LUTON TOWN: 3
HARPENDEN: 1
11.02.06

Harpenden went into the return fixture against local rivals Luton knowing only a win would keep them in contention for the title race in Division one.

Things started brightly with excellent harps inter-play leading to an early blues short corner. A slick routine saw Mike Emes slip the ball to the lunging Dan Burgess at the far post only to be denied by a goal line foot. The inevitable result was a penalty flick from which Emes converted to give Harpenden the early lead.

The talented Luton side were not to be overawed however and quickly hit back with a goal from a short corner, the fizzing flick into the top corner leaving keeper Ben Brind with little chance. At 1-1 the game was in the balance but was turned on its head by 2 Harpenden yellow cards in succession. First a tempestuous challenge from Nigel Timms saw him sin-binned after only being on the pitch for a matter of minutes. Captain Emes then followed when his protests were not to the umpires liking and suddenly Harpenden were down to 9 men.

Luton capitalised on their 2 man advantage and took the lead shortly afterwards and although Harpenden held out until half-time, they never really recovered. The second half saw Luton extend their lead from another short corner and at 3-1 down some good work saw Russell Timms send the ball goalwards only to be denied illegally and force another penalty flick. This time Harps frustrating day got even worse as Emes shot went wide.

In a game that was played in good spirits 2 further yellow cards were dished out – one on either side. Sam Martyn was the blues culprit and felt somewhat aggrieved by the performance of the offended Luton player.

The score ended 3-1 and Harpenden will ring the changes next week to try and find a solution to their post Christmas blues which has left them with just one point out of 9.

Sam Martyn: Rare yellow card for the Peter Pan of hockey