POOLE TOWN 2 HAMWORTHY UNITED 0
Sydenhams Wessex League Premier Division Wed (26-12-07)
To stand any real chance of beating high flying Poole Town in this match the Hammers would need to be at full strength, but once again they were missing key players in key positions. This was the third meeting this year between the two sides, and this was to end as the others in an honourable defeat for Hamworthy.
United once again got away to the worse possible start when they conceded a goal after just five minutes. Trefor Smith who had been a thorn in the side of the Hammers in the previous two meetings cut in from the right, and laid the ball into the path of Dann Cann. The ex-Hammer shot low into the corner of the net past Martin Peters to score against his old club, and give his new club an ideal start to the game. To their credit United held their own with a spirited display for the next thirty minutes, but neither team made a clear cut chance in that time. With ten minutes of the half remaining Poole got the crucial second goal from a corner. That man Trefor Smith found the back of the net with a well struck half volley following a deflection from a corner. United almost pulled a goal back immediately when Ryan Dovell’s header was tipped over the bar by the Town keeper to keep the score 2-0 at the break.
Captain Nathan Walker came to Hamworthy’s rescue soon after the restart. Trefor Smith went past three defenders before beating Martin Peters. The attempted shot looked goal bound until Walker’s sliding last ditch clearance. Despite plenty of effort Hamworthy were unable to set up many chances of their own. They came close in the sixty seventh minute, but then a very controversial refereeing decision took away even that chance. Poole Keeper Jason Harvell spilled the ball under pressure from Carl Mutch, and it dropped for Micky Hubbard who looked sure to score. Harvell blocked Hubbard’s shot with his hand outside the penalty box, but to everybody’s amazement he was allowed to stay on the pitch, and complete the match after only receiving a yellow card. This decision infuriated the whole Hamworthy contingent and finished any real chance they might have had in getting back into the game. To say that the Keeper never had to make another save and therefore the Referee’s decision made no difference to the outcome of the game does not add up. Poole would have had to play the last twenty minutes with ten men, and that could have been interesting, but instead they played with eleven.
Team : M.Peters, M. Hubbard, M. Grimason, G. Horlock, N. Walker, R. Middleton, G. Legg (A. Marsh), R. Dovell (M. Dean),C. Mutch (J. Moores), M. Connet, R. Jackson. Unused Subs: J. Swann, M.Seal