Hempnall FC

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North Walsham has never been the happiest of hunting grounds so it was all the more pleasing to come away with 3 good points.

The squad was in decent shape with just the one change to the starting line up, JP replacing the injured Stu Chrystal & a minor tweak in tactics to deal with the large home pitch.

A few words around the importance of the game & the lads set about the task with the hunger, discipline & determination that has been evident in recent performances.

A 20 minute spell that saw us in complete control with numerous chances coming and going, Craig Hunting hit the post, Millsy hit the bar & a typical surging run from Neil Renaut saw him just fail to connect with a crisp cross from Ali Shearer that came across the 6 yard box.

Eventually the pressure paid but from the most unlikely of sources i.e. the left (yes that’s left boot!!) of BP. With the ball running loose in the penalty area the skipper ‘crashed’ a left foot trickler that just about hit the post & crept over the line.

Odds would have been high on that one but when Neil Renaut just steered his own left footer goal ward only to see it just miss the target. A double of left foot goals from the hard working duo would have been too much to expect.

The home side then switched their system in an attempt to nullify our midfield supremacy & to a degree this worked but it opened up their flanks which Ali Shearer in particular started to exploit, having arguably his best game for the club to secure the man of the match award.

Anything that Angels did produce in our box was comfortably dealt with by Ben Cudden, who’s handling was excellent throughout.

Halftime came with us a little nervous that our domination hadn’t delivered more than the one goal for all our domination & opportunities.

N Walsham are in a tricky league situation so it was expected an upping of their game would appear from the start of the 2^nd half but surprisingly the game went into a lower gear with both sides appearing to be content with score line.

Half way through the half the home side seemed to get the message that they needed something from the game to ensure their premier survival & started to compete. Tackles were a plenty, competitive but not dangerous in many cases so it was disappointing to see so many yellow cards being produced.

For a small period we did get distracted by the extra competiveness but soon resumed our shape & discipline as our desire for 3 points & discipline to system were restored.

The frustration for the home side over spilled & Fitzpatrick talked himself into a red card.

With our superior numbers we created more chances but couldn’t increase our lead. This led to one last minute scare when Matt Lown went up front & flicked on a nice header which his striker caught on the half volley but it just cleared the bar.

So we secured another 3 points & yet another clean sheet. Ali Shearer well deserved his man of the match award but I must mention Cuddy & his fellow defenders who have only conceded 1 goal in the last 7 games from the boot of the opposition.

These guys have been the platform for our recent run of good results. Hope that not the ‘kiss of death’ on their recent form.

Next week we travel to Brandon for a 2.30 ko.