Match report
Hawthorne Rangers 2 - 1 JND
by The Gaffer
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What a day. Hawthorne finally secured their long awaited first win this year, and first of the summer league. No one would have believed it after Thursday's drubbing against Falcon but a makeshift side put in an incredible battling performance to grab a deserved win.
The day didn't get off to the best of starts as the weather was poor and a number of players didn’t turn up for a variety of reasons. As it was Hawthorne had to draft in a stand in keeper and had no substitutes to call on as only 11 players were available.
After conceding 7 goals in the last game the gaffer went for the strongest defence possible and Charly C came in at right back with Jack Flynn filling in for Warren at centre back. The opening 10 minutes were hectic as both sides tried to get a grip on the game. Midway through the first half JND had started to have the better of things but with a solid back four performance from Hawthorne they were restricted to long shots which all failed to trouble our keeper.
Hawthorne then started to create their own chances and on 25 minutes a terrific strike from Jay Thorpe struck the upright but JND were first to the rebound. It was a great shot and deserved to go in as the keeper was well beaten. Half time came and it was all square at 0-0.
The second half started pretty much as the first and five mins in Hawthorne grabbed the lead after winning a corner on the left. Ray floated in a great cross which dropped perfectly in the six yard box. The JND defence remained rooted to the spot as Luke reacted quickest to slot home for his first Hawthorne goal.
Hawthorne were now on top and should have doubled their lead when a shot by Ray from just outside the area on 40 minutes struck the post. Hawthorne were then unlucky on 50 minutes when they had a goal ruled out for offside with Matty being judged just off.
A couple of minutes later it looked like it wasn't going to be Hawthornes day when a dangerous through ball from JND's midfield into the penalty box was unluckily directed in by Charly as he tried to clear. It was a cruel blow for Hawthorne who could have been well clear.
Fortunately the goal seemed to spur Hawthorne on for the last 5 mins. As the minutes ticked away Jay S raced clear and looked certain to score but his shot was saved by the keeper. Mark then had a great chance to put Hawthorne in front when another great corner from Ray dropped in the box but was blasted just over the bar.
This looked to be the last chance of the game but with a minute to go Hawthorne got the goal they thoroughly deserved. A clearance from defence found Mark in space on the left. The JND full back was too slow to react, giving Mark the opportunity to race into the box and slide a cool finish past the keeper into the far corner.
The final whistle went and Hawthorne had chalked up their first win. The JND team were not very sporting in defeat and the referee took most of the flack at the whistle.
The team now know they can win and they have to push on from here. If they can repeat this performance on a regular basis then more victories are just around the corner. Well done Hawthorne and congratulations to the whole team who battled brilliantly for the whole game.
| Team for the game | |||
| Matty B | |||
| Charly C | Josh | Jack | Joe |
| Luke | Jay T | Ray | Mark |
| Jay S | Danny G | ||
Subs: None
Man of the Match: Everyone!
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