BISHOPS STORTFORD : 9
HARPENDEN : 3
26.01.2008

Harpenden suffered a miserable defeat at the hands of fellow strugglers Bishops Stortford on Saturday. They went into the match optimistic that they could get a result after being denied a win in the dying minutes in the reverse fixture.

However, a lack of concentration and a glut of individual errors left Harpenden 5 goals behind at half time. They received the fiercest grilling from coach Tom Bumbury at half time and it was thoroughly deserved!

The second half started well and it seemed that Harpenden had a point to prove. Lance Boyd-Clark put them on the scoresheet within seconds of the restart and Ali Hutson then one a penalty which captain Mike Emes duly dispatched. For a brief minute it looked like the away side might have fashioned an unlikely come-back but it was not to be. Moments later a contentious decision lead to Bishops Sortford’s 6th and enraged keeper Alan Clarke inexcusably got himself yellow carded.

Nigel Timms was brave enough to step forward to take over the pads for the remainder of the game, but being the smallest Harpenden player on the pitch the pads swamped him. This firmly shut the door on any hopes Harpenden had of getting a result but to their credit they continued to fight valiantly, with Boyd-Clark getting a late goal to put a small shine on a very disappointing day of hockey.

To make things worst for Harpenden they lost winger Dan Burgess with the last hit of the game. The Bishop's Stortford player drilled the ball and unfortunately Danny was in the way to feel the full force across his fingers. It was revealed later on in hopsital that he had broken his finger and will probably miss the rest of the season.

Scorers
1) Lance Boyd-Clark
2) Michael Emes
3) Lance Boyd-Clark