Nick’s Flicks Help Hertford Battle Back

Hertford Men’s 1st team earned a hard-fought draw at home on Saturday, sharing six goals with Winchmore Hill & Enfield.

Hertford rang the changes once again this week with a recall for Darren Norman, the return of skipper Alec Short and defensive cover provided by Matt Earle, featuring in Hertford’s first eleven for the 26th consecutive season.

The visitors started the day with a 100% league record, and although Hertford’s shape and ball-retention were much improved from the previous week, it was Winchmore who demonstrated their confidence and form with two goals in quick succession, both coming from penalty corners. The first – perhaps a little fortunately – spiralled up off Elliot Barling’s stick as he tried to close down a cross from the second phase, with the ball cruelly drifting over the rest of the host’s defence where a Winchmore forward was able to connect at the back-post to volley home.

Another penalty corner doubled Winchmore’s advantage with a well-executed drag-flick sneaking inside the post beyond the outstretched stick of the diving Max Capaldi.

The hosts rallied and maintained their game-plan, and when Barling overlapped at full-back and drove into the D from the right-side to win a penalty corner, it enabled Ian Dunnett to register his first of the season through a switched routine, with a reverse stick finish beating the netminder at the near post.

Somewhat uplifted, Hertford established the theme for much of the rest of the game, pressurising the Winchmore midfield, and forcing errors to win back possession, but unable to find a leveller, despite another set-piece penalty corner just evading Norman who was well-placed to finish, the first half concluded 1 – 2.

Having lost all four of the previous second-halves played so far this season, there was a determination and application from Hertford to buck that trend.

Some positional half-time shuffles afforded the hosts the majority of possession for most of the second half, but chances came, and inevitably went, without Hertford being able to find the final touch.

Hertford perhaps collectively deserved some luck, and eventually got some with a (penalty) stroke of fortune. A stick tackle on Finn Kennedy was adjudged to have denied a shooting opportunity, permitting Nick Downer to finish firmly from the resulting penalty.

Feeling somewhat aggrieved Winchmore Hill sprang into life and caught Hertford on the back foot. Hertford’s defence had held-up under some tough examination from Winchmore’s brisk and burly approach, with able shepherding from Mike Hawes and Ben Tootell, but when a penalty corner was conceding, and not cleared at the first time of asking, a Winchmore forward cut inside and unleashed a powerful reverse-stick strike that found its way onto the backboard past an unsighted Capaldi’s left foot.

With ten minutes remaining, Hertford reapplied themselves to once more draw level. A through-ball found Darren Norman in the D, whose shot from an acute angle could only be palmed to the ground by the goalie, where Finn Kennedy picked-up for what looked like a simple finish, however a Winchmore defender placed everything on the line to illegal block the shot. Downer avoided any mind games and repeated his earlier feat to take his season’s tally to four.

In the final moments it was Hertford who probably enjoyed the best of the chances, and we're happy to take a 2 minutes suspension to keep Winchmore at bay, with Downer and Hawes both seeing green, but no one could find the decisive finish, and when a disappointing injection from a penalty corner after the final whistle went awry the points were shared with the tie finishing 3 – 3.

The draw leaves Hertford eighth in division three south-west, travelling to Bishop Stortford next week to face a second eleven who sit only one point below them in the table.

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Hertford: M Capaldi; E Barling, M Hawes, B Tootell, M Earle; A Short (cpt), N Downer, I Dunnett, M Branford; D Norman, F Kinnedy. Sub: A Akers