We arrived at Whittington having blown the Christmas cob webs out the previous week in a convincing cup win. Having seen local rivals Heath Hayes beaten 4-3 here the previous week we were looking to cement our promotion ambitions with a convincing win. However, the state of the pitch which wouldn’t have looked out of place with cows grazing on it and also the strong wind meant this was never going to be a game for the purest.
In a game dominated by the weather conditions it was Whittington who adapted quicker and used home knowledge to kick with the wind in the first half. A long punt down the middle lead to the first goal for Whittington and after 15 minutes we were struggling to stamp our authority on the game. A second goal was to follow as we struggled to get the ball out of our own half. In a rare foray into opposition territory we managed to create a chance for Josh to run through and score.
We then enjoyed a spell of control and worked hard against the wind to get the equaliser. It was following a spell of Hawkins pressure that Whittington were able to break from a throw inside their own half, one misjudged header and we were chasing back, the ball game into the box and the striker was allowed to turn and get his shot away.
HALF TIME Whittington 3 Hawkins 1
All the talk at half time was with the wind could we get back into the game or was 3-1 just too much to pull back. Less than 5 minutes into the second half and things got even harder as Whittington broke clear and scored a fourth just as we were beginning to gain some possession in the oppositions half. Substitutions followed and the introduction of Louie sparked the team into life. A well worked move saw Louie get on the score sheet quickly followed by a second for Josh. At this point Hawkins heads were up and the lads sensed the chance of a great comeback. Louie scored his second and the teams fourth following a corner on the right. From this point there was only going to be one winner, Hawkins kept probing for the winner with Rhys twice going close. However, the winner wasn’t to come and the game finishing in a draw.
The lads battled well to come back and earn a point but there is still work to do if we want to make promotion a comfortable ride to enjoy and not a nervous squeaky bum ride.
FULL TIME Whittington 4 Hawkins 4
