Hempnall FC

After their narrow victory over St Andrews last week, the lads were looking forward to continuing where they left off and adding another 3 points to their tally.  Stu Chrystall was playing his last match in a Hempnall shirt and we wish him well and thank him for his years of commitment and entertaining football.  We also congratulate him on the birth of his daughter - it seems he will have his hands full!

 

The referee had barely blown his whistle when Hempnall burst into action, with three minutes on the clock, Bunny's long ball forward was helped on by Damo's head to a waiting Kirk Bardesley who slotted home the opening goal.  As with the previous week, the pace was fast and furious, alternating end to end.  St Andrews' Bulman on the left was quick and skillful, keeping Rafa busy.  An early free kick saw Haynes power the ball over the wall but just failed to dip enough to score.  St Andrews equalised within 10 mins from a free kick, some confusion in the area and failure to clear gave Brooke a free header, which he made sure of.  Both teams continued to play hard and fast creating scoring opportunities at both ends, Damo and Kirk causing all sorts of problems for St Andrews' defence. 

 

Drakey had set out 3-5-2 with Ling, Ramsay and Mills forming a formidable back line, apart from a brief period of  giving away the ball cheaply Hempnall held their shape well. Hempnall to a man worked hard and began applying pressure with  attempts by Mills, Bardesley and Didwell thwarted.  The other end saw Ling's goal line clearance.  Minutes later he repeated it with a well-judged header stopping a definite goal.  63 minutes played saw the last kick of Stu Chrystall as he made way for Daniels.  With 20 minutes left to play Haynes again delivered a perfect ball in from the corner flag for a waiting Ben Player who rose up and headed home Hempnall's second.  St Andrews replied by breaking quickly, throwing players forward and were denied on three occasions by the woodwork, two off the bar and one nicking the post.  Bunny was well tested and proved himself worthy of the task.  Hempnall's third came as Player drove a searching cross into the box, St Andrews' Barraclough tried to guide the ball away but misjudged and put it into his own net.  McFadden replaced Haynes and Drakey tightened up defensively, determined to take the points.

 

The last 6 mins of the match saw a long ball from Hunts finding Damo's head at the back post, but he couldn't get enough on it to guide it goalwise.  With the clock winding down, Daniels' lightning pace allowed him to break wide right and then cut inside to create a shooting chance.  His shot was too much for the keeper to hold and Damien Didwell pounced, side-stepped the keeper and slotted the ball in.  The final seconds saw yet another headed goal line clearance from Ben Ling, his determination and growing confidence and maturity, I feel, earned him Man of the Match (my opinion)! 

Another excellent team performance and well-deserved three points.