle of the defence alongside the experienced Solkhon. Time and again, O’Connor won headers, despite not being the tallest player on view and his release of passes was usually thoughtful. On one occasion near the end of the encounter he cramped up, having done well to concede a corner but he got up, ran back into his 6 yard box to win a defensive header, before racing to the edge of his penalty-box to challenge an opponent. Commitment? It was all there and he claimed the assist for Obeng’s goal too…

Obeng would often rush into action with some decent dribbles, John was regularly lively on the right and Richard-Noel carried the central striker’s burden unflinchingly, even having his hair pulled by Osei-Bonsu on one occasion. He would subsequently assist Cichosz for the second goal…

Cichosz marauded around midfield usefully for the Doughboys, like a collie rounding up a mutinous flock of sheep, so he perhaps deserved his rather special goal, whilst full-backs Bates and Rico Alexander were heavily involved in the contest.

Daventry certainly battled, despite it being a tough ask and Kille was something of a threat, Archer was often thoughtful in midfield and provided the assist for Lobjoit, whilst Oran Egypt Jackson, wearing 20 was  generally effective in defence. 

Before his injury late on, Michal Tkacik was prominent for the guests in the trenches, whilst Osei-Bonsu was always willing to get forward on the right-flank, as was Brad Marshall on the left.

Subsequently though, it wasn’t enough for Daventry on a disappointing evening for them but the Doughboys, after one match are sitting proudly on the top shelf of the bakery, er, league table…

The final words…

My car? I was eventually assisted by a very kind official, who had said before the match that someone would help me to extricate my vehicle and he appeared out of the enveloping gloom, just as I feared that I would be spending an hour or so jammed next to a fence. He was brilliant and fortunately a Daventry official arrived and shifted his car to enable me to complete my 29-point turn. I was then able to exit the stadium at 9.56pm… 

I was home by 11.10, finding the A509, A14, M6 and M42 acceptably accessible…

Thanks for the hospitality, Doughboys…

The images...

OSEI-BONSU: BOOKED FOR A HAIR-PULL...

THE TOSS...

SOLKHON (6) COVERS LOBJOIT (10)...

JACK O'CONNOR COLLAPSES AT THE FINAL WHISTLE...

THE AFTERMATH OF THE SCRAP...

A LITTLE SIDE VIEW...

ALLEN (9) & JACK O'CONNOR (5)...
(CHRISTIAN NAME USED BECAUSE THERE WAS A JUDE O'CONNOR PLAYING FOR THE VISITORS...)