Match report
Parkfield 6 - 0 Hawthorne Rangers
by Eddie Bernard
Tell us what you think below...
Hawthorne Rangers had a bit of a nightmare today against a Parkfield side that didn't let Hawthorne get away with any mistake, efficiently punishing every slip-up and converting almost all of their chances. Meanwhile, Hawthorne looked lethargic and were unable to contain the danger posed by Parkfield's star player, Jack.
After the last game against Parkfield, which ended in a 1-1 draw, Parkfield must have felt they had something to prove. The same was true for Hawthorne, however, who surely must have wanted to show that the result the last time the two sides met was not a fluke.
In the event, it was Parkfield who prevailed. Their dominance in the first half was almost total. They controlled the ball in the air, and on the ground, in open play and from set pieces. Hawthorne simply had no response and were brutally outclassed in every department. Even when Hawthorne managed to get forward, the Parkfield defence dealt with the threat with consummate ease.
There were a couple of good saves from Darren, and a few good tackles at the back, but broadly speaking it all looked too easy for Parkfield. Inevitably, a score of 5-0 at half time was the result, and in fairness they deserved their lead.
Hawthorne had to try to rescue some pride. The results of the previous few games were surely not accidents. There must have been some fighting spirit left, and some ability to grab hold of the game and battle for the second half...
Fortunately, there was. Hawthorne came back out brightly, and were unlucky not to convert a very early chance from Charlie. 5-1 would have still been a tall order, but it would at least have shown that they were going to work for the full game.
But any hopes of that were quickly snuffed out when Parkfield converted a penalty after 45 minutes to take the score to 6-0. Minutes later, confusion at the back from a Parkfield set piece led to another goal, and 7-0.
Credit to the Hawthorne players, though, they kept on going. At long last they carved out some decent chances of their own, and were extremely unlucky not to take any of them. Jay, Adam, Mark, Luke, Ray and others all either had great opportunities to score or had created chances for others too - but every time they were denied either by bad luck, a good save or an excellent blocking tackle.
It stayed 7-0 until right up to the end, when Parkfield delivered the final blow after Hawthorne had held it together for virtually all of the second half. Hawthorne had deserved at least a few goals, but just lacked the cutting edge when it really mattered.
At 8-0, Hawthorne were well beaten, and though they should have got on the scoresheet, nevertheless they deserved to lose the game well. In fairness, Parkfield could have got more goals if it wasn't for some excellent shot-stopping by Darren, especially a fantastic double save in the second half.
Man of the match today could have gone to a number of players, not so much on the basis of the first half performance, but the second half battle. Honourable mentions go to Darren for his keeping, Jay for working hard up front, Ray for good passing and movement along the right flank, Danny for fighting hard and others too, but in the end it had to go to Warren for keeping Parkfield busy in midfield in the second half.
Best thing to do now is to learn the lessons, forget about the game, and look forward to next week!
| Team for the game | |||
| Darren (GK) | |||
| Ryan | Josh | Warren | Mark |
| Ray | Danny | Eddy | Adam B |
| Charlie | Jay | ||
Subs: Joe (HT), Adam L (HT), Luke (50 mins)
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