Britannia Royal Naval College (BRNC) Football Club have booked their place in the semi- final of the Devon Wednesday League George Lang Cup with a comprehensive win against HMS Raleigh.
In a match which pitted the Officer Cadets and staff at BRNC against the Rating recruits and instructors from HMS Raleigh for a Royal Navy training establishment derby, BRNC ran out the winners 8-0.
Defending champions, BRNC, were looking to continue their unbeaten run in the Devon Wednesday league and included six new players in their squad.
Lieutenant (Lt) Nobby Clark returned to midfield and Qatari international, Officer Cadet (OC) Amer Al Abudlijabber, was back to full match fitness.
HMS Raleigh had eight new players in the starting line up with several key members of the team missing. The Torpoint side has endured a tough season with the constant movement of players in the squad due to the transient nature of Ratings’ training.
The match, held at BRNC, saw the home-team take the lead just inside six minutes when new club captain, OC Will Just was clear down the right. Having stretched the opposition defence, his driven cross found debutant OC Elliot Gorst in space at the far post to execute a measured one touch finish.
OC Just thought he’d grabbed a second minutes later only to be given offside. However in the 17th minute Lt Clark, showed his dominance in the air, winning the ball in the centre.
A short pass to his midfield partner OC Albekari, another debutant, who put a neat through ball to Amer leading to the second goal. The classy striker breezed past the last defender and slotted it past the oncoming goalkeeper, 2-0.
The teams continued to battle with strong challenges coming from both sides where the fitness levels of both teams was evident. OC Just was played in over the top and quickly made his way into the area before laying the ball off for OC Gorst to net his second of the game.
Raleigh struggled to make chances in the first half with BRNC goalkeeper Chief Petty Officer (CPO) Al Pipe having little work to do. Despite further chances and OC Andrew Goudie hitting the post BRNC went into the break with a commanding lead, 3-0 at half time.
In the second-half BRNC flew out of the blocks with two goals in the first five minutes. OC Gorst netted the first of these to complete his hat-trick; a left footed finish from 18-yards left the keeper static. This was quickly followed by a powerful finish from OC Just into the top right corner.
Another hat-trick for BRNC wasn’t far behind. The second of Amer’s three goals was arguably his classiest. Gliding past the last Raleigh defender he eyed up the keeper before rolling the ball into the bottom right corner off the post.
His third came after the club captain slid an inviting through ball into the striker. He only needed two touches before he slammed the ball past the Raleigh goalkeeper.
BRNC’s final goal came in the 69th minute when OC Just netted a second, a calm finish into the bottom left corner. The home-team saw out the last 20 minutes of the game creating more and more chances but failing to further their lead, Clark with the most notable opportunity which whiskered over the bar from six yards.
Player manager Lt Clark said: “It was a great team performance and the new Officer Cadets that arrived in January have integrated well and also improved the team.
“I thought we really showed our commitment and desire to succeed and in the end the main difference between the two sides was our superior fitness, pace and ability to finish in front of goal.
“We have encouraged our players to have the confidence to get the ball down and play football and it was satisfying to see them have the courage to demonstrate this in a competitive fixture.”
Raleigh’s player manager Petty Officer (Physical Training) Danny Card said: “It was a tough day for our newly formed team after Christmas leave and we struggled to gather any momentum.
“They capitalised quickly on our lack of team cohesion and deservedly took the lead.
“The lads are rightly disappointed with the result as we have some very good players in our side but that said, the best team definitely won. We wish them all the best for the next rounds.”
BRNC will face the University of Plymouth in the semi-final, a repeat of last year’s final.
