HARPENDEN II: 1
LETCHWORTH II: 5
13.11.04

Harpenden 2's came out of their match with Letchworth unhappy about the less-than-flattering scale of their defeat and with a sense of injustice.

Harpenden started the match on the back foot and were kept in the game by some resolute defending, in which the whole team helped. With Letchworth attacking for most of the first half, the Harpenden side were unable to get players forward in time, in order to support the few attacking chances that they were creating. Eventually, Letchworth penetrated the Harpenden defence through a well worked short corner routine and took a 1-0 lead into the break.

The Blues made changes at half time and these substitutions started to make the difference and Harpenden drew level through a short corner routine of their own, Niall McAlister's shot just sneaking beneath the top of the backboard. This goal hadn't come against the run of play and, with Ross Walker beginning to spot the runs of his new teammates, the Blues were well and truly back in the game and playing the better hockey. However, controversy soon entered the game in a sequence of events that were to settle the game. Firstly, a Letchworth goal was disallowed after the umpire was unable to confirm whether the ball had been touched by a Letchworth stick inside the D. That it had hit something was incontrovertable; what it had hit was a different matter and in reality neither the players nor the umpires could be 100% sure. To the vociferous complaints of the visiting side, the umpire had no option but to disallow the goal.

Moments later, the Letchworth centre-forward fell to the ground just outside the D as if shot by a sniper. Andy Lunn, his marker, was close but not that close, but somewhat bizarrely a penalty flick was given. A more cynical reporter might suggest that this was merely an attempt to redress the balance of the earlier decision, but of course we wouldn't possible go that far. Regardless, the flick was given and succesfully converted... but the controversy wasn't over. Letchworth regained possession straight from the off and from a foray down the right, the ball was drilled in to the D, nearly knee-capping Steve Piercey in the process. This went unnoticed, however, and the cross was converted for a decisive two goal advantage.

Harpenden's heads dropped, sensing that this simply wasn't going to be their day, and a late own goal and crisply finished move rubbed salt in to the wounds.

On balance, Letchworth deserved the win, but the blues can feel aggreived at the margin of the result. They'll travel to Shefford & Sandy next week hoping to get back on the winning trail.

Report by Chris Parsons

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