Hertford Mixed 1–2 Bishop’s Stortford Mixed

Hertford Mixed were narrowly beaten 2–1 by local rivals Bishop’s Stortford in an entertaining and competitive summer league encounter.

Despite spells of good possession and some promising attacking play, Hertford found themselves chasing the game after Stortford took their chances well. The hosts continued to press throughout the match and were rewarded when the unlikely source of Arjun Patel got on the scoresheet. Charging forward from left back, Arjun was perfectly positioned to deftly divert a fierce Hertford strike off his stick and into the roof of the net, giving the goalkeeper no chance and reigniting hopes of a late comeback.

On the other side of the coin, Luke Brown endured a frustrating afternoon in front of goal. Having boldly staked his claim to be the attacking full back the side had been crying out for, Luke somehow failed to convert several excellent chances from inside the D. Unfortunately for him, Arjun’s clinical finish from the opposite flank rather stole the limelight, ensuring Luke’s ambitions quickly became the subject of post game ‘pizza’ banter.

A standout performer for Hertford was Bij, who produced a composed, commanding display at right back. Calm in possession, strong in the tackle and consistently breaking up Stortford attacks, Bij’s all-round performance earned her a deserved Player of the Match award.

Although Hertford couldn’t find a late leveller, there were plenty of positives to take into the season ahead. Arjun has now firmly established himself as the club’s most prolific attacking left back, Bij can safely polish her Player of the Match trophy, and Luke will no doubt be spending next week’s training session practising his finishing in the D.