Yobbos’ goallie Andy Good in action.
COREIX UNWANTABLES are making life difficult for themselves. Needing a victory over Cenkos Yobbos to win the league, the light-blues were on the receiving end of a 4-2 defeat after they had looked in control for large parts of the game.
It means that they now need to beat Brewin Dolphin Mavericks on Saturday to claim their first Division One title since 1993. If they draw and Yobbos go on to win their remaining two matches, a play-off will be needed between the two to decide who are the champions.
‘It was a game of missed chances,’ said Unwantables manager Eain Smith. ‘If we’d been as clinical as they were, we could have put the game beyond them in the first half. Today was a game of finishing and we didn’t finish.’
‘But they are always a threat with the players they’ve got up front. It was a pressure game but it is more so next week.
‘We need to keep on the ball.’
With the players Yobbos have at their disposal such as Andy Whalley, Barry Wallace, Tony Veillard, Nick Mahy, Simon Beck and Steve Queripel, they were a lot of people’s favourites to lift the title.
However, they have been guilty of being hit and miss during the season.
They certainly started off hot against Unwantables and were the first to score through winger Beck.
Unwantables hit back shortly afterwards, though, with a screamer of a reverse-stick strike from attacker Matt Bain.
Their tricky island midfielder, Andy Alford, then wasted a golden opportunity when his reverse-stick effort went wide.
Left winger Chris Curtis came close when he lifted the ball over Yobbo’s keeper Andy Good but veteran defender Mike Still was on hand to clear the ball off the line.
Unwantables were left to rue those missed chances at the start of the second half as Yobbos went 2-1 up when Whalley, after a great run up the pitch, followed up a saved shot.
The light-blues responded positively and this move by Yobbos proved to be the only time they got out of their half for a long time as the league leaders put them under the cosh.
The pressure resulted in a goal for Curtis but there should have been more as Yobbos came back with one of their own going into the last 10 minutes of play.
Whalley was the scorer with a low strike at a short corner that a diving Paul Bullock could only parry up into the top of the net with his keeper’s stick.
Whalley lived up to his billing as the best player in the island when the former national league player wrapped up his hat-trick after Mahy found him with a scintillating, cross-pitch pass.
Former island captain Adie Peacegood proceeded to be sin-binned for the second time in as many weeks for a dirty tackle as Unwantables’ frustrations were clear to see as the final whistle was blown.
Yobbos captain Steve Ward said his team are going to keep fighting.
‘We win our games – we’re still in it,’ he said.
‘Always the bridesmaid, never the bride, but it could be this year. We’re going to fight all the way.’
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