Back to back home wins for Hobnob after gritty 1-0 victory
With Hobnob’s injury list growing selection was remarkably straight forward for the game against AC Winnersh. James Tiltman was unable to recover from the crack to his ribs last week and was replaced by James Plant with Dave Gale shifting to the left. In defence manager Mike Terry ruled himself out with back AIDs so Ed Bargent came in. Perhaps reflective of the communal efforts being made by the side, the captaincy changed hands again with Dan Hare taking on the leadership role.
AC Winnersh came into the game off the back of a resounding 5-2 victory against RG Athletic and started with a greater sense of confidence. They’re an opposition that Hobnob know well (this is the third time this season they’ve played them) and perhaps being able to identify the threats made defending a bit easier. Not for the first time the mud bath that is Palmer Park impacted on how the game was played and after both teams’ early attempts at running with the ball proved pointless, a more direct game was implemented. It was clearly an approach that neither team felt all that comfortable with and had a large bearing on the game. Despite the conditions it was Hobnob who struck early with a lovely flowing move from across the pitch. Plant got the ball from Turner on the right and played a delightful ball across to Gale who had lots of space to run into. After ghosting past the full back he pushed the ball into the area for Pulfer to tap into an empty net. It was Hobnob at their best, counter attacking with pace and precision, made all the better by the state of the pitch. The goal came as a shock to Winnersh but try as they might they could not force any meaningful chances. The scraps that they did get were coming from Hobnob’s inability to clear their lines properly but each scuffed or blocked clearance was landing at the feet of another defender. The closest they came was when a missed header by Bargent allowed the forward to chase the ball toward goal. However, reading the danger well, Chris Chapman was straight on it, getting a boot in the chest from the forward as a reward. At the other end Hobnob were finding it equally hard to break down the defence, the closest they came to doubling their lead was Tom Robertson’s shot from range that flew comfortably wide.
After the break Hobnob came back even more organized than before. With chances for Hobnob few and far between, the second half was very much an onslaught on the home side’s goal. Warren Cheng was growing into the game and becoming increasingly dominant in the air meaning that Winnersh’s Plan B of long balls down the middle had to be abandoned. Plan C was an assault on the flanks but the wingers were frustrated in much the same way the forwards had been. With Turner and Gale giving great support, they simply could find no way past full backs Robertson and Cross. With time ticking away Winnersh began to get more aggressive and to threaten an equalizer. The corner count was beginning to rack up and it was from here their best chances came. A clearance wasn’t chased and the speculative shot that followed was brilliantly tipped onto the bar by Chapman. More shots rained in from range but they continued to either fly over or smash into onrushing defenders. A slip by substitute Terry almost allowed the forwards in but again Chapman was there to clear up, again getting fouled in the process. Despite all the pressure it was Hobnob who could have scored at the end, Harris coming on and firing wide and then Hare’s audacious effort from the edge of the box on his left foot narrowly going over.
At the final whistle Winnersh could hardly believe they’d lost and Hobnob’s players were almost too tired to celebrate. Its clichéd but the entire team played their part in a rare clean sheet for the side with everybody tracking and closing, from the forwards down. It had been a superb defensive display in which every player can rightly feel that they truly earned the 3 points and for the second week running the club have done the league double on a side!
