After two good wins and clean sheets Hobnob really could have done with maintaining their run but for a variety of reasons this was their first game in a month. Decked out it a change strip of lemon yellow the side had an otherwise familiar look to it on a beautiful morning at Palmer Park. Rich Paine was absent due to a romantic break in Paris (oddly enough not with James Plant) so James Tiltman returned to the starting line up with Clifford Davies moving back to his familiar position on the left wing.
Burghfield Reserves had put themselves through a vigorous pre-match warm up and as expected they started the game at 100 mph. Hobnob on the other hand looked like a side that hadn’t played in a month and were on the back foot pretty much straight from kick off. The away side were looking to stretch the play with both wingers camping out on the touchlines and switching the ball from one side to the other. They were finding so much space and could have taken a very early lead if the number 10 had shown a bit more composure in front of goal. Hobnob were looking sloppy and Burghfield’s first epitomised that. A big clearance from their defence looked to be going out but the right winger refused to give up on it. The whole back four had assumed the ball was going out for a throw in so were completely static as he ran clean through and slotted into the bottom corner. That didn’t prove the wake-up call that it should have done. Chapman’s goal kicks were repeatedly being fired straight back at him and the Burghfield number 10 was enjoying the space in front of the defenders. It soon became 2-0 when he skipped past Dean Walker and gave Chapman no chance with a good finish. The Hobnob captain also had to be at full stretch to palm over a long range effort shortly after to prevent a third. The home side were all over the place but at the same time managed to create a few chances before the break. Hare headed over from a corner, Pulfer fired wide and Davies saw a free kick tipped over the bar. It gave them some belief that there were opportunities in the game.
For the second half Hobnob changed things up a bit and with immediate effect. Dean Walker was forced off with a sore back and was replaced by Bolton. The midfield man looked like he had a point to prove and was straight in the thick of the action. It was his crunching challenge that won the ball for Plant to play a delightful ball between the defenders for Luke Walker. The winger took the ball to the byline and picked out Pulfer who tapped in from close range. The goal seemed to be the pick me up that was needed and suddenly it was Hobnob in the ascendancy. Burghfield began to lose their composure and their frustration began to show. Davies in particular was getting some fearful treatment as they struggled to deal with his pace and power. Unfortunately the constant niggling fouls meant that the winger struggled to find any space to work in and was perhaps a little lucky to avoid at least a caution himself after a late challenge on the full back. One of those fouls lead to a free kick right on the edge of the box and the keeper did well to hold on to Pulfer’s fierce shot. The keeper was about to be a lot busier but not before Burghfield killed the game off by making it 3-1. A smart break found their player in behind Tiltman who produced a great finish to rifle it into the top of the net from a tight angle. That was that as far as the result went but Hobnob still had their chances in the final 10 minutes. Somehow the ball wasn’t forced over the line in two separate goalmouth scrambles. Substitute Dan Robertson saw his close range effort fly over the bar and Cheng’s fierce shot was superbly parried by the keeper. Even then Pulfer had the chance to knock it in at the far post but he couldn’t quite contort his neck to get the right header on it.
Burghfield are second in the league and you could kind of see why today. They had a lot of energy and knew each other’s games very well. That said Hobnob only have themselves to blame for the defeat. The start to the game was atrocious with a real lack of vibrancy and if there were three passes strung together then it’d be a shock. Once Hobnob had a foothold though it was a different story and with a bit more aggression and more precision in the box there could have been a more positive result. That said if you give a team a two goal head start then it’s always going to be a big ask. Focussing on the positives though, the second half was a marked improvement and if we can start games like that then we should be looking at five wins to end the season with.
