Tooting Celtic 2-1 Vale County
14/10/18
Clapham Common
‘Toot of the mornin’ to ya’
A heartbreaking late defeat for Vale in the Marcus Lipton Cup, leading Championship opposition until the 80th minute before falling to an eventual 2-1 defeat in adverse conditions.
Starting line-up
The starting line up saw Cheshire return in goal, with Woodbridge, Beck, Strang and Beer sitting in front once again. The centre of midfield saw Given and Moran start together with Foley, Young and Gonzalez in behind Clements. In a sentence I never thought I’d write, Rowlands was on managerial duties for this match, having been injured by the Braintree Town FC captain (hello Joe Elllul) in a Vale All Stars match on Wednesday. Adam Field was also present on the sideline to watch the game (good to see you Adam), and managed to escape serious injury on this occasion - which he was no doubt delighted about.
The tone of the match was set early doors, with Vale making use of the wet weather to slide in at every opportunity. Tooting enjoyed a long throw even more than Rory Delap, hurling the ball into the Vale box from the off - but Beck and Strang were up for the fight, using their lanky frames to good effect as the county weathered an early storm. Clements, Young, Foley and Gonzalez were pressing the Celtic defense when possible, forcing their keeper into sliced clearances. Whilst possession was limited for Vale, the clearest chances were coming their way - mainly from set pieces. When the Vale goal came, a set piece was indeed involved. Moran swung in a corner from the right, which was only partially cleared to Given, who laid it off for Moran to deliver once more. As Moran swung in a delicious cross, there was only one man who had gambled, and that man was Douglas Patrick Beck. The ball skidded off the turf, but Beck kept his composure to bury a first time finish and spark vociferous celebrations from the county faithful (0-1). Beck briefly became Becksson, as Vale’s number 6 celebrated with the Icelandic clap.
The game continued in a similar vein following the Vale goal, with Tooting dominating possession, but Vale creating the clearer chances on the counter. Young went on a mazy run, making the Tooting left back look rather silly not once, twice, but three times, before laying it off to Moran 10 yards out… only for the ball to bobble horrendously just before striking it. As the half continued, Beer had an excellent view of about 10 long throw ins from the Vale left in a row, all of which were dealt with by the county. The last play of the half saw Cheshire shamelessly try and get himself a bit of fame (probably a vine) across the internet, as he caught a ball close to the byline, then comically dropped it going to ground - only for the Tooting striker to react too slowly, allowing Woodbridge to tackle him.
HT: 0-1
The starting line up saw Cheshire return in goal, with Woodbridge, Beck, Strang and Beer sitting in front once again. The centre of midfield saw Given and Moran start together with Foley, Young and Gonzalez in behind Clements. In a sentence I never thought I’d write, Rowlands was on managerial duties for this match, having been injured by the Braintree Town FC captain (hello Joe Elllul) in a Vale All Stars match on Wednesday. Adam Field was also present on the sideline to watch the game (good to see you Adam), and managed to escape serious injury on this occasion - which he was no doubt delighted about.
The tone of the match was set early doors, with Vale making use of the wet weather to slide in at every opportunity. Tooting enjoyed a long throw even more than Rory Delap, hurling the ball into the Vale box from the off - but Beck and Strang were up for the fight, using their lanky frames to good effect as the county weathered an early storm. Clements, Young, Foley and Gonzalez were pressing the Celtic defense when possible, forcing their keeper into sliced clearances. Whilst possession was limited for Vale, the clearest chances were coming their way - mainly from set pieces. When the Vale goal came, a set piece was indeed involved. Moran swung in a corner from the right, which was only partially cleared to Given, who laid it off for Moran to deliver once more. As Moran swung in a delicious cross, there was only one man who had gambled, and that man was Douglas Patrick Beck. The ball skidded off the turf, but Beck kept his composure to bury a first time finish and spark vociferous celebrations from the county faithful (0-1). Beck briefly became Becksson, as Vale’s number 6 celebrated with the Icelandic clap.
The game continued in a similar vein following the Vale goal, with Tooting dominating possession, but Vale creating the clearer chances on the counter. Young went on a mazy run, making the Tooting left back look rather silly not once, twice, but three times, before laying it off to Moran 10 yards out… only for the ball to bobble horrendously just before striking it. As the half continued, Beer had an excellent view of about 10 long throw ins from the Vale left in a row, all of which were dealt with by the county. The last play of the half saw Cheshire shamelessly try and get himself a bit of fame (probably a vine) across the internet, as he caught a ball close to the byline, then comically dropped it going to ground - only for the Tooting striker to react too slowly, allowing Woodbridge to tackle him.
HT: 0-1
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Kick off at a very grey Clapham Common
A trio of debutants came on at half-time, as Wiggy, Pete and Brazill came on for Gonzalez, Foley and Beer.
The game continued in a similar vein, as Tooting had the majority of the ball but Vale looked dangerous on the counter. Chances came and went for Vale, largely from Moran’s delivery - which, coupled with the aerial threat of Strang, Beck and Clements, continued to cause problems in the Tooting defence, with Clements heading over when well placed. Young was also just unable to divert a ball from the right into the Tooting goal, and Wiggy forced a good save from the Tooting keeper following another set piece.
As the weather became even worse, the match descended into one of blood and thunder. Sol Campbell’s never ending slide tackle was honoured on numerous occasions, with Vale continuing to give everything to keep their precious lead. Cheshire did exceptionally well with the efforts Tooting did manage to get away, with no spilled balls despite the very greasy surface.
However, Tooting did manage to equalise with ten minutes to go. A free kick fell to a Tooting player on the angle of the box, and he drilled it first time through a crowd of bodies into the back of the Vale net (1-1). With their tails up, Tooting pressed for a winner, which came minutes later to sink Vale hearts. A corner was cleared to the edge of the box, and a Tooting player mishit a shot into the near corner with everyone wrong footed (2-1). Not quite the 80 - 85th minutes Vale had in mind.
Vale were not disheartened though, and the final play of the game saw everyone denied the opportunity to pile on Beck in the most heartbreaking of circumstances. Moran’s free kick from halfway was put across goal by Rowlands (who had made a miraculous recovery from injury once he saw the opportunity to be a hero…) to Beck, who finished with aplomb. The roar from Vale was deafening, only for it to be instantly snuffed out by the Tooting linesman, with Beck adjudged to have been offside. Some heated words were exchanged between both sets of players and referee Toby Katz, but the decision stood, and Vale were out of the Marcus Lipton Cup.
This writer is struggling to think of a time he’s seen a Vale side work harder than they did today - and the team can be very proud of the performance put in against a team four divisions higher. It doesn’t make the loss any easier to take, but to a man Vale were excellent and it bodes well for the upcoming matches.
#vivavale
FT: 2-1 (Beck, 16)
Floom Man of the Match Award: Beck
Solfix Dick of the Day Award: Foley
Thanks to old Valerian Adam Field for coming down to support