|
| spectator 15th February 2012 |
HAVANT MAKE POINTS |
| After
an
early
start and bitterly cold morning the Havant contingent arrived
at Lichfield to find an adjacent rugby pitch, not the hockey astro most
were expecting. Unfortunately the players had left their sherpas at home and had to brave the trek to the pitch through what can only be described as a 'mud bath'. The warm up was full of excitement and anticipation from all the players who looking forward to completing another convincing win over an 'agricultural' Lichfield side. The tempo of the match was set early by Havant who looked in control from the start. Slick passing was complimented by decisive lead runs from the forwards leading to many early chances; whilst our defence, was astutely solid letting very little forward from the ageing Lichfield defence. This pressure culminated in Ollie Nail receiving a pin point pass to the middle of the D, with the goliath lichfield centre back charging down on David (Ollie) both composure and maturity displayed above his young years allowed Andrew Pett to receive a slipped pass to then smash the ball past a rather immobile Lichfield keeper. All this taking place before the umpires could put 8 minutes on their watches. A bombardment of Havant pressure led to cracks becoming visible in the Lichfield midfield who were receiving little to no support from their front 2. Again the Havant defence leaving few options for Lichfield to progress up the pitch. The game continued to ebb and flow for next 15 minutes with the centre of the pitch turning into 'Middle Earth' as battles erupting into a spate of green cards; some more clumsy than others. The remaining minutes of the half were left uneventful apart from a few Havant chances created from intricate play from Tom Murtagh & Ben Mackey. Havant went into half time leaving 1-0 feeling it should have been 3 or 4. |
The
second
half
began with a slight undertone to it, leaving Havant
feeling the next goal was going to be vital. Havant started to move the
ball around smoothly giving our midfield time to link up with the
forwards well. Opportunities to push for that second goal were now coming up every 4 or 5 minutes with just the final clinicalness needed. With the game resting at 1-0 Lichfield started to apply more pressure to Havant leaving more players higher. This meant their challenges became even more desperate on Havant attacks, leaving Craig Duffy penetrated on two occasions after what can be described as being 'mauled' by the Lichfield midfield. Sadly when Craig tackled cleanly in retaliation he was unfairly awarded a yellow card for his bulldog like worth ethic. Lichfield eventually scrabbling a goal past the green wall of Havant defenders, yet never looked to threaten again. For the remaining 10 minutes Havants D-Day like invasion of the Lichfield half wasn't being rewarded with the goal they so desperately wanted. Lichfield's defence was being consistently outplayed but given more lives than my cat with Havants forwards failing to capitlise. Not until vice captain Jon Smedley stepped up for the hundredth Havant penalty corner did he cooly finish on his second attempt on goal to make it 2-1. With only 5 minutes left Lichfield reverted to playing a style of hockey more suited to their ability, wrestling. A football esque push from the Lichfield left back after a poorly timed tackle on Dan Faulkner would have an other day been a red card had Dan not decided to put the Lichfield player and I quote 'back in his pocket'. The game eventually fizzling out with, yet again, a WELL deserved win for Havant leaving Lichfield struggling for points with time running out. A massive thank you to the supporters who made the journey. Tom Murtagh. Sent from my iPad |
