REPORT: Quorn 3-0 Barwell
By Dan Sheward
Quorn Secured their place in the County Cup final with a dominant 3-0 home win over Barwell. A debut goal from Brad Stretton got the procession underway early as Jack Duffy and Gus Sanches finished the job.
After a tough 3-1 away loss to Kettering Town at the weekend, the Reds returned to the Stotto Stadium for midweek cup action as they took on Barwell in the Semi-Final of the County Cup.
Mason Frizelle captained a rotated Quorn side which saw new signing Stretton immediately enter the starting eleven. It was a dream start for the Reds as the former Coventry City man marked his debut in superb fashion, coolly finishing a crossed ball from Zhani Burgess in the second minute. The perfect opening for Quorn as they aimed to take their place in the county cup final for the first time in twelve years.
Duffy almost doubled the lead moments later but was denied by Barwell goalkeeper Finn Osborn. The Canaries frustrated in the opening ten as Quorn did well to gain control of the game early on.
Dan Jarvis was on the end of Barwell’s first chance of the half, but it was a tame effort which was easily collected by Adam Harrison. It was a tough contest out there as the rain picked up early in the first half. Quorn maintained control but Barwell were slowly growing into the game. However, Beswick’s side did well to extinguish any threat.
Clearly the stronger side, Quorn’s domination paid off once again, this time through Duffy. Finn O’Boyle’s clever no look pass on the bounce, looped over the away defence, where Jack Duffy was able to beat Osborn, placing the ball past the inside of the near post.
Barwell wanted a response but struggled to match Quorn, Harrison remained alert to prevent a half chance from Zayn Hakeem but overall it was a quiet night for Quorn’s number one.
The Methodists went into the break 2-0 up having faced little trouble. Beswick would have been pleased with his team’s first half performance, clinical in the final third whilst maintaining a stubborn defence which conceded no real Barwell chances. Jack Duffy was replaced by Eli Kougnon, a graduate of the unbeaten Under 23s, as both sides came back out to resume the semi-final clash.
Quorn started the second half in similar fashion to the first, on the front foot. A bouncing ball over the top was too much for the Canaries defence to deal with in addition to the press of Sanches. Using his strength Sanches brushed his man to the side and slotted the ball into the far side of the goal, extending Quorn’s lead to three goals to nil.
Stretton came close to a debut brace almost straight after the 3rd goal went in as Quorn showed no signs of taking their foot off the gas.
With around 28 minutes to go Quorn made a double change with Cain Noble replacing Deen Master and Luke Cox returning to replace Mason Frizelle. It was Cain Noble who took the captain’s arm band to see out the game.
Cyrus Bruce, with what was Barwell’s best effort of the game, dragged his shot wide after intercepting a loose goal kick.
A spell of possession from Barwell presented them with a number of opportunities to find a way back into the game but it was the final action that didn’t seem to go their way. Hakeem was unlucky not to score after working a chance to shoot well, however his curled effort zipped just past the top left corner, increasing the frustration for the visitors.
Barwell applied more pressure in the second half, but it was too little too late for the Canaries. Quorn did well to ensure that their lead didn’t slip and protected the clean sheet well.
The game ended 3-0 as Quorn sailed into the County Cup final via a comfortable and professional home win. Goals from Brad Stretton, Jack Duffy and Gus Sanches meant that the Reds progressed to the final stage of the competition. Attention returns to the league for Beswick’s team as the Reds take on 12th placed Stratford Town away from home on Saturday afternoon.