SOUTHGATE ADELAIDE I: 3
HARPENDEN II: 1
6.11.04

Another disappointing result for the increasingly floundering 2s as they were beaten by agricultural, indisciplined and often man-short league newcomers Southgate Adelaide.

With what on paper was a strong squad, the blues were unable to convert their dominance of possession in to clear cut chances, and those chances that were created were largely squandered. The hosts, however, and to their credit, made the most of only a handful of shots of goal, and that why they are now sitting pretty above Fraser Tant's men in Division 3 South West.

The opening exchanges were fairly even, although Southgate's route-one style enable them to convert defence in to attack fairly regularly, by passing both midfields. The blues were dealt a blow when a 50:50 in the D saw Ben Thompson come off worse, his shoulder badly damaged and the frontman becoming much less of a force subsequently. The skipper had one good chance to put Harpenden ahead, but his effort was thwarted by a keeper quick off his line, and within minutes Southgate were ahead, with a degree of controversy. A cross from the right was drilled at knee-height towards Neil Liles, but the whistle was not forthcoming from the umpire (who had perhaps foreseen what grief he would get in blowing any decision against Southgate...) The ball fell kindly to the host centre forward, who made no mistake in seizing on his team's good fortune.

At one-nil down at half time, the blues were still in the game, even more so when a string of Southgate players talked or fouled their way into yellow cards. With a man advantage the blues piled on the pressure, with Niall McAlister's constantly searching through balls particularly incisive, but as chance came and went, one sensed that it was not going to be their day. When Harpenden, despite having watched Southgate go through their right-slip short corner routine for at least 15 minutes before the game, were beaten by a right-slip short corner, they were dead and buried. A last-minute goal by the ever-willing Toby Pickard gave the blues hope, but as they threw men forward searching the equaliser they so richly deserved, Southgate grabbed a third on the final whistle.

In the face of media speculation about his future, skipper Tant was defiant: "I'm not going to do a Santini. I've not lost the dressing room, and until that happens, I'm not going anywhere. We've got the players, we've got the belief, the chairman has got confidence in me, and the fans - I tell, you, they're the best fans in the world, at this club."

Toby Pickard: Second goal in consecutive fixtures

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