Mens 1st XI Match Report
Hertford 1st XI v Potters Bar Men 1st XI
22 January 2011 | by Owen Hughes
Due to a quirk of the fixtures and the leap-frog nature of the teams near the top of the table, this week turned out to be the 4th time in 5 weeks Bar had faced another team in the top 3 of their division. As it turned out, this was possibly the hardest of those games, as Hertford turned out to be a well drilled team, although it was also partly due to a slightly below par Potters Bar performance. Although Bar scraped a win, Hertford will feel disappointed not to finish with at least a point.
The game started with Hertford pressing high in order to put pressure on the division leaders. This only succeeded to leaving them open to an initial aerial bombardment. Mark Turpin was put through on goal but in a theme that was to recur throughout the match the Hertford keeper was up to the task.
Then from a short corner, Ed Whybrow produced a fine flick towards the left side of the goal, but the Hertford keeper pulled off a blinding save, diving to his right and getting his stick to the ball in mid air to push it wide of the post.
The pressure told not long after as another Bar aerial was miscontrolled by a Hertford defender at the top of the D and Dave Fennell was the beneficiary, calmly finishing low past the keeper’s left foot.
Hertford then started to come into the match more and more after this setback and started to gain control in midfield. Potters Bar found themselves pinned in and their defence struggled to clear the ball from their 16’s. This pressure produced Hertford’s first short corner of the match. An impeccable training ground routine brought about the equaliser through an easy finish at the far post.
With Hertford enjoying a largely free rein at the top of Bar’s 25, the inevitable happened and Hertford scored again to take the lead shortly before half time. A player was left unmarked in the D and he finished with aplomb chipping over the keeper into the net.
The half-time team talk focussed on quicker ball speed on passing, to afford players more time on the ball. And despite the strength of the opposition, Bar were quietly confident that the match was there to be won.
The second half started according to plan with the equaliser not long in coming, Mark Turpin scoring his 20th goal of the season following some good work from Andrew Foster-Yeow.
A sustained period of pressure from Hertford then followed, during which they won their second short corner of the match. This ended the same way as their first, with the ball nestling in the back of the net following a well executed drag flick doing. Keeper Geoff Smith was unfortunately hindered by a defender on the line.
Bar had only a bare 11, subs being a luxury that availability didn’t allow this week. However Bar roused their tired limbs and threw themselves forward in search of another equaliser. The normal patient build up was discarded for a more frantic rushed manner and at first this played into Hertford’s hands as passes went astray and Hertford looked dangerous on the counter attack. However Ben Graham had another superlative game at the back for Bar and his tackling and distribution out of defence was the cornerstone of Bar’s comeback.
Remarkably the tide turned and Bar started to play more hockey inside the Hertford 25. Short corners were being won but, unlike Hertford’s slick machine, not being converted.
However, with 9 minutes to go, a short corner was eventually converted. Chris Chittleborough was about as surprised as anybody when his improvised reverse flick made it over the keeper and through some legs into the goal.
Instead of closing out the draw, Bar went for the win, as touted at half time. Hertford won another short corner and hearts were in Bar’s mouths, given what had happened at the previous two. Fortunately, the Hertford short corner machine malfunctioned for once and Bar easily cleared.
Finally, with 5 minutes to go, Bar did get the winning goal. With the Bar short corner scoring seal broken, Ed Whybrow finished after Turpin drew the keeper.
There was still time for Hertford to win a last ditch short corner. Another well-worked routine picked out a player at the far post but his deflection was not quite enough as the ball passed agonisingly inches wide of the post.
Despite not playing their best hockey and up against a strong team, Bar held on to sneak the victory against a disappointed Hertford team.
Final Score: Potters Bar 4 - 3 Hertford
Goal Scorers: Ed Whybrow, Chris Chittleborough, Mark Turpin, Dave Fennell
Team: Geoff Smith, Ed Newbery, Owen Hughes, Ben Graham, Charlie Irish, Dave Fennell, Chris Chittleborough, Ed Whybrow, Mark Turpin, Miles Edson, Andrew Foster-Yeow
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