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Post by benchsitter on Jan 12, 2014 18:13:30 GMT
Next game up for the reserves is the Suburban Challenge Shield game away at Hartley Wintney on Tuesday 14 January - 7.30 ko.
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Post by benchsitter on Jan 15, 2014 8:42:48 GMT
Finally, some football, and a game full of action on a very sticky pitch with a woeful referee - joy! The Challenge Shield is group based competition to start with and this was the first of our games, against a team that tonked us back in December in the league, so we were looking for a better performance - and we got one. To say we were unlucky to lose this one would be an understatement, but much of that was due to individual poor decisions, both by the officials and players alike. Fitness (or lack of it) also played a part and having to play 60 mins with 10 men didn't help, and it was all the more frustrating in the way the referee bungled that decision in the first place - he didn't even know who to award the penalty against as he said he didn't see it!   Both teams had to battle the elements and credit to both of them for making it a game worth watching. HW took the lead after 11 mins when their players fell over just inside the penalty area, 1-0. Poor decision. On 20 mins we were level when a great diagonal ball by new signing Tommy Brazil found Dollard wide on the right and he left the full back in his wake and blasted a great shot in from an acute angle. We were in the ascendancy and then on 29 mins the referee made the game-changing decision to award a second penalty after consulting his assistant and sent off Bobby - perplexing. Half time score 2-1 to HW. Although we had only 10 men we had shown enough in the first half to believe this game was there to be won and we continued to compete although HW were always dangerous on the break. But after 65 mins Karl Winters placed a neatly threaded ball through the centre and Tommy did the rest running past the defenders and slotting home. 2-2. On 57 mins a defensive slip with a high line cost us dear and HW broke through to score again, 3-2. But we didn't fold and kept pressing and with 10 mins to go HW had a player sent off for a bad tackle under pressure and with 2 minutes to go we got the equaliser from a Freddie Kelsey free kick on the right that Adam Murphy tried to head, but missed, but by doing that he put the keeper off and it went straight in (so that's an assist for Murph!  ). It should have been enough and would have been well deserved, but legs were heavy and HW managed to breach us straight away and score a well taken break away goal to win 4-3. Plenty of spirit and goals and on another night is would have been enough, but there you go. Entertaining - yes. frustrating - yes. Bemusing - much of the time.  |
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). It should have been enough and would have been well deserved, but legs were heavy and HW managed to breach us straight away and score a well taken break away goal to win 4-3.