WH&E M1 4 : 3 Blueharts M4
Complete dominance wins through…just
Voters sometimes use their ballot frivolously and thus face unintended consequences. While this could be a comment on current events, we are in fact talking here of the DOTD nominations. This recipient awarded DOTD again (and it must be said without due reason) now has to describe the match events. So this report, reflecting the consequences of said voting, will be less Pulitzer and more perfunctory. Choose differently next time folks….
Across the season for the WH&E 1s 12 games out of 17 have been seen five goals or more scored in the game (by WH&E and opposition) and for week 18 it was lucky 13. The 15 strong squad, which encompassed a few players missing from past weeks, began one of the most dominant periods of play this season, although at the final reckoning, the score ended much closer than the initial dominance. Scoring was as follows:
Goal 1: Colin Foad (shot)
Goal 2: Opposition
Second half
Goal 3: James Gatting (short corner shot into corner)
Goal 4: Colin Foad (tap in after Stuart Carrick’s pass to Jake Sumner’s shot came off the keeper)
Goal 5: Jim Gatting (short corner flick into the top corner)
Goal 6: Opposition
Goal 7: Opposition
Full time 4:3
Thanks to Dominic Smith and Chris Moran for umpiring. Colin Foad wins man of the match and WH&E begins a three game winning streak…maybe (see the last match report).
WH&E M2 5 : 5 Cheshunt M3
The men’s 2s headed to Cheshunt this week for the late game, buoyed by recent good form, but missing key players Joe Small, Rob Dowling and Hitesh Mody who all had better things to be doing during half-term!
Against a typically physical Cheshunt side, it was the home team who dominated the opening period and quickly took the lead through a well worked penalty corner. 1-0 down and Winchmore needed to up our game.
Cheshunt doubled their lead soon after with another well taken goal, before Winchmore got a foothold in the game with a goal from the rapidly improving Peter Morton making it 2-1. But then Cheshunt got another before half time leaving Winchmore with a mountain to climb in the second half.
After a passionate half time speech from Grant Wisson, we came out with a new focus looking to take the initiative in a game we knew was still there for the taking. However, Cheshunt quickly bundled in another goal making it 4-1 and the game was all but out of sight.
But Winchmore are made of sterner stuff, and following good work down the left a ball into the D from Asher broke to Dominic Smith whose first time shot deflected past the keeper off a defender to make it 4-2. Game on.
However, what momentum had been created was quickly subdued as Cheshunt scored a fifth to apparently kill the game once again.
Finally, Winchmore woke up to the seriousness of the situation, and a hard earned penalty corner was duly converted with a neat flick into the left corner from Dom making it 5-3. Ten minutes to go and all to play for.
Then a diagonal ball into the D was picked up by Leo whose reverse stick shot left the keeper wrong footed to make it 5-4.
Shortly after, another penalty corner was converted by Dom to make it 5-all and in a frantic last 5 mins it looked like Winchmore could snatch an unlikely win, only to be denied by some fine be saves from the Cheshunt keeper.
A great comeback for a 5-5 draw. If only we played the first 55 minutes like we played the last 15 the result may have been very different.
MOTM apparently to Dom, for his second half hattrick.
DOTD to Thomas Mabey, who having pointed out how easy it is to get to Cheshunt by train, ended up being late and missing the start of the game!
WH&E L1 0 : 2 Southgate L3
Wh&E Ladies 1s were up against local rivals Southgate 3s on Saturday which turned into a bit of a family day, with 6 kids, 2 dads, 2 husbands and 1 boyfriend turning up to watch.
In the first half, we put on a good show for our spectators with a couple of chances for both teams and it we made it very tight. DotD was decided in the first half when LB Rachelle Alexandra received the ball in our D during what was about to be a great switch round the back, and hit it into her own foot to give a short corner to the opposition. Luckily Chris Putt, who made a great return after months off for illness had us covered.
We ended up not scoring in the first half, but unfortunately dropping our heads a bit in the 2nd half to lose 2-0.
MotM goes to Sarah E-Q for some great defending during the whole match, without which we may have been a few more goals down. Shout out to Abbie who we found at Southgate and convinced to play for us last minute!
This week we’re playing at home at Aylward at 12pm. Any and all support is more than welcome!