Hailsham Hockey Club |
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Affiliated to: Sussex Hockey Association |
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It was an afternoon of mixed emotions for Hailsham. On the one hand they were relieved to come back from a 2-0 deficit to draw but on the other hand they were asking themselves why they had not taken all three points from a game they dominated. The answers probably lay in two defensive errors by Hailsham that Southwick capitalised on in the first half and an outstanding display by the Southwick keeper.
Certainly Hailsham made life difficult for themselves with some early uncharacteristic uncertainty at the back and some loose marking in midfield that contributed to the nightmare start but some half time reorganisation saw Hailsham ready to take the game to Wick and that was exactly what they did. For the next half hour the ball rarely left the Southwick half as the Hailsham outfit flooded forward in wave after wave of attack. Ben Stiles had a highly effective game on the right wing linking well with Steve Johnson and only a series of desperate tackles kept Ian Johnson at bay as the Hailsham centre forward drove forward. Eventually Southwick had to buckle and it was Steve Johnson who fired home from the right hand side of the D to pull one back.
With ten minutes to go Hailsham earned the equaliser that their controlled and creative attacking play deserved. Henry Drake played a brilliant first time deflected pass into the path of Ian Johnson who was tightly marked but the Hailsham centre forward embarked on a powerful diagonal run into the D gaining half a yard on his marker before unleashing a powerful drive to score the goal of the game.
Southwick were now desperately holding on and relying upon the occasional break away to give their defence a chance to reorganise. On a couple of occasions Hailsham were almost caught out as they committed more and more men forward but Laurens Dyer remained in calm control at the back for the home side.
At the final whistle Hailsham could congratulate themselves on a spirited fight back and some attractive hockey but the team would be honest enough to admit that this is the third time this season when one point should have been three.
This week Hailsham travel to Hurstpierpoint College to take on old rivals St Francis.
Hailsham spent the vast majority of Saturday's game defending and, up and against the league's second-placed side, turned in a good defensive performance to only lose 2-0.
The game got off to the worst possible start with a goal conceded in the second minute, but Hailsham then kept Lewes at bay for over an hour before concedig another in the dying minutes.
The game saw Hailsham's three game unbeaten run come to an end but it was another encouraging performance against a good side who found it much easier to beat them when they met earlier in the season.
The young Lewes side came at Hailsham right from the start and forced an early short corner. As it was taken the defence rushed out to deal with it and the ball deflected off Ben Stiles' stick into the back of the net.
Lewes expected to add more to the tally, no doubt boosted by memories of a 4-0 win when the sides met in October, and became increasingly frustrated as the Hailsham's defence and midfield shut up shop effectively.
And although Lewes had the vast bulk of possession and pressure, Hailsham came close to equalising when Don Paterson pushed a Frank Rallings cross narrowly wide.
Hailsham went down to ten men temporarily when Jonathan Rallings was yellow-carded for retaliating after being persistently fouled by the home team's captain, but Hailsham still held out.
The defence of Stiles, Danny Willis and Dave Drake soaked up all Lewes' pressure, ably assisted by the midfield and with keeper Craig Tasane making a string of good saves.
But with just four minutes left Tasane couldn't stop a shot from just inside the D and Lewes doubled their lead. But there was still time for him to concede and save a penalty flick before the final whistle blew on a defeat which saw Hailsham emerge with some credit for their effective spoiling tactics.
Saturday sees an even tougher game in prospect as the seconds travel to the only team above Lewes in the table, Crawley V.