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HARPENDEN II: 1
RICKMANSWORTH IV: 4
22.10.05
The Twos suffered their first defeat under
the stewardship of new skipper Steve Piercy against a strong Rickmansworth
outfit on Saturday.
“Ultimately, they were just that bit
better than us in most departments” said Piercy, stoically.
“They were 5% quicker, 5% fitter, 5% more disciplined
and 5% more ruthless in front of goal, and that all adds up.”
The blues started poorly, although actually had
the first real chance to break the deadlock when Dave Munton’s
short corner strike was parried to Fraser Tant. Tant will have
been disappointed not to make the chance count, his shot saved
on the line by the covering defender. Within minutes, Rickmansworth
were less profligate when a clear opportunity came their way,
and took the lead – and it was only thanks to some excellent
defending by Graham Smith and keeper Ben Brind that the lead wasn’t
extended.
Piercy rang the changes midway through the first
half, and the introduction of the pace of Paddy Connor combined
with the brawn of Alan Clark soon paid dividends. Neil Liles’
accurate free hit from just outside the 25 met Paul Wise’s
perfectly time run into the D, and his clever deflection smacked
into the backboard to bring the sides to parity.
So at half time, it was either team’s game.
If Harpenden could keep their level at that of the last 15 minutes
of the first half, the three points were there for the taking.
However, it was clear that any lapses in concentration, wasteful
passing or silly mistakes would be punished.
Sadly for the blues, it was the latter outcome
not the former that came to fruition. Ricky’s direct style
of play, coupled with pacey front men and a couple of defenders
who could hit the ball a country mile, meant that when Harpenden’s
attacks broke down the opposition were quickly mounting attacks
of their own. The blues’ attack was unable to hold the ball
up sufficiently to allow for midfield support to arrive, while
some over-optimistic passing and a couple of silly mistakes ensured
the blues were on the back foot for much of the half. Three further
goals from Rickmansworth perhaps flattered them a little, while
Tant and Clark both had chances to reduce the arrears, but it
wasn’t to be.
“It’s a disappointment,
for sure” said the skipper, “but we’ll
do all we can to bounce back against Bishop’s Stortford
next Saturday.”
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