Hertford 6s put up a valiant effort against a good Saffron Waldren side.

With limited availability from our usual squad this week we turned to the 7s to fill in the slots and a big thanks to Graham, Steve, Geoff and Ian who stepped up two leagues and most certainly didn’t look out of place well played guys it was a pleasure to play alongside you all once again.
With just 12 players and Kris with a hamstring injury we set up with a 3/2/3/2 type formation the idea being to keep it tight at the back and support the midfield hopefully catching Saffron W out on the break. We were put under a great deal of pressure in the opening 10 minutes but defended well and solidly, as we warmed to our task we started to get a bit more of the ball and engage Ian and Graham up front a bit more, with Ian being a thorn in Saffron W side the whole game. On about the 25 minute mark we took the lead following a short corner in which I made a good contact with the ball towards the left hand post and Ian who pushed out was in place to turn it in.

The second half continued in much the same vain, we continued to be put under pressure but created the odd chance ourselves, their equaliser came following a breakaway move and some quick work by their forwards who managed to get in behind us not giving Zack in goal much chance. Despite that we were very much in the game but as the half wore on the younger legs of the opposition started to show and as we were pushed back they started to take more control of the midfield, a couple of lucky strikes and two good goals saw us 5:1 down with a few minutes remaining. We kept up the effort and were rewarded with a penalty corner right at the end of the game, Ian pushed out to me I managed to turn and hit the ball towards the right post and a good reaction from Freddie who was able to put it away nicely to give us a well earned second goal.

Great attitude and effort once again by all Kris despite his obviously sore hamstring and receiving a nasty blow from the ball in the second half came on and put a great shift in, Zack back in goal once again made some good saves and kept us in the game for a long period. Freddie, Matt, Jon and Geoff all worked extremely hard in midfield and Graham showed his versatility by moving from front to back when required. Defensively we were under pressure for long periods but Steve, Mike and James (who made some great tackles and interceptions yesterday) all played very well couldn’t have asked for more. Well done all.