![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Jan. 22nd, 2011 08:48 pmAt last, after all the waterlogged pitches, today Westleigh Park again played host to a Hawks match, with Boreham Wood the visitors. Commiserated with Mark about Hibs' Scottish Cup exit to Ayr United, then Dick and Lauren arrived and I joined them for a Pepsi. The consensus in the bar was that although Wood were second bottom, as they'd recently signed some new players on allegedly generous contracts the afternoon's match could be interesting.
It certainly wasn't dull. In the first half Bobby Hopkinson was stopped by a fair tackle from a Boreham Wood player, but landed awkwardly thanks to the combination of the soft pitch and his boot type, and lay motionless until he was stretchered off. By half-time word was spreading that his leg was broken; Trev confirmed on the PA just after the restart that he'd fractured his tibia and fibula. That's the last we'll see of Bobby this season :(
Giuseppe Sole gave us the lead in the second half. Late in the game, with Sam Pearce down injured, the Boreham Wood number 7 tried to kick the ball back to our keeper - but it sailed into the net. The ref had no option but to give a goal. From the kick-off the Boreham Wood players stood still and let the Hawks walk the ball into the net, earning a hearty round of applause from the whole ground.
Got to Havant station seconds too late to catch the departing Portsmouth Harbour train. During the half hour wait Mike and Lee arrived. Mike hadn't seen the last two goals so asked us for an account of what happened. Lee said that in the Boreham Wood players' position he wouldn't have let us score; Mike and I reckoned we would. We all agreed that we wanted the Wood to stay up; I reflected that when we play them away in April, if our chances of making the top five have gone by then and they are still fighting I wouldn't be sorry if we lost. Mike concluded that this is why we love non league football. "You wouldn't see that in a professional game," Lee observed; I reminded him of a similar incident in a Bristol Rovers v Yeovil match a few years back.
It certainly wasn't dull. In the first half Bobby Hopkinson was stopped by a fair tackle from a Boreham Wood player, but landed awkwardly thanks to the combination of the soft pitch and his boot type, and lay motionless until he was stretchered off. By half-time word was spreading that his leg was broken; Trev confirmed on the PA just after the restart that he'd fractured his tibia and fibula. That's the last we'll see of Bobby this season :(
Giuseppe Sole gave us the lead in the second half. Late in the game, with Sam Pearce down injured, the Boreham Wood number 7 tried to kick the ball back to our keeper - but it sailed into the net. The ref had no option but to give a goal. From the kick-off the Boreham Wood players stood still and let the Hawks walk the ball into the net, earning a hearty round of applause from the whole ground.
Got to Havant station seconds too late to catch the departing Portsmouth Harbour train. During the half hour wait Mike and Lee arrived. Mike hadn't seen the last two goals so asked us for an account of what happened. Lee said that in the Boreham Wood players' position he wouldn't have let us score; Mike and I reckoned we would. We all agreed that we wanted the Wood to stay up; I reflected that when we play them away in April, if our chances of making the top five have gone by then and they are still fighting I wouldn't be sorry if we lost. Mike concluded that this is why we love non league football. "You wouldn't see that in a professional game," Lee observed; I reminded him of a similar incident in a Bristol Rovers v Yeovil match a few years back.
