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HARPENDEN II: 2
RICKMANSWORTH I: 0
05.04.2008
Harpenden’s second
team capped a fine season with the victory against Rickmansworth
they needed to secure the second promotion place in Division 3SW.
Peter Kneale’s men
have been in second place since Christmas, but could afford no
slip ups over the last month of the season, with Winchmore Hill
and Enfield poised to pounce on any dropped points and steal second
place. Despite suffering a 5-1 reverse against Rickmansworth in
the last game of 2007, the whites were quietly confident, with
only champions Luton taking any points from a Harpenden home fixture
this season. True to the spirit of the club, Kneale refused to
bolster his squad with any players from the first team; he wanted
to stand or fall by those players who had taken the team to the
brink of promotion. Fortunately, both the skipper himself and
David Waters returned to the squad from the previous week, meaning
the squad was at full strength.
Harpenden were palpably nervous before the game, and this spread
to the opening exchanges, throughout which the whites were too
keen to force the issue. However, they soon found their groove,
with 17-goal forward Nigel Timms working a good opportunity for
himself before producing an air-shot so forceful he fell over
in the process. A few short corners came and went, before diminutive
veteran club captain Paul Nash, playing for an extension to his
HHC contract, produced a moment of magic and found Russell Timms
on the back post to slot home and give the whites the lead. It
was Timms Sr’s 6th goal in as many games for the 2s, and
his arrival in the side has been an invaluable contribution during
the title run-in.
Less than two minutes later, Harpenden had one hand firmly on
their runners-up medals, when Waters picked the ball up wide on
the 25. He drove, well, ambled towards the D, sold an audacious
dummy that still has the Ricky right back looking for the ball
in the bushes, body-swerved past the sweeper at the top of the
D, drilled the ball beyond the hapless keeper and fell over in
the process, extending the lead with one of the best goals his
side have scored all season. “I don’t score many”
said the affable Westcountryman, “so when I do, I try
to make them special!”
Harpenden knew that they had to go into the break with this two-goal
lead intact, and that they did had much to do with a fine save
from ever-dependable keeper Ben Brind. Wrongfooted by a wicked
deflection, Brind reacted in a nano-second and stuck out a big
paw to send a thunderbolt from the top of the D millimetres wide.
It capped an all-round excellent first half performance, and after
some wise words from Kneale, the team headed back to their positions
knowing that a clean sheet in the second half would secure promotion.
The whites had the better opportunities in the second half, with
Ali Hutson, Niall Blackwell and Ceri Sharma all going close. Defensively,
Sam Martyn, Graham Smith and Ali Holland kept things secure, while
midfield tyro Ben Turner was tireless both in his running and
his vocal encouragement. All that remained was for Fraser Tant
to do what he does best – dribble round in circles in the
corner aimlessly and run down the clock - preventing Rickmansworth
getting the ball. One last attack saw Ricky awarded a short corner,
but the Umpire’s whistle for full time meant that Harpenden
could happily concede the goal, knowing that victory would be
theirs regardless. As it was, the short corner came to nothing
and a 2-0 victory was the least Harpenden deserved.
“It’s been a great performance
from the lads all season” said an emotional Kneale.
“I’m proud of them all, and we’re looking forward
to making a mark on Div 2 next year. Allez les blancs!”
Back Row: Ali Holland, Graham Smith, Russell
Timms, Fraser Tant, Niall Blackwell, David Waters, Alistair Hutson
Front Row: Ben Turner, Nigel Timms, Pete Kneale,
Ben Brind, Paul Nash, Sam Martyn, Ceri Sharma
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Scorers
1) Russell Timms
2) David Waters
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