Edwards strike KOs Dyslexic

Medics cling on to title ambitions after hard fought win at Longbenton

Division One (Weds) 

Dyslexic Untied 0-1 Newcastle Medics 1sts 

With both teams saving their best stuff for the floodlit 3G this was always going to be tight affair in a late afternoon kick-off. Both teams controlled periods of the game with some of the highest quality intra-mural football seen this season making this by no means a stale, scrappy 1-0 affair. It took a moment of sheer brilliance from the man of the moment Dave Edwards to magic up another win for a tentative Medics side.

Both teams started brightly with Edwards and cohort Leylabi being the first to test Dyslexic keeper Nathan ‘Fletch’ early on with efforts from distance. The game ebbed and flowed with an emerging pattern of sustained pressure for either team.

Untied had carved out the best opportunity midway through the first half when good link up play between Simon Schofield and Ben Wheelhouse allowed Dom Robson to play Schofield through on goal only to see his effort curl round the post. It was to be the story of Schofield’s afternoon as a resolute Untied kept swathes of Medic chances to a minimum.

The impassable ‘Torres’ Windle put in a captain’s performance at centre-half and is hoping to put his injury worries behind him most noticeably his ‘Housemaid’s Knee’. Joel English’s direct play continued to cause problems for the Dyslexic back line but with many of his crosses failing to find the claret of a Medic the opportunities went unconverted.  Dyslexic were denied a debatable penalty decision when a scathing Andrew Fretwell tackle took down ‘Czech Dave’ Zikmund  but was deemed just outside the box setting the tone of nearly misses.

The tempo failed to die down after the break with more space afforded to both sets of midfielders as the ball was zipped across the surface with consummate ease. In situations like this it takes just one goal to take home the spoils. Edwards picked the ball up from an impressive Josh Davison midway through Dyslexic’s half and after taking a few touches past the oncoming midfielder unleashed a sledgehammer of a shot into the top right corner past the outstretched hand of Untied’s keeper Fletch from the best part of thirty yards.

The goal was a huge blow for Dyslexic who have been on the receiving end of several wonder goals this season.  It took a good ten minutes for the trailing side to calm down with a smart stop from Fletch at close range to prevent the deficit increasing after initially being rounded by English.

After dusting themselves off Dyslexic charged forward with right- back Adam Forster setting up Schofield with a lobbed pass who ghosted past stagnant centre-halves Jonny Emms and Durkin only for his effort to be blocked by Leylabi. Forster then found his header cleared off the line before a quick chipped free-kick played Robson in and needed a solid block from Medic’s keeper Styles. The rebound found Jamie Hudson who cleverly dinked the ball to the far post only for the ball to be cleared off the line by Emms for the second time. There was still time for an Edwards header to clatter Untied’s cross-bar to cap off a huge three points for the Medics.

Even though this Medics side are far from the free-scoring, all-conquering sides of recent memory they can always rely on the special talent of the likes of Edwards to produce something from nothing. You’d be hard pressed to find a Newcastle University midfielder at this moment in time with as much in his locker as the match winner today. As for Dyslexic, they’ll bounce back from this heartening display with a quarter-final to look forward to in the Wednesday Cup, their only hope of silverware this season.