By this penultimate
football weekend of the year (for me at least), I’d pretty much had enough of
the long-distance travelling, and with the nights closing in, a local trip had
a certain appeal. And so, appropriately, I plumbed for Handsworth FC, where I
had started the season for the #Oneclub friendly against Worksop. That was at
the end of the July, with pretty much all the game played in the light – what a
contrast today! I opted to drive the short distance from Beighton to Handsworth’s
Oliver’s Mount ground, which took an impressive 15 minutes door-to-door – a nice
treat after a couple of longer recent trips. The only down side was that I’d
arrived just before 2pm, not realising it was a 3pm kick off. Not to be dissuaded,
I went for a cup of tea (80p) and returned to the car to listen to the second
half of Man City vs Arsenal. Incredibly it finished 6-3 to City, in a game
which demonstrated the unpredictability of this year’s Premier League. For
Handsworth, today’s game was arguably as important as the Etihad clash.
Oughtibridge were 12 points clear at the top, but the Ambers had 4 games in
hand, so this could be a crucial game today.
The first half was
very evenly contested, judging by my record of shots on and off target.
Oughtibridge’s number 10 hit an easy shot wide on 3 minutes, before Handsworth’s
striker latched onto a backpass and ended up foiled by the keeper. The away side’s
number 6 had a curling shot with the outside of his foot saved, and then hit a
dipping shot just over. Handsworth had a spell of dominance in the middle of
the first half, and sneaked into the lead when their number 7 (Danny Smith)
planted a header in from the far post on 22 minutes. He’d been particularly
impressive this half – winning the ball all over the pitch, passing and
controlling with finesse, and showing great anticipation of movement around
him. Handsworth’s grip on the game loosened slightly, but they were still
showing great tenacity in tackles and pressing. Some tackles were perhaps a
little over-zealous, with their pacy number 10 causing an outcry from the away
bench with a sliding tackle just before half-time.
I grabbed a second
cup of tea, bringing my outlay for today to £1-60, then trudged back for the
second half. If I had wanted to, I could probably have watched this from the car,
but decided to get closer to the pitch for a decent view. Handsworth came out
looking determined to build on their lead, and their number 11 hit a shot which
was tipped round the post by the away keeper, before a header went wide shortly
after. Then for roughly a 15-minute spell, Oughtibridge controlled the game and
began to look like they would get an equaliser. Still, nothing really
materialised from all their pressure, largely due to some determined Handsworth
defending. The turning point came on circa 60 minutes, when Oughtibridge’s
number 6 received a second yellow for a late tackle. There was a brief flurry
of pressure from the table leaders, but they gradually began to suffer with a
man down. Handsworth’s number 9 hit a short straight at the keeper, before
number 10 hit a dipping half-volley which was well-saved. Then in a mirror
image of his first half goal, Danny Smith popped up at the far post to make it
two for Handsworth and secure a vital win. Still they weren’t done, and a
further 5 minutes of pressure resulted in a last-minute goal, slotted in by
Smith after a neat shimmy in the box.
3-0 to Handsworth
and it was a deserved win. They had fought hard for every ball, played some
pacy attacking football and showed great commitment to win. What impressed me
in this game was the way they attacked and defended as a whole team, with the
defence, midfield and strikeforce playing as a compact and robust unit. Good
luck to Handsworth in their bid for this title again this year.
No comments:
Post a Comment