![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Hawks at home to Weston-super-Mare. Weston took the lead from a goalmouth scramble on 10 minutes, and while Hawks went forward enough times they wasted all their chances - Matt Gray was particularly guilty of hitting the ball high, wide and nowhere near the goal.
Around the hour mark Weston caught our defence napping to score a second, then ex-Hawk Andy Gurney made it 3-0 with an admittedly brilliant 25-yarder straight from a free kick. Everyone thought the game was over, and when Gurney was substituted one of the old men in front of me shouted "Well played, Andy Gurney...come back, we need you."
Just after that, Matt Gray was replaced by Craig Watkins. One of the cynics in the stand observed "All we need now's Jamie Slabber to come on," and another replied "When Slabber comes on, we all go home." Slabber wasn't brought on, and Watkins' introduction actually sparked a Hawks fightback.
Havant went on the offensive for the rest of the match and, although the Weston defence mopped up most of our attacks, Charlie Henry did pull one back from 12 yards out. The ref had come in for a lot of stick from the Hawk faithful for most of the match; this intensified when he refused Holloway a penalty despite him receiving a serial tripping from two Weston defenders in the box, then didn't spot the ball apparently crossing the line before the Weston keeper dived to gather it. With five minutes remaining Gary Holloway poked home a second, but for all that Hawks threw at Weston the equaliser just wouldn't come.
Even if Hawks had legitimate cause for complaint about the refereeing, we should never have allowed ourselves to go three down in the first place. The fightback over the last half-hour was encouraging, but Galey really does need to sort that awful defence out.
On the train home I met John, one of the ticket clerks from Portsmouth Harbour station who knows me by name. He's an Aldershot Town fan but was holding a programme from tonight's game; it turned out he'd come along with Bob, a station announcer he knows who's a Hawk. As we picked the bones of what went wrong, John tried to lift my spirits by telling me that Aldershot lost their first game 3-0 to Torquay last year and ended up winning the Blue Square Premier title. While he's glad to be back in the league there are things about non-league he misses, like moving freely around the grounds and the more friendly atmosphere...
Around the hour mark Weston caught our defence napping to score a second, then ex-Hawk Andy Gurney made it 3-0 with an admittedly brilliant 25-yarder straight from a free kick. Everyone thought the game was over, and when Gurney was substituted one of the old men in front of me shouted "Well played, Andy Gurney...come back, we need you."
Just after that, Matt Gray was replaced by Craig Watkins. One of the cynics in the stand observed "All we need now's Jamie Slabber to come on," and another replied "When Slabber comes on, we all go home." Slabber wasn't brought on, and Watkins' introduction actually sparked a Hawks fightback.
Havant went on the offensive for the rest of the match and, although the Weston defence mopped up most of our attacks, Charlie Henry did pull one back from 12 yards out. The ref had come in for a lot of stick from the Hawk faithful for most of the match; this intensified when he refused Holloway a penalty despite him receiving a serial tripping from two Weston defenders in the box, then didn't spot the ball apparently crossing the line before the Weston keeper dived to gather it. With five minutes remaining Gary Holloway poked home a second, but for all that Hawks threw at Weston the equaliser just wouldn't come.
Even if Hawks had legitimate cause for complaint about the refereeing, we should never have allowed ourselves to go three down in the first place. The fightback over the last half-hour was encouraging, but Galey really does need to sort that awful defence out.
On the train home I met John, one of the ticket clerks from Portsmouth Harbour station who knows me by name. He's an Aldershot Town fan but was holding a programme from tonight's game; it turned out he'd come along with Bob, a station announcer he knows who's a Hawk. As we picked the bones of what went wrong, John tried to lift my spirits by telling me that Aldershot lost their first game 3-0 to Torquay last year and ended up winning the Blue Square Premier title. While he's glad to be back in the league there are things about non-league he misses, like moving freely around the grounds and the more friendly atmosphere...
no subject