St Albans vs Harpenden Hawks
(25th Sept)
A good win for West at home to Harpenden Hawks began with an early goal, as after just two minutes Ryan Rickard played a great ball to new striker Ross Whinnett who shot at goal. Despite the Harpenden keeper getting a touch in trying to tip the shot over the bar, the ball went in to give West an early lead. The next ten to fifteen minutes were fairly even with both sides trying to push forward; however it was West who looked the more dangerous as some great through balls, from George and Ryan R in particular, led to further scoring chances for Ross and Scott.
Despite
seeing an equal amount of the ball Harpenden failed to create many chances
as the West defence repeatedly kept them at bay. The only time West looked
vulnerable at the back was as a result of Harpenden’s keeper, who had a huge
drop kick which often caught West out. Towards the end of the first half, it
was yet another great ball from George who fed Scott. He ran and shot from
outside the area to make it 2-0 at the break.
The second half began with Harpenden trying to retain some momentum, and although they put West under pressure for a while, their scoring chances remained limited, while Martin Robinson in goal made some good saves on the occasions Harpenden did shoot at goal.
Injuries
to Jamie and Ross led to a shuffle around of players, which included seeing
Luke Jeffery, normally a defender, partnering Scott up front. He made an
immediate impact, and was very unlucky not to get on the score sheet as he
managed to hit the woodwork amongst a number of good shots that could have
gone in. A third goal did finally arrive after the ball was cleared from a
West corner. Outside the area, the clearance headed towards Jamie who
connected beautifully to see the ball head like a bullet for the top corner.
At the back, Ryan Maher, Charlie C and the rest of the defence continued to keep Harpenden at bay, however they were awarded a dubious penalty late in the game. Martin in goal must have put their penalty taker off though, as he hit the ball high and wide.
Although West went on to
have a few more scoring chances the score remained
3-0, but this was the
best performance for sometime, and this was probably the most satisfying
aspect of the match.
Final Score: St Albans 3 – 0 Harpenden Hawks
Joint man of the match: Ryan Maher, Charlie C, Luke and Ryan Rickard