February 18, 2012

Blueharts 5 Hertford 0

We put up a very good show against league leaders Blueharts, and though the play was nearly all one way, we defended heroically, made our own luck by marking tightly and tackling hard, and kept out half a dozen short corners and a penalty flick before finally going behind after 30 minutes. Ironically, it was a miss-hit from yet another short that looped between Geoff and John. A brilliant solo goal soon after half time left us 2 down, and with Blueharts growing confidence and our growing exhaustion, we couldn't repeat out first half effort and the final score of 5 - 0 was fair enough.

Gold star goes to Geoff Hopkin, who returned to help out in goal, and for a convalescent who hasn't donned the pads since October, he looked amazingly sharp, with several great reflex saves as well as stopping the penalty. The backs collectively put it a tremendous performance whenever Blueharts had the ball. Whilst we had the right ideas trying to move the ball creatively from the back, the execution needs more practice.

Midfield worked hard (mostly in their own 25) in the first half with only limited opportunities to attack, and if we struggled to keep with the pace as the game went on, at least there was space later for some promising moves going forward, regularly finding Chris Ward in good space at centre forward and giving their keeper at least a couple of crosses to deal with.

In summary, a good attempt to play proper hockey against superior opposition

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December 3, 2011

Berkhamsted 3 Hertford 0

We travelled to a bottom-of-the-table clash with Berkhamsted with a bare 11 players, including the inexperienced and a couple of invalids, so it was always going to be backs to the wall. Having said that, all Berko’s goals were in some sense presented to them on a plate – the opening one a well-taken strike by one of their more experienced players, from a fluffed clearance; the second from a short corner, when Nick inexplicably jumped straight up over a ball heading straight for him at the right-hand post (he’s still scratching his head over that one!) and the final goal an irritatingly scrappy affair again after we failed to get the ball safely out of the danger zone.

Considering our collective lack of fitness and experience, the last 20 minutes were actually rather remarkable: Berko’s keeper subbed himself off, not having touched the ball up to that point, and our 10 v their 11 field players suddenly had something to aim at. We made several forays into their D and kept the ball up at their end for longer stretches, though by the time we got near goal we were usually rather crowded out, so none of our chances came to anything.

Maybe the one thing we lacked most was not skill or fitness, but that extra ounce of determination. On most of our showings this season, we would have been in with a chance against these opponents, against who we have a rematch in February.

November 26, 2011

Hertford 0 Blueharts 7

The 21 players we has on Wednesday melted away to just 12 on the day, a couple of late withdrawals leaving us unbalanced and understrength. To be fair, if we'd had our first choice side, I doubt we would have beaten Blueharts - they were faster, fitter, better and clearly used to playing together. We only had 4 changes from last week but several of us were away from our usual positions, with only two of our regular defenders fully fit.

All the same, 7 - 0 was disappointing. No point blaming anyone, but we need to understand where we were weak, and how we can improve. With crisp short passes, numbers moving forward at pace, and good use of the wide players in the last 30 meters, Blueharts went through our midfield and defence time after time. We need to react quicker to losing the ball, and as I said last week, be smarter about picking up ONE man each to mark - and getting goal side of him fast. In attack, we were still giving soft possession away and completely ignored our wide options for long periods

With a bit of fine tuning, with Chris dropping back into defence and Josh back in midfield, we looked a lot better after the break, at least keeping them down to 2 goals. Will 'bullet proof vest' Newton gets the gold star for his second half performance between the posts, it could easily have been a rugby score without him. The backs stuck to their task gamely but were regularly outnumbered, but at least we began to play some tidy hockey when we had possession, moving the ball well through midfield to the forwards and getting some good breaks down all three channels. We never looked terribly likely to score, but managed a couple of short corners and at least gave their centre back and keeper a bit of exercise. In fact, the last 30 minutes was quite fun really.

November 19, 2011

Hertford 3 West Herts 4

Yesterday we ran into West Herts 7s, and if those are their 'leftovers' who can't make the league sides, I'm surprised their 6s aren't higher up Division 8.

Both sides took a while to settle, but as their young, fast and gifted forwards found confidence in their dribbling and short passing skills, we were up against it. With the usual 6 changes from last week, midfield and the forward line took a while to find themselves, West Herts pushed right up the pitch and for much of the first half we seemed to need 11 men in defence. West Herts took a deserved lead with a fine tight angle strike into to far corner, but we made the most of our breaks and hit back before half time, Ben sweeping in his first goal for the club after a cross from the right.

In the second half we looked a lot more organised, defending frantically but also building from midfield and getting some decent ball to our forwards at last. West Herts continued to look much the better team, and scored again straight after the break, but Ben notched his second, again picking up a cross from the right, to square it up again. West Herts took the lead again, only for Mike to harry their defender into a bizarre 'own goal' as he whacked Mike's speculative flick firmly passed his own keeper. The last word went to them, as they snatched back a deserved 4 - 3 lead with three minutes to go.

Ross came in as stand in keeper after Will was called up to the 2s (where we hear he did very well), and showed the real depth of resources we have between the posts, coming out on top in a succession of one-on-ones and goalmouth scrambles. The whole back four excelled again, Clive particularly clearing off the line or off Ross's pads time after time, but gold star goes to Ben, not just for the goals but for a strong all round midfield effort in the second half, finding lots of space, distributing intelligently and still getting back to tackle.

Stephen found his usual space out left, and though it took a while to gel, Mike, new face Lewis, Josh and Guy all made some effective moves down the right, the side all our goals game from.

November 12, 2011

Southgate Tankards 0 Hertford 1

Yesterday we had a real trip down memory lane at Southgate as guests of the 'Tankards' - a cheery assembly of unathletic veterans who gave us a close and free-flowing game, with just Chris Ward's goal around the quarter hour separating the teams. Oranges at half time, a jug of shandy in the changing rooms, a club house right next to the pitches, and the maddening confusion of two adjacent pitches so you never know which match the umpires' whistles relate to....all that was missing was the aroma of mud on our boots.

That's enough nostalgia. With numbers a bit tight this week, we were glad to have Steve Bailes back for his first game since February. Despite 6 changes from last week, we settled much better than they did, Peter providing a dash of youth at the back, though Clive and Steve also impressed at getting in front of the Southgate forwards. Chris returned to midfield, flanked by Mike and myself this week, and we all enjoyed plenty of space and time which we generally used well, taking care to go round our opponents most of the time. Sam and Steve Begg stayed faithfully wide on the left and got plenty of useful ball, the right spluttered a little in the first half, but played some neat overlaps and combinations, and gave us our goal with Mike's cross to Chris at the back of the ring. Niall did a sterling job as our guest centre forward, running well into space, some very neat dribbling and good late lay offs.

Southgate got themselves into better shape as the game went on, and we needed to be on our toes. Will, back in goal while Greg rests his various accumulated injuries, wasn't overworked but did all he had to do very tidily, and pulled off a succession of sharp saves in the second half as Southgate pushed for an equaliser. At the other end Ross, Mike and Niall produces a purple patch in the last quarter with some well worked combinations and crosses as we looked for a second.

Again a real team effort, but gold star goes to the right back for a second week, this time to Peter for his solid tackles and interceptions, shrewd positioning and impressive distribution.

November 5, 2011

Letchworth 1 Hertford 0

We put out a fairly strong side up at Letchworth, but were well matched by their similar mixture of youth and experience (as last week, their younger players were rather further up the development curve than ours) and played out a very even game. With our pool of aging backs up to full strength again, I got squeezed out into midfield, whilst Niall headed up to the forward line (where we hear he has being doing useful things with the 3s).

Despite a handful of chances at either end, with both defences looking fairly tight another scoreless draw was looking rather likely when Letchworth snatched the lead after a half clearance mid way through the second half (rather nicely taken on the reverse stick!) and despite a couple of good breaks and a couple of firm cracks from Andy at short corners, we didn't find the equaliser.

A draw would not have been unfair, but after we stole the game on our last visit in January, we should grumble if the rub of the green went against us this time.

We probably overdid the long ball a bit, and struggled to find our wingers - who creditably kept wide and drew markers, giving a lot of openings down the middle, Geoff Church covered an awful lot of ground, but surprisingly I probably had privilege of missing the best couple of chances. It was impressive to see Clive up at the opposition corner flag for a change, trading one - twos with Sam, and still getting back to defend.

Gold star goes to Graham this week for an immaculate job at right back, and some stunning reverse side tackling.

But again a very good all round effort with everyone making a contribution. For once it didn't rain during the game, the pitch was in great shape, the game was played in the customary excellent spirit, and for those who hung around, the pies and chips and the ale were excellent. We should do this every week.

October 29, 2011

Hertford 1 Rickmansworth 3

This was almost a game of two halves. Rickmansworth 3s had older and fitter kids in their side, and some of their veterans had clearly once played to a much higher standard than ours, but we matched them blow for blow in the first half, moving the ball forward down both wings and down the centre, and getting some dangerous balls into their D. Chris Ward, this week's improvised centre forward, put us a goal up after quarter of an hour after picking up a cross at the back of the circle (the move we weren't using enough last week!). At the back we had a few scrambles but held out until just before half time when we failed to clear a short corner.

After the break their older players became more dominant at the front and we found ourselves regularly under pressure. Despite some poor finishing on their side, Greg had lots to do and inevitably we conceded. Play became fragmented as we tired, and with Ricky leaving two, sometimes three attackers well up the field, and the rest massed in defence, there was a lot of space in midfield which we never really managed to exploit. Despite a handful of good moves down both sides, and a couple of short corners, we didn't look very likely to draw level and Ricky added a third towards the end.

The defence shaped up well, with Peter looking very comfortable on his first outing at right back. Ben, Adam and Josh shared the wide midfield roles, keeping up good defensive shape against testing opposition. The occasional muddles at the back will resolve themselves with experience and as we get to know each other. Perhaps a bit too much emphasis on long balls (maybe inevitable with Andy and Tony in the middle) and only sporadic use of the back pass (Sam showed us how well it can work if we try it). We also need to do some work on field positioning at free hits (both ours and theirs), I'll try to find some time for this on Tuesday.

Matt gets the gold star this week for the kind of poise on the ball we rarely enjoy at our level, and lots of hard graft both in defence and in support of the attack.

October 22, 2011

Shefford & Sandy 0 Hertford 0

This afternoon we took a ramshackle assortment of new faces, old friends and invalids up the A1 to take on Shefford & Sandy's recently revived 4th team. An even game played in good spirit ended 0 - 0, with both sides determined not to spoil it by scoring a goal. The first half saw few clear cut opportunities for either side. In the second, we gelled nicely for 20 minutes or so and produced some fine, flowing hockey, creating some sustained pressure and getting a few shots in on the keeper, as well as some frantic goalmouth scrambles. As legs tired on both sides and substitutions broke the flow, the game opened up at the end with Sandy looking dangerous on the break, and Hertford spreading the ball quickly and effectively through the opening spaces in midfield. But not quite scoring....

Matt Brunt had an influential debut in central defence / midfield, working well with Chris (and later Mike) to drive our attacking play. Let's see how long the club lets us keep him. Chris Ward settled quickly back into midfield, with little sign of a three year absence, Mike Mould also delivered an encouraging spell in the middle. Guy had to start out of position as we were unusually short of backs, but he adapted well to this new-fangled astroturf stuff and despite our familiar lack of pace at the back we rarely let Sandy's young guns get around us (even DPJ was spotted outpacing a teenager over 10 yards..).

Adam and Peter found their feet very quickly on their open-age debuts, sharing midfield duties with the tireless Ben. Defensive aptitude is developing fast, and this week all had some chances to show some creative play going forward.

6 out of 10 this week for use of width (some nice running off the ball, especially Mike Lynn), 5 out of 10 for use of short, square and back passes (some phases where we really showed what it could do, phases when we seemed to forget - maybe it was the sun in our eyes). Lesson learnt - passing a touch earlier rather than a touch later is usually more effective. Lesson not learnt - from wide attacks, look for the ball pulled back to the top of the D. Too many of our crosses went to the keepers pads, and none of them brought us a goal.

No gold star this week - a great team effort all round, we all worked hard for each other, and for a side with so many new faces we found and kept our shape really well. Keep it going.

October 15, 2011

Hertford 2 Berkhamsted 1

Yesterday the 5s chalked up their first ever league victory. Only four changes from last week (that would have counted as remarkable consistency last year), with debuts for Ben Moses and Josh Dear, neither of whom had played a match on a full pitch before. We massed our experience at the back, Tony Rollins doing the playmaking from central midfield in front of an unchanged, but decidedly creaky back four (Nick and I would both probably have rested if we'd had more players).

Berko were a classic development team, though not of the same calibre as Blueharts, and we enjoyed an even first half, building some nice moves through midfield on both sides. Rotating our forwards around, we looked best with our pace out wide and Ross in the middle, and our best chances came down the right. It was Will who put us ahead after 25 minutes or so, picking up a cross from Tony and beating the keeper from around the penalty spot. Berko's senior players immediately stepped up the pace and moved downfield, and we spent most of the rest of the game on the defensive. They pulled one back just after half time as our marking slipped, but Tony restored our lead almost immediately from a short corner. After that our attacking opportunities were mostly on the break as our defensive efforts got more and more desperate, but we kept our shape, kept running hard on very tired legs, and kept the tackles coming in.

Gold star goes to Tony, stalwart in defence and creative in attack; our two new boys marked and tackled tirelessly and moved the ball nicely the few opportunities we had to go forward, and Mark looked promising in his unexpected role as senior forward, still finding time to and energy to help out the hard-pressed defence whenever needed.

October 8, 2011

Blueharts 7 Hertford 1

The new Men’s 5th team finally marked their league debut yesterday with a 7 - 1 hammering at the hands of Blueharts 6s. Against a nippy and talented development side, we looked like we were playing our first pre-season friendly (and to be fair, our preparation for the season has been very sporadic, for reasons out of our control). We were right in the game for the first quarter, Geoff Hopkin striking with a stunning back-to-goal reverse stick flick-on to cancel out Bluehart's early (and rather harsh) penalty. However, they soon worked out our lack of pace at the back and began to create regular opportunities, and although a couple of their goals were rather streaky, we couldn't really complain at being 5 - 1 down at half time. With Andy picking up a side strain, we adjusted to 4 - 4 - 2 for the second half, and held them out for 30 minutes, Will producing some fine saves and Nick securing the Gold Star with a tireless effort in central defence. But it was desperate stuff, and with little pace or width left up front, we didn't produce anything much in their half of the pitch, and finally conceded a couple of late goals as we ran out of breath at the end.