Hempnall FC

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So, the Premier Title chase went down to two, and sadly (for us) we were the ‘fallers’!

It was always going to be tough with Cudden, Renaut, Hunter, Addison & both the Devlin boys unavailable but never the less the boys put in a creditable first half performance to be leading 1-0 at half time, when Carl Harwin headed home on the far post just before the interval.

Before that, in a fairly even game we had the clear goal scoring opportunities what with Browny hitting the bar & the rebound somehow falling where our players were not.

Then Iain Mills bursting though for what looked a ‘stonewall’ penalty to most in the ground but not to the man that counted. The question I would ask is why anyone would fall down when they have just broken past the last defender and the goal is at their mercy?

However, all was looking good at the break with the defence looking solid and our noses in front, other than Tom Halliwell had to leave the line up with a reoccurrence of his groin problem.

What happened next is a little hard to explain, as almost to a man in the side composure and urgency seemed to disappear.

The performance disintegrated into a something I hadn’t seen all season, as we dwelled on the ball, lacked any urgency and ball retention became non existent.

Was it nerves due to the occasion? In my opinion no! It looked more like we thought the job was done and we stopped working.

Although Beccles didn’t have anything winnable to play for themselves, other than the game, they are far too good a team with players in the side that can punish you, to take lightly.

My final conclusion is that we lacked experience in many cases, instead of just keeping the play simple, doing the same things over and over that had got us this far, we relaxed and before anyone on the pitch had time to realise it, the game had turned.

Firstly we were opened up down the right and a good cross found the impressive Alan Remblance on the far post to head home.

Minutes later, substitute Martin got free to nudge home what turned out to be the winner.

After this we huffed and puffed, shuffled the pack and brought on subs but all to no avail.

I would like to just mention Ben Nichols whom for me deserved his man of the match award. At just 18 when more experienced people around him lacked those ingredients of composure, consistency and simplicity, he was a shining light.

I feel there is a massive learning lesson here for many, we are a relatively young side and challenging for the Sterry Cup is no place for the feint hearted or the inexperienced.

There is a mountain of knowledge to be learnt from this game both for those on amd those off the pitch. This experience needs to be banked by all.

Previous to this we had lost only once since the 1st December, and that narrowly to Blofield. My view, and that shared by many within the camp, is that this years title challenge wasn’t necessarily derailed yesterday, it was in the first 3 months when we dropped far too many points, as we built the squad.

With that knowledge in mind, let’s look to the many positives that have occurred in a transitional season and with optimism to next season.

Oh, and before any one starts to gets worried, let's not forget there are still 6 big points to play for this season - I haven’t. No Hempnall side Frankie and I will ever be involved in will be giving up points lightly, Roll on Tuesday!

Finally, good luck to Cromer and Blofield, it has been a long hard race and who ever wins it deserves it.