Mens 2nd XI Match Report
Berkhamsted 2nd XI v Potters Bar Men's 2nd XI
04 February 2012 | by Anthony Levy
Following hard on the heels of last week’s game against the top side, came another important game against the side in third place. First off the pitch had to survive a late inspection due to the overnight frost and the required method of ensuring that the pitch was suitable was for the warm ups to take place on the areas of the pitch that were still frosty! Nevertheless by the appointed time the pitch was perfectly playable – even if it was a bit cold for the spectators!
On the pitch Richard Hughes was again forced to deputise in goal, thereby denying him a rare chance to join his brother in defence. Meanwhile the skipper was hoping that the rest of the side were fully fit as his 10 miles on the treadmill had taken their toll!
For the opening 30 minutes this was a very even competitive affair with Bar probably having the better of the chances. The best opportunity came on 11 minutes when a sweeping move out of defence saw Dave Ensor find Freddie Waite in the D but his shot was well saved by the keeper. Miles Edson was looking dangerous on the right but was probably not getting enough service as too many attacks came straight through the middle which the Berkhamsted defence found fairly easy to snuff out, although Andy Latham was probably justified in feeling that he was getting absolutely no protection from the umpires. Meanwhile at the back Richard Hughes had to be alert to get in the way of a number of forays into his D.
On 31 minutes Bar had a short corner where the first shot from Andy Latham was saved and then the follow up from Miles Edson was cleared away by the goal line defenders.
What then followed was rather surprising on the run of play up to that point, and effectively decided the match. With 3 minutes left of the half Jon Yates was perhaps harshly penalised – however the Bar defence seemed to be asleep as they allowed some quick passing from the ensuing free hit to go untroubled close to goal where the chance was taken. Just two minutes later there was a similar lapse – this time the Berkhamsted forward took a quick free hit from just outside the D and won a short corner, which was dispatched to make the half time score a rather unlucky 0-2.
All that really needs to be said about the half time team talk is that the skipper opened by apologising to young George McCormick for the language he was about to hear! The side was encouraged to use the wings, play the simple pass and to also play to the whistle rather than get frustrated by the umpires.
Unfortunately the encouragement went broadly unheeded as Bar played some of their worst hockey of the season for the next 30 minutes – failing to create any worthwhile chances and giving the ball away far too often. One such occasion on 45 minutes saw Owen Hughes uncharacteristically lose the ball away on the half way line allowing Berkhamsted to break away to make it 3-0. It could have been even worse 5 minutes later – first Richard Hughes took a painful blow to the knee in making a save, and then from the short corner that followed Jon Yates cleared off the line and might have given away a penalty flick for his trouble!
However, from a position of looking like they might lose by 4 or 5 goals, Bar then against the run of play, pulled off a startling final 6 minutes that nearly brought about what would have been a completely undeserved draw. A short corner was won on 64 minutes – not actually through good forward play but by a stray Berkhamsted foot in the D – and although the planned move was blocked, the ball ran loose in front of goal to Danny Becker who made no mistake. Then just 4 minutes later, from another short corner, Jon Yates was on hand close in to divert a cross into the goal. The momentum generated might have changed the game had it come earlier but the final whistle ended the rally, with the one silver lining being that the late goals keep the side in second place on goal difference.
Final Score: Potters Bar 2 - 3 Berkhamsted
Goal Scorers: D Becker (64), J Yates (68)
Team: S Randon (Capt), R Hughes (GK), J Yates, G McCormick, O Hughes, P Brady, M Levy, F Waite, D Becker, D Ensor, A Latham, M Edson
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