WRFC U14 Hawks 3-1 Farnham United – Sunday 17th April 2016

By Our Roving Reporter, Sam Prince

With just three games left of the season for what has been a huge one for the Hawks, we know that we will need 9 points out of 9 to stand any chance of finishing third, behind two incredibly strong sides in Knaphill and Horsley. In order to recover from our dip in form, we needed a win today.  However it was never going to be easy, as we were facing a strong Farnham side. We already had problems before the game, with three key players, Matt, Taylor and Ben, out injured – and a huge traffic jam that saw the kick-off delayed….we were clearly up against it!

Throughout the first half we held the majority of the possession, however a quality defensive performance from Farnham made it incredibly difficult for us to make any chances. A new partnership that has been working wonders recently is down our left-hand side, with our left-back Olly and left-midfielder Barney linking their play together excellently.  We started to make chances by getting the crosses in. Towards the end of the half, our newest acquisition, Nathan, grabbed the ball from the half-way line and stormed through their defence to put the Hawks up 1-0 before the break, getting his 4th goal in his first 6 games. At half-time we analysed the situation, and with our sub goalkeeper Adam not really being tested, we decided to change things, by putting Adam, a player of many positions, outfield – and in came Sam for his debut in goal.

A slow start to the half from us.  Farnham were able to capitalise by coolly placing the ball in the bottom right-hand corner of our net.  1-1 and something needed to change. We were desperate for a goal, and in the last 5 minutes, our captain, Kurt, took charge by supporting a strong run from Louis.  A messy piece of play in their area saw the goalkeeper off his line and Kurt took a sweet touch and brought us back the lead from outside the area. A nervous finish, as Sam saved a shot from their striker, he took his goal kick in an attempt to clear his area, and it did, by reaching the other side of the pitch. Our midfield took control and played a well-weighted ball through for Adam, who was one-on-one with their ‘keeper outside the area.  However he coolly finished it with his weaker side.

Today’s win was a crucial one for us, and it has put us back in our favoured third place with just two games to go….it’s still all to play for!