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STEVENAGE I: 1
HARPENDEN II: 2
29.03.2008
A hard-fought but
deserved victory against a good Stevenage 1s on Saturday ensured
that Harpenden remain in the driving seat for promotion as they
approach the season’s final round of fixtures.
With skipper and centre-midfield
lynchpin Pete Kneale absent, acting skipper Fraser Tant adopted
a Christmas Tree formation to reinforce the midfield and dominate
possession, with Niall Blackwell and Russell Timms wide on the
flanks and Nigel Timms and Ceri Sharmer supporting Ben Turner
in the middle. After an even start to the game, Harps took the
lead when a broken down short corner was fired back into the danger
area by Nigel Timms, finding his brother unmarked and quick to
pounce on the back post. The brothers celebrated with a Romario-esque
‘rocking-the-baby’ celebration, heralding the recent
arrival of the latest member of the Timms Dynasty since the last
game. “That one was for you, Charlie”, said
an emotional Russell after the game.
Despite taking the lead, the blues were
less than comfortable in their formation, with the offensive prowess
of Timms Sr being wasted out wide, and the naturally attacking
Timms Jr and Sharma sometimes leaving Turner outnumbered in midfield.
The formation soon switched to 4-4-2, and Harpenden began to dominate.
Tant, both Timms brothers and Sharma all had chances to extend
the lead, but when a breakaway move from Stevenage saw them draw
level, there was a palpable aura of apprehension from Harpenden,
who saw their promotion chances slipping away.
Strong words were said at half time, not
least of which being that the side had just three halves of hockey
left for 6 months, and that 105mins of hockey would end of defining
the season. Galvanised, Harpenden approached the second half with
much more confidence and more aggression. Defensively, the whites
were resolute, with the ever dependable Ali Holland and Paul Nash
keeping the threat from the wingers minimal and season debutant
Neil Lunn, back from Uni for Easter, giving some fresh legs when
required. In goal, Ben Brind produced one outstanding save from
a shot that already had the Stevenage team cheering, assuming
it was unstoppable, while Graham Smith and Sam Martyn were calmness
personified in thwarting the tricky Stevenage centre forward.
Harpenden continued to pile on the pressure,
but chances went begging, with Russell Timms somehow hitting the
post from a yard out and then being virtually tackled by his brother
with the keeper prone. A fine cross for Paul Nash just evaded
Lunn’s despairing dive at the back post, and when Timms
Jr was fed in by Tant and drove wide rather than play a simple
return pass with the keeper beaten, it seemed that perhaps it
wouldn’t be Harpenden’s day after all. However, moments
later, a defence-splitting Martyn pass from his own 25 found Tant,
who again looked for the wall pass with Timms. This time, however,
Timms was right to shoot, and his effort squirmed under the keeper,
wrongfooted the defender on the line and gave Harpenden the lead
again.
Eight minutes remained – would it
be the most important eight minutes of the whites’ season?
Harpenden looked to slow it down and keep possession, although
one particularly heinous challenge from Timms Sr saw Russell watch
the final five minutes from the sideline. However, Harpenden’s
emergency four-five-none formation closed out the game for yet
another one-goal victory, meaning that skipper Pete Kneale will
return next week knowing that victory against old rivals Rickmansworth
will see his side promoted to Division 2.
Match report: Fraser Tant
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Scorers
1) Russell Timms
2) Nigel Timms
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