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On a sloping pitch better suited to grazing goats than playing football, Hitchin fell under pressure almost immediately. Letchworth dominated possession, but despite winning a number of corners failed to turn their control in to a lead. By comparison, The Hornet looked nervous and disjointed, but dug in and defended as a team. Then came the moment that changed the game: From a long looping defensive clearance, Alex managed to cleverly head the ball in to the path of Ryan giving him a clear run through on goal. Ryan buried the ball in to the top right hand corner of the net, his shot giving the Letchworth keeper absolutely no chance. So at half time the score was a nervous 1-0 to The Hornets.
The second half began with the boys playing uphill, both literally and metaphorically. The combination of the hot weather and no available subs was clearly taking its toll, with The Hornets having to fight off wave after wave of Letchworth attacks. Jonny and James made tackle after tackle. Kai made some fantastic last ditch clearances to keep Letchworth out and was full of running. Ryan, Alex and William tried to break when they could, but didn’t shirk their defensive responsibilities, tirelessly tracking back their men. However, this gritty team performance would have counted for little without Sam’s heroics in goal. With ten minutes to go, from one of Letchworth’s many corners, Sam somehow managed to push over a header that seemed a certain equaliser. He saved the best for last though, with a quite brilliant double stop with only minutes to go! The boys still had to see out extra time and a seemingly malfunctioning referee’s watch, but eventually the whistle blew. Final score, 1-0 to The Hornets.
Man of the Match – This hard fought victory was such a team performance that it almost seems unfair to single out one player. It’s one thing to win when you are three nil up and dominating play, and the boys have done that this season, but it takes real character to dig deep and play for each other when you are really “under the cosh”. That spirit yielded The Hornets this victory. Every boy deserves praise for this excellent performance, but for those match winning saves with minutes to go, Man of the Match simply has to go to Sam Hen
.Team: - Sam Hen, Jonathan, James, Kai, Ryan, Alex, William A
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