Date: 29-Aug-09
Competition: League
Scorers: N/A
Man of the Match: Paul Rollo
Match Report:
Hamilton Harvest kicked of their 2009/10 league campaign against Westwood BB on Saturday. Harvest lined up in a 4-4-1-1 formation with Shug in goals, right to left in defence was Andy, Steph, Hammy & Hawky, right to left in midfield was Daryl, Omar, Paul & Davy, with John Barr sitting in front of the midfield and James up front. Westwood kicked off and were on the attack early when the ball was played down the Harvest right in to the path of a winger who took his shot early but Shug was able to get a hand to the ball and direct it away from goal and Hawky was on hand to clear the danger. Westwood then grabbed and early lead when a through ball from midfield split the Harvest defence and the striker was able to get the ball out of his feet, round Shug and fire the ball in to the net to make it 1-0. Despite the early setback Harvest were playing some good football and picked up the pace and despite dominating possession at times they didn’t really trouble the Westwood defence. Harvest were then dealt a blow when James hobbled off injured and the pack had to be reshuffled, Rab came on and slotted in to midfield, John Barr went out to left midfield and Davy was pushed up front as the lone striker. Harvest did come close on a couple of occasions when John Barr fired a free kick just over the bar and then Davy was presented with a goal scoring opportunity but as he got the ball out of his feet the Westwood keeper was out quick to smother the ball. In fact there was little in the way of goal mouth action in the first half, the game did flow forward and back but both defences were solid and the remainder of the first half was played out with no further goals and Harvest went in 1-0 down at half time.
The second half started but the early stages were much like the first half as the game turned in to a midfield battle and when Harvest did get the ball forward they weren’t getting a lot of joy from a very tall and well organized Westwood defence. Midway through the second half Westwood were handed a great opportunity to double their lead when a throw in into the Harvest area bounced up and hit Hawky on the arm and the referee awarded Westwood a penalty, the Westwood captain stepped up and drilled his penalty straight down the middle and Shug managed to lift his trailing leg to deflect the ball over the bar. Harvest were competing well with Westwood but despite their possession the final ball just wouldn’t drop for the forwards and Westwood were able to clear up any danger. Harvest were then forced in to another change when John Barr had to leave the field to be replaced by Aiky, this resulted in Hawky moving to left midfield and Aiky slotting in to left back. Westwood were dangerous going forward, and did increase their lead in the 70^th minute, when a ball forward fell to the feet of the Westwood midfielder and as Shug advanced from his goal to close down the angle the midfielder lifted the ball over him and despite Shug getting the slightest of touches to the ball he was unable to prevent it dropping in to the net. Westwood could have increased their lead further when their striker bore down on the Harvest goal, but Shug managed to deflect the shot away with his legs. Harvest were still pushing forward looking for a way back in to the game and came close when Rab picked up the ball in midfield strode forward and fired his shot inches past Westwood’s right hand post. Shug was called in to action again when a corner flighted in to the Harvest area found the head of a Westwood striker who was standing 6 yards out unmarked, he bulleted his header goal wards but Shug was in the right place at the right time to palm the ball away. As the game drew to close Harvest made another change when Kyle replaced Hawky at left midfield. Harvest were still looking for a way back in to the game and had a great chance when a deep free kick from Hammy found Paul at the back post but Paul’s header was collected at the near post by the Westwood keeper. Harvest were awarded another free kick out on the right touch line, Daryl stepped up and fizzed in a ball which flashed across the front of goal but no Harvest player was able to apply the touch which would have turned the ball in to the net. Westwood had the last goal scoring opportunity of the game when they were awarded a free kick about 30 yards out right in the centre of the park, but as the free kick was fired in at goal Shug got across to palm the ball away. In the dying minutes of the game Harvest were still trying to get the breakthrough but the Westwood defence managed to thwart any Harvest attacks. The referee brought the game to a close and despite playing well for the majority of the match Harvest went down 2-0.
Unlucky today guys, I though we competed well against a decent team and would say that we had the majority of the possession but we lacked a wee bit up front, but don’t let the heads go down as there were plenty of positives to be taken from the game. Well done to Paul Rollo who was awarded the man of the match award and to Shug for a decent penalty save. Let’s take the positives in to next week’s game as we look for our first points of the season.