BLUEHARTS III: 1
HARPENDEN II: 3

03.12.05

Harpenden keeper Ben Brind was in inspired form on Saturday as victory at Blueharts extended the blues’ teir unbeaten run to 5 games with.

On face value, with the blues 3-nil up by half time, one might think that the game was a doddle, but without the heroics of the ginger stopper, it may well have been 3-all at the break. Both sides were cutting swathes through their opponents’ defences, and had not Brind pulled off a string of fine saves the score might have been very different.

Harpenden started off the stronger, continuing in the vein that saw them put four unanswered goals past Hertford in the second half of their last outing. With flame-haired midfield fulcrum Rob Arnsby pulling the strings and pint-sized club captain Paul Nash adding to the right-sided presence already supplied by the mercurial Dave Waters, the blues were soon in the lead. It was Neil Liles who struck first, following up his first goal in eons the week before with another after 10 minutes, like fellow giant Peter Crouch. Harps’ plans were soon unsettled by the recurrence of Niall McAlister’s hamstring problems, the evergreen Irish striker coincidentally struck down on the day a more illustrious fellow Belfastian was laid to rest. McAlister was replaced by former skipper Fraser Tant, relegated to the bench after a string of suspect performances and keen to prove a point to successor Steve Piercy.

Brind saved smartly from a Blueharts short corner, and defence was quickly turned to attack as Pete Kneale swept forward. He fed Chris Parsons on the right wing, who in turn sped past the left back and picked out the continuing Kneale run. The pigeon-toed Cambridge graduate swatted the return pass past the hapless keeper to double Harpenden’s lead. Minutes later, the game was all but safe when Waters’ mazy dribble down the right wing left Blueharts’ defence bamboozled and beaten, and the ball was pulled back to Toby Pickard who directed it on to the reverse stick of Tant, diving in at the far post like Gary Lineker against Poland at Mexico 86. “It was an important goal for the team – because it pretty much made the game safe – and for me personally; I needed to get back on the goal trail and make a statement to the gaffer.”

At half time, Piercy was keen to point out that there was still work to be done – and it proved the case when Brind’s defences were at last breached on 50 minutes. At 3-1, it was imperative that the blues kept possession rather than push forward too much at the risk of being hit on the counterattack; another goal for the hosts could make for an uneasy end to the match. But with Blueharts chasing the game, space opened up at the back, and both Tant and Parsons had good chances to put an end to the matter. Primarily, the onus was on ball retention, and Harpenden had the skill and composure to run down the clock and take the three points back home.

“For me, the lad Brind was difference class today, ” commented Piercy. “He’s bit of an unsung hero, but the boys know that he’s made a massive contribution today. He’s done terrific. If we can pick up three more points against Stevenage next week, we’ll enter the Christmas break on 19 points, ready for a promotion challenge come the new year.”

Ben Brind: Class between the posts