The pitch was extremely heavy today but at least the game was on! Our game against the Hawks last season had been very tough and we had been fortunate to win by just the one goal.
The Hawks won the toss and opted to kick uphill in the first half. The Wolves attacked straight from the kick off with some lovely passing between Jacob and Ollie who put Dylan clear only for his shot to go just wide. The Hawks attacked from the goal kick and William did well to block them as they skilfully got through our defence. It was end to end stuff and straight after, Sam had a long range shot go just wide. Another Hawks attack resulted in a free kick on the edge of the penalty area. Cole had organised the wall well and Ollie cleared the danger with a good header.
After 10 minutes Cole made a great save from a long range Hawks shot. The Hawks were playing strongly and using their size and skill well to keep us pinned back, however after 12 minutes the Wolves broke the deadlock. Dylan played a fine pass into Charlie on the edge of the area and gave the goalie no chance as Charlie played a lovely ball back into Dylan’s path: 0-1
The Wolves kept up the pressure and Charlie had a chance from a corner. Tom, Sam, William and Nathan were working hard in defence to keep the Hawks out however a poor clearance in midfield went to no-one and the Hawks picked up the loose ball and charged forward. Cole came out well but couldn’t quite stop the ball crossing the line: 1-1
Just before half time another great passing move involving Jacob and Ollie had Charlie free in front of an empty goal, however his shot was slightly stronger than it needed to be and the ball just went over the cross bar.
Half time: 1-1
The second half was likely to be tough playing uphill in the stodgy conditions. A couple of Wolves players were finding the conditions tough and the ball had either been sticking in the mud or bouncing erratically however two minutes into the half Dylan got his second as Ollie put him clear with a great defence-splitting pass: 1-2
Despite the conditions the Wolves were passing well and Jacob put Dylan clear wide on the right and his tremendous shot just missed the top corner. The Hawks seemed to be tiring more quickly and Tom put Ollie through with a good pass but the shot was just wide. Tom and Nathan now had the measure of the Hawks’ attack, making some fierce tackles and William covered well, clearing up any loose balls.
The Wolves were now dominating; a great ball from Charlie put Dylan into space and the Hawks’ goalie did well to save his powerful shot. Ollie then took a corner which Dylan picked up, controlled the ball confidently and got his hat trick from a well placed shot from a tight angle: 1-3
The Hawks kept playing and didn’t give up but the Wolves were now passing the ball well and Dylan had another shot saved following a great move in midfield involving Sam, Jacob and Ollie. In the final minutes the Wolves should have got a fourth following some great defensive work from Nathan. For once the wrong option was taken and the shot went into the side netting with two Wolves players clear in the box.
This was a great result today in heavy, slippy conditions against a big and skilful Hawks team. The boys played some great football and apart from a couple of occasions made all the right decisions.
