SYNNERS CRUISE INTO CHALLENGE CUP FINAL
Billingham Synthonia 8 Easington Colliery 0 – Durham Challenge Cup semi-final
Billingham Synthonia cruised into the final of the Durham Challenge Cup with a performance as emphatic as the scoreline suggests.
In less than 20 minutes the tie was effectively over and the afternoon just kept getting worse for Easington.
In the second minute Synners set their stall out. They won a corner and captain Josh Rowbotham was able to swivel and, on the turn, head the ball into the net. Three minutes later it was 2-0. A free kick was knocked into the Easington box, the ball was then knocked back across the area, finding David Onions who thumped it home.
By the 17th minute it was effectively all over bar the shouting when Joe Ferguson drove forward into the Easington box and shot across keeper Ben Reynolds just inside the right hand post. Ferguson went on to have a man-of-the-match game: setting up a couple of other goals and putting on an elegant display of passing.
For Easington, everything that could go wrong, did go wrong. Miscommunication between Reynolds and Garon Garside led to Garside heading the ball past the keeper and into his own net, despite the No. 1 scrambling back to try and claw it clear.
Meaningful attacks by the visitors were few and far between. In the 33rd minute Kevin Pearn was one-on-one with Synners keeper Daniel Dixon but the No. 10 couldn’t thread the ball past him. Then Ryan Barrow’s shot was blocked by Rowbotham sliding in. Fellow Easington defender Jak Ashton had an off-target shot from distance. It was their best spell of the game.
With five minutes to go, Synners’ Ferguson hit a free kick that was bending towards the inside of the right post before being punched clear by Reynolds.
Synners scored four more in the second half. Substitute Gary Redman scored with his first touch after a misunderstanding between the Easington centre backs. Another sub – James Rowe – made it 6-0, striking a pull-back by Ian Ward just inside the post after good work by Ferguson and Kurtis Howes.
In the 73rd minute, a free kick by Ferguson sailed over a crowded box and found Rowbotham whose first time half volley squeezed under the keeper. The scoring was wrapped up in the 91st minute, with the last kick of the game: a corner by Ferguson struck by Joe Scaife-Wheatley.
The final whistle couldn’t come soon enough for Easington, while Synthonia meet West Auckland in the final.
Post script: Footballers have a Pavlovian response in certain circumstances – potential hand balls, fouls etc. But that was taken to new heights when one player (who will remain nameless) shouted “foul throw!”. So far, so good. The only problem was that the alleged culprit was one his own players. Fortunately for him, the referee didn’t agree with his assessment of the situation. (By the way, he was right: it was a foul throw and the culprit repeated the misdemeanor shortly afterwards.)
Mike Snowdon
