Today was our final league match of the Div 1 season & a proud record was at stake, with the title sealed a few weeks ago, we had the task of staying unbeaten hinging on this last match.
Surprisingly the pitch today was really heavy and bobbly which didn't help either team but Hebburn started brightly & looked to pass the ball around and keep possession. They took the lead early in the game on 4 mins after a goal kick fell straight to their striker just outside the box & he slotted the ball straight back into the net 0-1. Hebburn enjoyed the better of things in the first 10 mins & certainly looked like a different side from the one we faced earlier in the season. After a slow start from us, we gradually began to get a grip of the game. James was making life very difficult for the Hebburn defenders down the right wing & Owen Crossley showed great vision to pick out James, in space down the wing, his determination saw him get to the byline and he crossed the ball which Aaron met with a volley into the net 1-1 & we were back. We carved out a couple of more opportunity which went close & Hebburn continued to keep us on our toes and had it not been for a great challenge from Aaron in the box, they would have went 2-1 up. Instead, we continued to work hard and try to play passing football & we got our reward just before half time. Owen Crossley set James away down the right wing & his crisp finish went in off the post 2-1.
The second half was another tight affair. Alex claimed well on a couple of occasions when racing out to dive at the feet of the advancing strikers. The lads at the back had their work cut out too as Hebburn tried to catch us on the break with pace at every opportunity down our right side and we struggled to cope. Having said that, Matt Johnson proved how valuable he is to HFC with some awesome sliding challenges. He had to be at his best today against a very capable striker who must have been close to 6ft tall. Hebburn closed the gap on 53 mins with a very good finish which we couldn't do anything about 3-2 & we were in for a tight finish. We made a tactical change which helped to stem the threat from Hebburn & we probably should have extended our lead a lot further but massive credit to the Hebburn keeper - he came on at half time as a sub and having seen the display he put in, I'm surprised he didn't play the full match - without a shadow of doubt, he kept them in it with a string of saves. However, any nerves were settled 2 mins from the end when a nice move which started at the back with Matt Coates, resulted in Aaron setting up James to grab his hat-trick 4-2.
Man of the Match - Matt Johnson - another difficult choice but Matt was a big key factor in us maintaining our unbeaten record, had it not been for him, we could well have lost. Awesome at centre half, commanding & dominent, strong tackling and great awareness & vision. A big well done.
In Summary - a big round of applause for the lads for what they have achieved , wiining the title and doing it unbeaten is incredible. Regardless of what happens in part 2 of the season, it's going to be a great presentation night for everyone.
