Match report
Hawthorne Rangers 0 - 1 Leicester Colts
by The Gaffer
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Hawthorne played a competitive game today for the first time in nearly three months. Due to bad weather and a depleted squad the team had not played together since a 6-0 drubbing at the hands of Gordon Youth back in October. Today’s opponents in the first mini league format were Leicester Colts who had beaten Hawthorne 5-1 also back in October.
Hawthorne welcomed back a couple of old faces as Ray Shearer was brought back to help strengthen the goal threat and a warm welcome was given especially to Matthew who had not played a competitive game since he sustained his broken leg 14 months ago.
The game was a fairly even affair and on a poor pitch it was difficult for either side to play any controlled football. The only notable event in a keenly fought but scrappy first half was the forced introduction of Matthew due to an injury to Danny B. Matthew was clearly a bit rusty but showed some nice touches in midfield and will only get stronger as the season wears on.
The second half started at a much more frantic pace and it was Leicester who had stepped up a gear. They seemed quicker to the ball and were beginning to pressure the Hawthorne goal.
Hawthorne seemed incapable of breaking out of their own half but were holding out with a fine defensive display. Josh in particular was having a great game with some timely tackles and Darren in goal producing some good saves.
The pressure did eventually tell when Jay was trying to dribble the ball out of defence and was caught by a Leicester forward. Although there were a couple of attempted clearances and a save by Darren the ball remained in the box and was tapped in by a Leicester player. This was to prove the decisive goal and Hawthorne did not manage to mount any late threats on the Leicester goal.
The game ended 1-0 and although this was a major improvement on the last showing the sides met Hawthorne will need to create a lot more scoring opportunities if they are to pick up any points in the mini league.
| Team for the game | |||
| Darren | |||
| Adam | Josh | Jay T | Joe |
| Luke | Danny B | Ray | Mark |
| Swee | Charlie | ||
Man of the Match: Josh
Subs: Matthew
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