Match Report – Faringdon Town A v Hanney 66 Club –
The visitors this week had made the short trip from Hanney they sat one place and two points above the Don, so this looked like being a tight one and that’s the way it proved to be.
Ben Hayes from our reserves needed some game time and started his first game for the A’s after a long absence through work. He proved vital to keeping the scores level during the first 10-mins when we were under constant attack. Three towering headers from two corners and a free kick were vital. James Tyler also cleared on of the line during this period. We could not keep the ball, our passes kept going astray and the ball was like a hot potato nobody wanting to put their foot on it.
Totally against the run of play we should have had a penalty. A forward ball was headed by Jack Green in the Hanney penalty area, as he cushioned the ball he was pole-axed from behind for the clearest penalty you are likely to see. But the referee waved play on, much to the surprise of everyone in the ground. This seemed to breathe life into the Don, a 20-minute period saw the Don have several attempts on goal.
First Jack struck over from the edge of the box James then slipped a ball through to Jack who was 1-on-1, this was cut short by the offside flag. James then tried a spectacular overhead effort from Martin Key’s cross but it went straight to the keeper. A rare attack saw Hanney almost score. Jarvis Reeves could not hold a shot but the advancing striker could only lift the ball over from two yards. Just before half-time Darryl Curtis put James away but his shot was pushed around the post by the Hanney keeper.
Second Half
Within 10 minutes of the restart we were 2 down. The first one came after 2 mins the forward found himself one-on-one with Jarvis after some slack defending and he slotted home neatly. Then a straight ball out of the Hanney half was not dealt with and once again Jarvis found himself one-on-one with the same result. This knocked the stuffing out of us for a while, but to be fair to the lads they then picked their game up and took the game to Hanney and showed some good character.
We did not have to wait long for our first goal. Jason Evans raced onto James through ball. He went by the keeper who tried to bring him down, but he managed to stay on his feet. Jason finally got a shot off from a wide position but it was blocked. The referee blew up and brought the play back for what we all thought was a penalty, good refereeing so we thought. But instead, we were awarded an indirect free kick on the edge of the box!!!! James’ touch saw Jason strike the wall with his shot, in the ensuing melee there was a hand ball, resulting in a free kick on the left-hand edge of the box. Jack curled this one over the wall and it crept in the side netting at the far post.
J.J. Moore had a great chance as he cut into the area from the left but flashed his shot just wide of the far post. The next chance came from a corner, a great delivery from Jack, saw Ronnie miscue the ball to J.J. but he could only lift the bouncing ball over the bar. Soon after, we were level. Jack cut in from the left-hand side he hit a fierce shot from 20 yards that flew over the keeper’s head and into the centre of the goal. Good effort to get back in the game and we had Hanney on the back foot as they feared conceding a third.
Jason was ruled offside as he broke away then Ben intercepted on the edge of the box but he shot wide. Just as it looked like we would share the points Hanney struck the winner with 10 mins left. The Don had control of everything as the ball was played across the back but a stray pass went straight to the Hanney attacker who slipped his team-mate in to finish from close range.
Final Score: Faringdon Town A 2 – 3 Hanney 66 club
Great effort from everyone and we deserved at least a point but for the second week running slack defending has cost us.
