5-Star Showing as Sunderland London Branch retain the Barry Venison Cup in style
- 1 day ago
- 3 min read
The Premier League season might be over, but there was still time for another Tyne-Wear derby as Sunderland’s London Branch took on their Newcastle counterparts in the second edition of the Barry Venison Trophy.
The inaugural event last January saw Sunderland triumph 1-0 in a cagey affair, so we were looking to defend the coveted trophy. Thankfully the scorching conditions in the capital had eased slightly, but the air was still thick and humid, so a tough morning’s work was on the cards.
Sunderland’s squad was packed with talent in the starting XI, and the subs’ bench. Goalkeeper Justin Celik was protected by two dominant centre backs in Jack Oliver and Alex Winship, with Ben Littledyke and Nick Checketts lining up at full back. The midfield trio of Adam Cansfield, Jonny Winship and Callum Charlton was reminiscent of Sunderland’s axis of Xhaka, Sadiki and Le Fee, with Alec Wallace, Rob Haddon and James Briars forming a potent front three with pace and trickery.
It became clear early doors that Sunderland would have too much for the Visitors (though technically we’re both visitors in this scenario). The warning signs were there from the off, as Haddon’s lobbed effort sailed just wide of the Newcastle post, before Checketts went close with a header. The Geordies largely resorted to long balls, which were mostly mopped up by Oliver and Alex Winship, as they struggled to gain a foothold in the game.
Cansfield opened the scoring with a fine finish, before an excellent left-foot drive into the bottom corner that gave the keeper no chance. The young midfielder grabbed his hat-trick with a close range finish before half-time to effectively end the game as a contest, before collapsing and admitting that he’d been suffering with illness and probably shouldn’t have played at all. Thank God he did…
Sunderland boss Andrew Jordan rang the changes at half time, with Matt Leadbeater, Tom Duggan, James Wood and Patrick McCann adding fresh legs to proceedings. Branch Chair Ben Littledyke had to be withdrawn after fracturing his toe in a 50/50; let it never be said that the leadership don’t roll their sleeves up and get stuck in.
The Geordies did exert some pressure in the second half but struggled to create anything of note, but James Wood’s flicked finish made it 4-0 and put the result beyond any doubt. Jacob Kirkbride and Jaxon Allen were introduced to bring further fresh legs. Wallace had a great chance to put further gloss on the scoreline but fired straight at the keeper, which would have been a justified reward for an excellent performance leading the line. Allen was also sent through on goal and made no mistake slotting past the keeper, to cap off a 5-star showing from the Lads as we successfully defended the trophy.
To their credit, the Mags were magnanimous in defeat, and joined us at The Cock Tavern and The Dolphin for a post-match debrief over a few pints. The Geordies could have few complaints about the result, though one of them did remark on the fact that most of our players had stayed off the drink the night before as not being in the spirit of the game, demanding a rematch. Fair play.
Despite the fierce rivalry between Sunderland and Newcastle, days like this underline how football can be a vehicle to do good in society, with both branches raising money for the Foundation of Light and the Alan Shearer Foundation respectively. Any further donations are warmly welcomed via the link below.
Comments