| HARPENDEN
III: 2
LETCHWORTH IV: 3
21.01.06
Harpenden 3rd
XI faced their sternest test of the season so far, when they entertained
top of the table Letchworth at home last Saturday. Harpenden were
sitting 2nd in the table, one point behind their opponents at
the start of the game, so there was no over-sating the importance
of the fixture.
Ali Keith's men suffered an inauspicious start,
when defensive lynch pin Geoff Gould was forced to leave the field
with a rib injury after only a few minutes play. The 3s were able
to adjust their line up, but the loss of the pivotal Gould was
always going to put extra strain on the re-jigged defence.
The match started quickly, with Harpenden having
trouble coming to terms with their opponent’s generally
superior stick and passing skills. However, gradually the midfield
of skipper Keith, Pete Evans, Paul Clements and Ali Holland found
their feet and began having an increasing influence on the game.
Letchworth opened the scoring after 20 minutes. They converted
a rebound at a short corner following a good save from young keeper
Ben Wain. Wain performed admirably through out the game, and obviously
has a big future at the club.
Harpenden created a period of intense pressure
in the 10 minutes leading up to half time. James Bird became an
increasingly threatening presence down the right hand side, linking
up well with Holland. The midfielder set up two excellent chances,
first for Evans and then for forward Tom Preest, both of which
were spurned.
After half time the game became more open, and
chances more frequent. Harpenden eventually equalised from a short
corner, Clements cleverly picking out Niall Blackwell in front
of goal. Letchworth are not top of the table for nothing and continued
to take the game to Harpenden, eventually restoring their lead
after a good move down the right.
The introduction of Ryan "Ginola" Ely
swung the balance of the game back towards the home side. Ely
kept his composure after being set free at the top of the D, drawing
the keeper and supplying a fine pass allowing Preest to help the
ball into the empty net.
At 2-2 Harpenden appeared to have not only weathered
the Letchworth storm, but also to have moved into a position from
which the game could be won. Sadly, Letchworth had other ideas,
a quick break away saw the Blues outnumbered at the back. Wain
did brilliantly to save the initial effort from the visitor's
captain, only once again to unluckily see the rebound fall straight
to a Letchworth stick. The resulting shot finding the bottom corner
despite the combined efforts of Simon Redford and Andy Lunn on
the line.
There was no time for Harpenden to reply,
as Letchworth ran out 3-2 winners. Skipper Keith was in bullish
mood afterwards. Acknowledging that the opposition were the slightly
better team, he was proud of the effort the 3s had put in and
the fact that the result had been so close. He was keen to stress
that promotion for the 3s is still a realistic option. To this
end it is important that the team move on from this defeat and
take the next set of fixtures in their stride. This will stand
them in good stead for the matches against their immediate rivals
at the top end of SW division 6 as the season reaches its climax.
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