NORWICH CITY: 2
HARPENDEN: 2
27.01.2007

After a long journey to the depths of Norfolk this Saturday, Harpenden were fired up to continue their good post-Christmas form and come away with the maximum 3-points from the fixture. However, their plans were foiled by a strong Norwich side, where Harps have notoriously found it difficult to get a victory.

The first half started brightly, with some excellent attacking hockey from Harpenden. Good work from Baines on the right side of the park put Tom Kavanagh through near the base line. A magic bit of skill from the midfield maestro and a deft pull back was put away convincingly by Danny Burgess to make it 1-0 to the visitors with only 5 minutes gone. A wonder start.

However, Harps then showed complacency in their game as they have all to often this year, and let the Norfolk side back into the game. Some good pressure from the home side and some seemingly harsh decisions by the umpires led to a sequence of penalty corners. Harpenden were unable to clear, and City capitalised, nicking an equaliser.

This put Harps on the back foot, and mistakes crept into their game, handing over possession cheaply and not putting chances away. Forward Russell Timms hit the post from 5 yards, and Danny Burgess also had a shot well saved by the keeper which would surely have put the game beyond Norwich. But the home team grafted well and were rewarded with another goal just before half time. Some sloppy defending from the Harps defence led to a Norwich forward arriving at the back post unmarked. A good initial save from ‘Keeper Alan Clark saw the rebound drop to a Norwich stick who put the ball away. Harps were 2-1 down at the break.

After a rallying team talk, Harps came out fighting, doubling the efforts from the previous half. However, the away team continued to make mistakes, not releasing the ball quickly enough, leading to handovers of possession. This made tough work of the game, and allowed Norwich chances to win the game, but for staunch defending by the trio of Clark, Davison and Bunbury.

As time ticked by, it was looking more like it was to be Harps day and frustrations started to creep in. Tom Kavanagh picked up a yellow card for a stick tackle and possession continued to be given away cheaply. In a final through of the dice, captain Mike Emes recovering from a shoulder injury earlier in January, brought himself onto the pitch with 10 minutes to go. The gamble paid off. After more excellent work by Kavanagh down the right, a through ball came to Emes. His slapped shot sent the keeper the wrong way and found the side netting to level the game. Harps had a sniff of victory.

However it wasn’t to be for the cavaliering away side. The closing minutes of the game were again riddled with errors. A clumsy tackle from Emes saw him sin binned with a harsh yellow card which the Norwich supporters were pleased to see. The final minutes were closed out with mistakes from both teams who could have won the game, but the scores remained level.

A busy weekend ahead for the Harpenden boys. They play Crostyx at home in the league on Saturday followed by an extremely tough draw against Eastbourne in the 3rd round of the Harrods Trophy.

Emesy goal only good enough for a point

Scorers
1) Daniel Burgess
2) Michael Emes

Mens 1st - League Goal Scorers