Date: 21-Mar-09
Competition: League
Scorers: Alex Dick, Davy McKean
Man of the match: Alex Dick
Match Report:
Hamilton Harvest still looking for their first win in 2009 took on Greenview at the Palace grounds on Saturday, once again work commitments and injury had depleted the squad, but Harvest were still able to field a strong side although it did mean that a few players had to play out of position. Harvest lined up in a 4-2-3-1 formation with Shug in goals, right to left in defence was Yos, Daryl, Gizzy & Aiky, the 2 in front of the defence were Hawky and Omar, in front of them was Shanksy on the left wing, Alex in the middle and Davy McKean on the right wing and playing as a lone striker was Tony. Hammy made it out of his sick bed and started the game on the bench.
A lot of the play in the first half was confined to midfield and very few chances were being created, the first real opportunity fell to Harvest when Alex found himself in the box, the keeper made himself big and deflected his shot and then got down well at the base of the post to stop the follow up by Tony. A tall Greenview front line were dangerous and on many occasion adopted a long ball tactic, however on most occasions the ball ran straight through to Shug in the Harvest goal, and when it didn’t the defensive pairing of Gizzy & Daryl were solid and cleared the danger. Harvest then had another great opportunity to take the lead when a ball over the top of the Greenview defence found the feet of Shanksy, however as the keeper advanced Shanksy tried to chip the ball over him but got too much on it and the ball just went over the crossbar. Greenview then took the lead midway through the first half, Greenview lofted a long throw in to the box, Shug came out to try and claim the ball but the Greenview player got to the ball just in front of him and head flicked the ball to the back post where despite Omar’s best efforts and what seemed like a foul on him the ball was bundled in to the net from close range by a Greenview midfielder. Greenview were boosted by this goal and went on to dominate the next 10 minutes of the half as they looked to increase their lead but the Harvest boys pulled together and managed to thwart the Greenview attacks. Harvest were by no means out of the game and they got a well deserved equalizer when Davy picked the ball up on the right hand side, he skinned the left back and advanced in to the area, he fired a low shot in on goal which the Greenview keeper could only parry and Alex was first to the rebound to slam the ball in to the net at the back post to make the score 1-1. Just as the half was coming to a close Greenview had the chance to take lead, a ball down the Greenview left found the feet of the striker and has he advance in to the box he fired a fierce shot which Shug got a slight finger tip to and the ball went past the far post, Greenview were then aggrieved that the referee failed to give the corner. That was the last action of the first half and both teams went in level at the break.
In to the second half and it was Greenview that had the first opportunity within a minute of the restart, good work out on the Greenview left saw the striker taking the ball past Yos to the bye line and as he cut it back to an on rushing team mate, Gizzy done well to put him off and he put his shot just by the post from about 3 yards out. From the bye kick Harvest took the lead, Hawky picked the ball up in midfield and played a superb ball out to Shanksy on the Harvest left, Shanksy got the ball out of his feet and flighted a delightful ball to the back post, the Greenview keeper looked as if he was going to collect the high ball but misjudged the flight of it and allowed the ball to drop over his head and Davy McKean was on hand at the back post to side foot the ball back across the keeper in to the opposite corner of the net to make the score 2-1. Greenview were now chasing the game as they looked for an equalizer but the Harvest defence and goal keeper coped well with the danger. On a few occasion Greenview found themselves in good positions on their right hand side but when the winger crossed the ball in to the box, Shug was out of his goal to claim the ball. Harvest then made a change in personnel, Hammy came on to replace Tony, this meant that Davy moved up front, Omar moved from midfield to the right wing and Hammy joined Hawky in the centre of midfield. As the game wore on Greenview were pushing forward looking for an equalizer but were denied by Shug on 2 occasions, the first was a ball in to the strikers feet on the right hand side of the box, the striker managed to wriggle free from Yos’s challenge and as he neared the goal and his team mates were screaming for a cut back he tried his luck but Shug got down well to make the block and the danger was cleared. Shug then denied Greenview for a second time, once again the danger came down the Greenview left, a through ball found the feet of the Greenview winger and as he advance in to the box he hit a rasping drive which was certainly goal bound but Shug was already air bound and got across and deflected the ball over the bar with a superb one handed save. Greenview continued to press forward in an attempt to get an equalizer, but some superb defending by everyone and some safe hands from Shug kept the score at 2-1. With Greenview committing so many players forward there were gaps in their defence and Harvest almost capitalized on this, Shanksy picked the ball up on the Harvest left, skinned their right back, and found himself one on one with the keeper and although his fierce shot beat the keeper it also beat the back post as the ball went narrowly wide. Harvest finished the game strongly and played their football in the Greenview half for the last 5 minutes. Hammy nearly increased Harvest’s lead when a cross come shot from the right nearly fooled the keeper, who done well to turn the effort over the bar. From the resulting corner Harvest could have again added to their score line, the ball was fired dangerously in to the box and was only partially cleared, the ball fell to Yos on the edge of the area, whose shot cannoned of the outside of the post. That was the last of the notable action and the referee blew the final whistle to give Harvest a well deserved win and 3 points.
Superb display from everyone today, we dug in and for the first time in a long time we played like a team. Well done to Davy and Alex who scored 2 great goals and congratulations to Alex who picked up another man of the match award. It was a good feeling to win today so lets try and keep that winning feeling going and take this performance in to next weeks game. Well done guys.