ANOTHER CASE OF SMALL MARGINS

Watching us in recent games is like what the French call a sense of déjà vu where we feel we have been here before - enjoying lots of possession, playing really well, but ending up losing by a narrow margin. The recent games where this has happened were away trips to Sawbridgeworth Town, Cockfosters (twice) and now Haringey Borough all teams above us in the table but where we should have returned with something for our efforts. We get plenty of plaudits for our performances but you don’t get any points for style of play and we are beginning to slip behind the teams challenging for promotion. We have now dropped down to 11th in the table 10 points behind Haringey Boro who are in 5th place but who also have the added advantage of a game in hand. We are great to watch but it goes without saying that unless we can soon start adding an end product to our enterprising play we are going to miss out on promotion. But on a brighter note we still have 22 League games to go so all is not lost and we showed last season that we are capable of stringing together a run of good results.

Yet again we found ourselves on the road with a trip this time to Coles Park which is just over a mile away from the home ground of Tottenham Hotspur who later on lost 1-0 to visitors Chelsea. We also again found ourselves playing an inform team who after this victory extended their unbeaten run to 13 games They will surely be in the mix for at least a Play Off place or even the title because they are only 3 points behind League leaders Winslow United. We last played against Boro back in the 2012/13 season and we have in the past done well at Coles Park with this recent defeat being only the 2nd time we have lost there in 11 visits with the previous loss coming back in 2005/06 when we went down 1-0. Boro have in recent years slipped down the Leagues and they are determined to climb back up again and who would bet against them on the form they are currently showing.

The conditions for this game were first rate with some Autumnal sunshine, a decent and noisy crowd of 318 and a 3G pitch which would suit our playing style and we certainly started strongly. Tommy Smith headed over the bar a cross from Max Hercules to the far post and later on the same two combined again with Tiny this time heading a free kick from Max straight at the keeper. In between Greg Deer intercepted a poor pass out of defence and then fired a shot wide of the post. But despite this decent start it was Boro who struck the first blow by taking the lead after only 10 minutes. Following a good bit of play by our hosts the ball was played through to Adrian Clifton who kept his cool to score the opening goal of the game. There was a shout for offside but our appeals were turned down and it was not the best of starts for us. Score 1-0.

Despite this set back we tried to bounce back quickly with Max Hercules stinging the hands of the Boro keeper with a fierce shot and then Greg Deer had a shot blocked in the area following a corner. We were playing well and enjoying a lot of possession and in the 27th minute following a long throw Tommy Smith was just unable to get his head to the ball from a position close to goal. Our hosts were dangerous going forward with their leading scorer Bilal Sayoud having a couple of efforts on goal which were wide of the target but in the 35th minute he went mighty close to extending his sides lead with a fine effort which hit the bar. Five minutes later Tommy Smith did well to block a shot with the loose ball headed over the bar.

With two minutes of normal time left we had a good chance to level the scoreline when a defender slipped over in the area presenting Dylan Whitelock with a great goal scoring opportunity but his effort failed to test the keeper. Two minutes into added time we committed the cardinal sin of conceding a second goal just before the break when a long ball down the left sent Henson Alves away and despite the tight angle he managed to smash the ball high into the net to give his side a commanding 2 goal lead. HT Score 2-0.

The home team came out for the second period in a confident manner but we weathered the early storm and pulled a goal back in the 70th minute when Max Hercules superbly converted a free kick from outside the area to give ourselves a fighting chance of getting at least a point. Score 2-1.

We created a few half chances and put the home defence under periods of pressure and went very close in the 89th minute when Tommy Smith headed on a free kick and Bailey Osborne followed up with a scuffed shot that hit the post. But we were unable to grab a vital equaliser and suffered another away defeat. FT Score 2-1.

This was a very good display by the players against a very strong team who are in a terrific run of form and we certainly deserved at least a point but unfortunately things are not falling our way and there are small margins between winning and losing. The task of picking up points doesn’t get any easier as we are unsurprisingly away again on Saturday for a League game at 3rd placed Arlesey Town. This means we have had just one home League game since 13 September and that was again against another promotion chasing side namely Kings Langley and it must be said that this is pretty poor by the League.

We do however have a Premier Division Cup game at home on Tuesday night against Colney Heath so it will be nice to see the lads in action without having to hit the highways and byways.

Finally, a word of thanks to Haringey Borough for their excellent hospitality.

TEAM,
TA: Josh Ameganvi, Mason Clarke, Tommy Smith, James Kimber, Pablo Kalamaras, Blake Argent (Finn Rolfe 77), Greg Deer (Harry Jones 68), Jack Harvey (Capt), Dylan Fitzpatrick, Dylan Whitelock (Bailey Osborne 68), Max Herculres. Sub Not Used: Lincoln Gilmartin, Harry Beaumont

Scorers

HB: Adrian Clifton (10), Henson Alves (45+2)

TA: Max Hercules (70)

Crowd: 318