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The Cup Final suits can be put away for this year and the open-top bus can be cancelled – sadly, there will be no end-of-season trip to Letchworth for last season’s finalists as they fell to their first defeat of the season at Hertford.
The tie had been postponed twice before Christmas and the chances of play did not look good as we left Hitchin in frosty conditions. However, the Hertford ground staff did a sterling job and kindly provided a sand pit in each goalmouth for Sam to play in while the ball was down the other end.
After seven weeks without a game, the Hurricanes were understandably a little rusty at first and Hertford took the early initiative but overall the game was fairly even. Hertford went ahead when a long-range free-kick arced into the roof of the net with Sam unsighted by the Hertford forward standing in front of him. It was 2-0 just before half-time as a heavy first-touch from a throw-in saw Patrick dispossessed - the Hertford player raced into the area, rounded Sam and finished expertly from an acute angle.
Full credit to the boys, they kept their heads up and kept going and produced a much-improved performance after the break. Patrick and Max effectively marshalled the Hertford attack and Sam made some good stops and his kicking and distribution were excellent. Ben, Will and Kane competed strongly in midfield and Joel and Will came close to reducing the deficit. Somerset held the ball up well against some strong defending and tirelessly harried the home defence.
Overall, it was a good game to watch between two evenly-matched sides. Hertford defended strongly, passed well and took their chances. Congratulations to them and good luck for the rest of the competition.
For Hitchin, it was a good run-out after the lengthy winter lay-off and, with league and cup games coming thick and fast from now on, the second half display augurs well for the rest of the season.
Man of the match: - Kane – tenacious and competitive as ever, he worked like a Trojan and ran his heart out.
Team:- Sam Hart, Patrick, Max, Kane, William S, Joel, Somerset, Ben R
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