HERTFORD TOWN 1 HATFIELD TOWN 3
Molten Spartan South Midlands League - Premier Division
Saturday 6th March 2010
After a two week break enforced by more bad weather, Hertford Town renewed their league campaign with a third consecutive home fixture, this time against local rivals Hatfield Town. Unfortunately the Blues continued where they had left off against Haringey Borough and put in another poor performance, which saw a second 3-1 home defeat in a row. Matters were not helped with Kevin Cooper being suspended for the game and Tom Neill and Owen Beale absent through injury.Teams- Hertford Town: 1. Lee Robinson, 2. Michael Cooper, 3. Rob Luya, 4. Mwetaminwa Masangu, 5. Joel Maybury (capt), 6. Joe Scales, 7. Attila Korsoveczki, 8. Pablo Ardiles, 9. Dominic Musafiri, 10. Jason Coughlan, 11. Lee Roberts. Sub Used: Alan Barker (for Scales).
Hatfield Town: 1. Sam Lacey, 2. Ross Gilbert, 3. Richard Cooke 4. Jack Evans, 5. John MacGrandles (capt), 6. Martin Standen, 7. Rhys Lawrence, 8. Trevor Golder, 9. Jason Beck, 10. Lewis Owen, 11. Lewis field. Subs Used: Matthew Standen (for Beck), Bruce Tahon (for Golder), Jay Welsh (for Evans).
The first real action of any sort came in the second minute and saw the visitors awarded a free kick deep inside the Hertford half. However, Lewis Owen was yet to find his range and blasted the ball out of the ground. A short while later Hatfield won a corner but a poor set piece saw the ball easily gathered by Lee Robinson. Another free kick for the visitors in the seventh minute was taken by Trevor Golder but was headed clear by Hertford skipper Joel Maybury.
The home side came to life on the quarter hour mark and a good move saw Attila Korsoveczki cross from wide on the right to the feet of Pablo Ardiles. The former manager found himself one-on-one with visiting custodian Sam Lacey but fluffed his lines and Lacey was able to save. The resulting corner was taken by Korsoveczki but easily cleared by the Hatfield defence. Ten minutes later a Hertford free kick was taken by Lee Roberts but played straight into the arms of Lacey.
Another good Hertford move came on the half hour mark when a cross found Korsoveczki. However, his goal-bound header was excellently tipped over by Lacey. Roberts' corner again found Korsoveczki but he was fouled on the edge of the visitors' box and the Blues were awarded a free kick. The kick was taken by Jason Coughlan but his effort was saved by Lacey at the expense of another corner. This time the ball fell to new Hertford signing, Mwetaminwa Masangu but his spectacular overhead effort was easily gathered by Lacey.
A few minutes later the home defence were caught napping. A good attacking move by the visitors saw Rhys Lawrence cross to JACK EVANS and the unmarked defender was easily able to head the ball into the goal to open the scoring. Shortly after the restart came an incident of no little controversy. A Hertford attack saw the ball played in to Lee Roberts in a good scoring position but he appeared to mis-hit his effort and the ball sailed high and wide of the target. The referee then appeared to be signalling a goal kick, but to the amazement of nearly everyone in the ground, including Roberts, he was actually pointing to the penalty spot. Incensed by this bewildering decision most of the Hatfield team then remonstrated with the referee, who after some discussion booked Rhys Lawrence and Jason Beck. When all had calmed down, ROBERTS himself stepped up to take the spot kick and blasted a fine effort into the back of the net, well beyond the reach of Lacey.
Parity was to last for all of two minutes. Soon after the restart the visitors were awarded a corner and as the ball came in the home defence was again found wanting, allowing RHYS LAWRENCE an easy strike into the back of the net to restore the visitors' lead. A short while later the home side were back on the attack but Ardiles hit a shot over the bar and it was not long before the referee blew the half time whistle.
Half Time Score: Hertford Town 1 Hatfield Town 2
The visitors again started the second half the better and four minutes after the break were awarded a free kick deep inside the Hertford half. However, the ball was well-claimed by Lee Robinson, who cleared upfield. Three minutes later Hatfield's Trevor Golder shot wide following a good solo run. It was not long before the visitors made the first substitution of the afternoon with Matthew Standen coming on to replace Jason Beck.
On the hour mark the scores really should have been level again. After another good build-up, Korsoveczki found himself with just Lacey to beat. After the visiting 'keeper had gone to ground, tapping the ball into the empty net seemed to be just a formality, however, Korsoveczki seemed to trip over the object at his feet, allowing the quick-thinking and much relieved Lacey time to gather. The home side immediately made a substitution with Alan Barker coming on to replace Joe Scales. It was also not long before the visitors made their second change with Bruce Tahon coming on for Trevor Golder.
With little more than quarter of an hour of normal time remaining the home side were awarded a corner, though Korsoveczki's cross was easily cleared. The visitors were soon on the attack and once again the Hertford defence were caught out. Just nine minutes after coming onto the field, BRUCE TAHON netted Hatfield's third goal and effectively put the game out of reach of the hosts. The visitors then made their third and final change as Jay Welsh replaced Jack Evans.
In the 85th minute Hertford forced a corner but there was adjudged to have been an infringement as Roberts took his kick and the visitors were awarded a free kick. The ball was soon back in the danger however, though the ever-impressive Rob Luya hit his effort wide. The visitors attacked from the goal kick and forced a corner at the other end, though this was taken short and the opportunity ultimately wasted.
The referee had somehow found rather a lot of stoppage time and well beyond the 90th minute the visitors won two consecutive corners. After the second, Jay Welsh found himself in a position where it appeared he would score a fourth for the visitors but like earlier Hertford efforts he missed when it seemed easier to score. It was not long before the referee finally blew the final whistle, much to the relief of the frost-bitten supporters of both sides.
Final Score: Hertford Town 1 Hatfield Town 3