Match Report - 30th September 2007

The Bs first defeat of the season came in a closely fought match that produced some entertaining and good quality play from both teams. The Headstone boys produced their best football of the season with some good interplay, movement and determined defending. What was missing was a cutting edge and sufficient good chances to threaten Harlington’s keeper. Overall the match was fairly even and Harlington didn’t create that much, but when they had the chance they finished well and reaped the points.

The game was played in excellent conditions, a mild, bright, sunny morning on a smooth flat, pitch. In the early stages the Bs had slightly more of the play and the midfield quartet of Thomas, Jay, George and Jordan combined well. The back four kept Harlington at bay and Stephen had little to do. Harlington competed well though and too often the Bs lost possession waiting to receive a pass rather than anticipating and moving. Sid was a handful using his strength and pace to good effect but he only had a couple of chances and couldn’t find the net. Alongside him up front, Fed found himself through on goal in the area but couldn’t connect well enough and his shot missed the target.

The Bs won a couple of corners which George delivered very well but it was from a corner at the other end that Harlington grabbed the lead. It was the simplest of goals accurately headed home at the near post. Harlington came closest with a couple of other attacks but Stephen produced two excellent saves. In one he raced out and bravely dived at the feet of the attacker to deny him. At the other end Thomas had two half chances but the Bs struggled to make the space around the box to threaten and Harlington’s two strong central defenders dealt well with any attacks.

Five minutes before the break Harlington dealt the Bs a blow doubling their lead. The ball was played into the box and Luis won the ball and turned superbly to clear. But as he attempted to play the ball out, Harlington dispossessed him and quickly lobbed a high ball goalwards that Stephen was unable to reach. The score didn’t reflect the play but credit to Harlington who took the chances well. Credit also to the Bs who kept their heads and within two minutes grabbed one back. The goal came from another well taken corner by George. The heads flew in, the ball bounced around and Russell charged in and made no mistake, forcing the ball over the line.

At half time the Bs made two changes, Conor replaced Fed up front and Kyle took over from Jordan on the right. Kyle was busy from the word go and within a couple of minutes Conor had equalised. The ball was played from right to left and Thomas, who had shown excellent movement to stretch Harlington’s defenders, found himself through on the left. He sent the ball across the box, Sid nodded it on and Conor pounced and shot home. It was the breakthrough the Bs needed and they looked to build on it. Russell and Josh’s long throws caused some danger in the box but the Bs couldn’t capitalise.

Then on 42 minutes Harlington regained the lead with a goal that had a few question marks over it. The ball was played from left to right behind Josh and the linesman flagged for offside. The Bs stopped but the referee overruled and the attacker scored accurately from a very tight angle. Four minutes later and Harlington struck again when a simple ball found an attacker free between Joe and Josh and he scored in the corner. A little later and Francis came on in centre midfield for Jay.

But the Bs kept pushing on and had two very good chances that nearly got them back in it. First Sid found himself through on goal after dispossessing the defender. He rounded the keeper but went too wide and his shot just missed the post. Then Kyle, from 40 yards out, hit a high ball that beat the keeper but went inches wide. The game ended 2-4, a disappointing result but no disgrace as the performance was good. There were plenty of good displays. In his first match of the season Josh looked strong, assured and showed some very good control and passing. Conor showed his liveliest display of the season and looked fast and keen. Thomas was a clear winner of the man of the match for his best performance for many weeks. He was strong, determined, always looking to build attacks and moved really well to make life difficult for Harlington’s midfield and defence.