Mary Dendy belied their lowly league status to turn the form book upside down to defeat Tarporley Vivs Reserves 2-1 at Jubilee Fields in Bunbury. They produceda performance of truegrit on acountryside backdrop more befitting ofa gentlemans cricket match than a hard fought football matchto defeat their hosts, who were overwhelming favourites, to reach the semi finals. Dendy opened the scoring after fifteen minuteswhen Martin Brunker quite literally picked the defensive pockets of Vics as they couldn’t decide what to do with a loose ball and sent a ball across the area that Joe Ragdale simply couldn’t miss .
Joe Ragdale (purple) opened the scoring for Mary Dendy
Vics continued to be in the ascendancy for the majority of the gamehitting the bar and having the ball cleared off the line by Adam Taylor but on fifty eight minutes Martin Brunkers corner was only partially cleared and Steve Rowlands crashed a shot beyond keeper Paul Gregory from the edge of the area to make it 2-0 to the visitors. Dendy defended solidly despite losing Neil Hodkinson with a twisted ankle butwith seventeen minutes remainingVics got back in the match when Sam Winter turned and hit Ali Taylor’s free kick pastMatt Robinson to make it 2-1. Vics pushed for the equaliserbut they couldnt match Dendy’s appetite for victory and it was the visitors who progress to the semi finals of a competition they won only four seasons ago.
Paul Cronshaw produced a man of the match performance for Mary Dendy
