Hempnall FC

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By Andy Clitheroe…

Hempnall went into the game with Freethorpe looking to make it 5 wins out of 5, but were aware they didn’t want a repeat of Saturdays ‘late fightback’ to secure the points. We added Sam Wenham and Jon King to the squad, with Ross Jones (injured) and Kelvin Willimot (first team) unavailable, and Ian Garrod got a start in his favoured central midfield position.

Much of the pre match talk focussed on starting quickly, and trying to get an early lead. Initial signs were good, with Wenham and Clitheroe getting joy down the flanks in the first few minutes, but Hempnall then seemed to gradually surrender the initiative as Freethorpe sensed they could cause an upset. Indeed, it was Freethorpe who struck first, when a misplaced pass in midfield allowed a Freethorpe player to intercept and round the helpless Motteram to make it 1-0.

As a result of this Hempnall would normally come out fighting, but sadly this did not happen as we lacked the drive and urgency, and any supporters on the sidelines would have been forgiven for thinking this was a meaningless end of season game, rather than a vital game to maintain a title push. Hempnall’s fortunes then went from bad to worse, as Freethorpe scored a second just before half time after a mistake in the Hempnall defence.

HT 0-2

Garrod’s half time team talk was a stern one, demanding an instant improvement, with feelings that if we could somehow produce our normal battling performance, we may just be able to rescue the situation. However, the second Half began in a similar fashion, with Hempnall not really creating anything worthwhile, and lacking any real cutting edge. Management then began to make changes, with Kingo replacing Kristian Jones as we looked to try and stretch the Freethorpe defence with the threat of pace. Gradually Hempnall began to come to life, and starting asking questions of the Freethorpe defence.

With 20 minutes remaining, and seemingly Hempnall were beginning to run out of time, Ian Garrod picked the ball up on the edge of the area, and drilled it hard and low in to the bottom left hand corner for his first goal of the season, and a lifeline for Hempnall. We then began to really dictate the play, and took the game to Freethorpe with good chances missed by Kingo and Potter (although it must be said, even when we were dominating the game, the quality in our play was still lacking). Hempnall then introduce Whiting to bolster the strike force, altering their shape to be more attacking.

We pushed on into the last 5 minutes desperate to find an equaliser, when an Ian Garrod corner found Potter lurking unmarked at the far post, who headed into the top corner to make it 2-2. The remaining 5 minutes could have seen the game swing either way, with Freethorpe hitting the crossbar, before a long Potter clearance in the last minute sent Kingo free behind the defence, who just nipped in ahead of the onrushing goalkeeper, to score with a one touch finish from the edge of the area.

FT 3-2

Hempnall can count themselves very lucky to have won the game, but credit to the character for again never giving up. Very difficult to give a man of the match, as nobody produced anything outstanding, although special mentions to Ian Garrod for his goal and assist, and Ross Potter for his goal and assist (although in truth, it was just a hopeful off balance clearance), and to Jon King for playing our ‘Get out of Jail Free’ card.

We play Caister at home on Saturday, where a much improved performance is needed.