Casuals and Pelhams stop start season continued as annoyingly for the club and players they finally had their first fixture for a month. The game itself was perfectly timed as it was a league cup group fixture against Hatfield Heath FC in which Pelham couldn't qualify from, therefore it was a good opportunity to get everyone back together and boost that fitness for the cup semi final next week against Finchingfield. The home side actually started the brighter of the two sides and they certainly didn't look like they hadn't been playing for a while. Some nice passing football saw Pelham see majority of possession and they created a couple of early chances through Dan Arran and debutant Luke Evans. All that good play and pressure payed off as the home side took a fairly early lead around the ten minute mark. Luke Evans latched on to a through ball played to him out wide on the left and saw the Hatfield Heath keeper off his line, therefore deciding to hit the ball first time and loop it over the keeper and into the back of the net. Pelham richly deserved their lead and continued to play some decent football, in turn creating more chances. However it was Hatfield Heath who struck next as Doug Hazell got caught on the ball in his own half, with the opposition striker pinching the ball off him. bearing down on goal and slotting home. It was Hatfield Heaths first real clear cut chance of the game and infact in ended up being their only one of that first half. Pelham continued to create chances of their own and had big opportunities through Dan Arran, Luke Evans, Steve Callan and Jamie Richards but just couldn't find that finishing touch. The teams went into the break all square at 1-1. The second half started a bit more even as Hatfield Heath were slowly building into the game. Pelhams fitness levels started to drop off as well and the game started to open up a lot more. The chances started to die down for Pelham and they didnt create as much as they did in the first half. The game was mainly played in the middle of the park, and the game looked like it would be won by the next goal. That ended up being the case and unfortunately for the home side it was Hatfield Heath who got the goal. The goal itself was harsh on the home side as the striker fouled the defender to score the goal. A looping ball over the keeper ended up bouncing and then dropping again just before the goal line. Matt Boyce had seen this was the case and judged it well. However just as he had jumped in the air to head the ball away the Hatfield Heath striker pushed him in the back meaning the ball hit Matts shoulder and into the back of the net with Matt himself. However the decision went against Pelham and they found themselves 2-1 down. The rest of the half was fairly similar with neither team really creating much of any worth and it finished 2-1 to Hatfield Heath FC. Annoyingly for the home side the game saw key players for next weeks game pick up injuries with Matt Boyce, Doug Hazell and Dan Monk all limp off. Fingers crossed they're all OK and recover for the big one next week. Todays result doesn't really matter too much as we knew and it was just good to finally get back together and play some football. Micks man of the match was a tough one today, everyone had a steady first game back after a while out and was on a similar level. Luke took his first goal well and the back four were pretty solid, limiting Hatfield at to very few chances. But Micks man of the match this week goes to Dan Monk who had a dominating game and made the right decision on every occasion covering his area well. Fingers crossed for a bit more of a run in now with the fixtures and every game we play now is a must win. Five league games left and still in two cups which we can still potentially push on and go all the way. Big one next week lads away at Finchingfield in the Interdivisional Cup Semi Final so lets get the win we need and push on for the rest of the campaign.
