Mens 2nd XI Match Report
Cheshunt 2nd XI v Potters Bar Men's 2nd XI
10 December 2011 | by Anthony Levy
With the first team skipper on holiday during the week (and nursing a broken finger) and plenty of first team availability issues, it was left to Spencer to organise the teams this week which turned into an experience he would prefer to forget, particularly the final team sheet showing the need for George Wickham to discover intergalactic transportation in order to play for the 2s and 3s at the same time! All was well with George McCormick installed into the 2s defence where he performed admirably, whilst George Wickham was to score a hat trick for the 3s.
Forgotten in the week’s scramble for players was that Cheshunt also play in red socks so that Bar needed to bring their away black socks with them. As it was the Bar side took the field with a multitude of coloured socks that included black, purple, blue, yellow, white, red (normal), red (1st team) and red/white hoops.
Surprisingly therefore it was Bar who opened the game playing some excellent passing hockey and creating a number of chances. James McCormick had an effort on the far post scrambled away in the opening 5 minutes and Jon Yates saw a short corner effort excellently parried over the cross bar after 10 minutes. Both Simeon Nichols and Dave Ensor had chances coming in from the right hand side but either a lack of composure at the crucial time or a misplaced pass allowed Cheshunt to escape.
Gradually however the game became more even with Cheshunt almost creating scoring chances of their own with some quick breaks, but usually the final pass was either snuffed out by the likes of Jon Yates and the skipper or the final pass went astray. This allowed stand in keeper Richard Hughes to have a suitably quiet first half.
Another short corner on 22 minutes almost saw Bar take the lead – Jon Yates again had the first strike that was saved by the keeper and Andy Latham (making his seasonal debut) was then unlucky to see his follow up go just past the post. It looked like the first half was going to fizzle out goalless until Dave Ensor was fouled when running towards the D in the final seconds of the half. From the resulting short corner, with all the team on the edge of the D due to the half time whistle having been blown, it only required a single strike from Andy Latham into the bottom corner to give Bar a deserved, if unexpected, 1-0 half time lead.
The half time team talk stressed the need to keep the team’s shape and to not give the ball away in dangerous areas. Otherwise the skipper wanted the team to carry on as before but to take the chances when they came.
The second half continued in the same vain as the latter half of the first half with both sides looking dangerous but with the Cheshunt attacks usually snuffed out by some last ditch tackles, and with Bar either unable to find a clear cut opening or finding a keeper on form. Andy Latham was denied by the keeper in the 44th minute and soon afterwards saw his short corner strike go just wide. With 10 minutes remaining Andy was again thwarted – this time the goal keeper keeping out two efforts!
The home team were however beginning to take more control of the midfield and were looked the more likely team to get the next goal. Richard Hughes made a key save with 8 minutes remaining, but 3 minutes later he could do nothing to stop the equaliser from a well worked move. Things could have been worse just two minutes later when a Cheshunt forward found himself one on one against Richard, but our goal keeping hero narrowed the angle well and got down to make a crucial save.
A cold afternoon by the sideline was mercifully ended by the final whistle and a game that looked like bringing 3 vital points had ended in what was perhaps a fair result on balance, given that the home side had begun to dominate the second half as the Bar shape had failed to hold out. Nevertheless the end of the first half of the season sees the side firmly in the promotion places with plenty of optimism ahead for the post winter break campaign.
Final Score: Cheshunt 1 - 1 Potters Bar
Goal Scorers: Andy Latham
Team: S Randon (Capt), R Hughes (GK), J Yates, M Levy, G McCormick, M Edson, D Becker, F Waite, J McCormick, D Ensor, A Latham, S Nichols
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