Match report
Northfield 6 - 0 Hawthorne Rangers
by Eddie Bernard
Tell us what you think below...
It was another poor display from Hawthorne today as they suffered at the hands of a rejuvenated Northfield side, fresh from the replacement of their manager. At times Hawthorne battled, but for the most part it was a lethargic performance against a side who punish every mistake.
The problems began early when Hawthorne continued to demonstrate their inability to keep up with the pace of Northfield's strike force. Within minutes a routine long ball had bounced over the head of the defence, allowing Charly time and space to run round the back and choose his spot. 1-0.
Hawthorne seemed to learn the lesson quickly, as they worked hard to keep it tight for the next twenty minutes, inbetween being rescued by good saves from Darren and some strong challenges from Michael.
But in the end the long ball worked its magic again, when the hoof over the top once more reached the Northfield forwards. It wasn't that Hawthorne were playing too far up the pitch - they simply didn't react to the danger in time, didn't sense that the long ball was coming. 2-0.
Hawthorne managed to close out the rest of the first half without conceding another goal, but it was only thanks to a fingertip save on the stroke of half-time that the score remained at 2-0 at the interval.
The second half began brightly, with Hawthorne firing out of the traps. They got forward, Daniel in the middle making some good runs and well thought passes, but Hawthorne were not clinical enough up front. Seconds later they were nearly caught on the break, but for another outstanding last ditch tackle by Michael.
Hawthorne finally got their chance, when Jay belted a shot goalwards. The goalie would have been beaten, but somehow a Northfield defender got in the way. 2-1 would have made the game a completely different story, but instead, Northfield whipped the ball quickly up field, and Hawthorne's defence were left as spectators. 3-0.
From the restart, Hawthorne needlessly gave the ball away, and within seconds it was 4-0. It was an incredible turn around considering that only minutes previous Hawthorne may have been in the game.
Hawthorne to their credit kept fighting, and Charlie got in with a chance in the 53rd minute, getting to the through ball first ahead of the advancing Northfield keeper. He hit the shot well, but in the end it was a superb save from the keeper to deny Charlie getting on the scoresheet.
After that, Hawthorne were once again made to pay for their inefficiency in front of goal, when Northfield passed the ball well, resulting in a shot. Darren got down, making the save, but it ballooned up into the air, and eventually nestled in the far corner. 5-0.
And then to put the top hat on it, Northfield managed a sixth just before the final whistle.
Overall it was a very disappointing performance from Hawthorne, against a side that they never seem to be able to get through. Northfield are solid at the back, and snuff out almost every chance that comes through, but at the same time they are vulnerable - as their league position exemplifies. But today Hawthorne were unable to make anything of that, and ultimately paid the price.
| Team for the game | |||
| Darren (GK) | |||
| Josh | Warren | Michael | Joe |
| Ray | Adam L | Daniel | Mark |
| Jay | Charlie | ||
Subs: Adam B (20 mins), Luke (50 mins)
Man of the Match: Daniel
What do you think? Post your comments below...