Two first half goals by Asrick Samuels secured the Veterans Cup for Woking Vets, as they beat Trinity Vets 2-0 at Meadowbank.

The first chance of the evening fell to Woking as a free kick rebounded to Mark Thomas, but his effort was well held by Graham Stack in the Trinity goal.

Despite a cagey opening minute, the crowd didn’t need to wait long for the deadlock to be broken. In the 6th minute, Woking Vets took the lead, as Asrick Samuels pounced on a loose ball and wriggled past the last defender, before slipping the ball under Stack to give his team the early advantage.

Trinity Vets responded well to the early setback and started dominating the ball across the pitch. A flurry of chances tested the Woking defence, especially through George Smith, who skipped down the right before blasting his shot over the bar.

Trinity’s best chance to level the scores came from a Mo Harkin’s shot on the edge of the area. The strike was missed by Richard Shelley in the Woking goal, but luckily for Shelley, the ball hit the bottom right post and rebounded out before being cleared to safety.

Trinity continued to put further pressure on the Woking back line. First, they had a free kick on the right-hand side, which was swung in by Clayton but the header by captain Ben Chorley went wide of the left post. Next, Smith again looked to score as he outmuscled his defender and raced through for a 1-on-1, but his low shot was well held by Shelley in goal.

In spite of Trinity’s dominance, Woking had a great chance to extend their lead as Michael Barbieri rushed through on goal in an efficient counterattack. Barbieri’s first shot was spilt by Stack, however a heavy second touch allowed the goalkeeper to thwart a follow up.

Trinity looked to take advantage of this miss, Allan Tait had a great chance as he was found in space on the right-hand side of the Woking box, but his effort was rushed and went high and wide of the right post.

Smith once again looked to level the tie as he ran away from his man down the right, but he ballooned his effort over the bar. 

Woking Vets made Trinity rue their missed chances, as in the 34th minute they doubled their lead. Samuels again picked up the ball on the right, before cutting inside and placing the ball in the right-hand corner, past the outstretching Stack.

Now with a two-goal advantage, Woking were looking to add a third and seal the tie. Mark Thomas took a free kick on the edge of the area, but his effort went over the bar. Thomas should have added his name to the scoresheet moments later as he raced through on goal, but his shot was straight at Stack in goal.

With less than 20 minutes remaining on the game, Trinity forced a good save from Shelley, as Tutu Henriques shot from the right had to be pushed out to maintain Woking’s two-goal advantage.

With time running out, Trinity were looked for a route back into the match, and were presented an opportunity as Simon Wallace was fouled just outside the box. The free kick was swung into a dangerous area by Clayton, and the ball fell to Wallace in the centre of the box, but his shot was blasted over the bar.

As the game approached the 90th minute, Woking’s Thomas had another chance to kill the game off, but he put his shot wide of the post.

With the game now in the closing stages, Trinity thought they had claimed one back as Wallace got in behind and tussled with the Woking defence. He knicked the ball off the outrushing Shelley before he stroked the ball into the empty net, but the assistant referee had already flagged for a foul on the goalkeeper.

Woking had a chance to add gloss to the scoreline, and Samuels to grab the match ball, as he was found in the right of the box. But his powerful shot was well claimed by Stack and the scores remained 2-0.

Goals (Woking Vets): Asrick Samuels (6’, 34’)

POTM (Woking Vets): Mark Thomas

Attendance: 81

Match Officials:

Referee: Jonathan Creswick

Assistant: Roger Wells

Assistant: Rodney Van Niekerk

Fourth Official: Jason Orriss

Trinity Veterans: Graham Stack, Dave Graves, Den Chorley, Chris Boulter, Jamie Sinclair, Sam Clayton, Mo Harkin, Mat Crabb, Alan Tait, George Smith, TuTu Henriques, Paul Kember, Tim Vaughan, Warren Killick, Rob Smith, Simon Wallace.

Woking Vets: Richard Shelley, Donovan Wilson, Michael Tasker, Brad Read, Adam Harding, Danny Byrne, Robbie Wilson, Neil Roissetter, Mark Thomas, Asrick Samuels, Michael Barbieri, David Risk, Russ Gray, Paul Shorter, Vic Kiri, Rob Jones.